The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-03
United States Supreme Court Delivers It in
Deciding Pepke's Diamonds Can
Come in Free.
TEXT OF TWO IMPORTANT DECISIONS
THE DOOLEYDECISION
EXPORTS FROM A STATE TO ANY
OTHER AMERICAN TERRITORY
CANNOT BE TAXED.

~ .ra
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2-The United
States supreme court tody decided the
second of the Dooley cases, involving
the constltutionality of the law of April
IL, providing for the collection Of duty
on articles shipped from the United
States into Porto Rico. The decision was
rendered by Justice Brown and sustained
the government. 1t holds that as Porto
RICO is not foreign territory, the goods
shipped to Porto Rico are not exports.
but whether exports or imports the wide
range of congress in the matter of taxa
ton was sufficient for a contingency %
this character. At best, it is held, the du-
iy was temporary eXpedient, and as it
was explicitly provided in the Foraker act
that the Porto Rican legislature could
change the character of the enactment
it was held that the Foraker act was
merely legislation in the interest of Por-
TO Rico. The Foraker act was sustain
ed on the grounds laid down in the Down
case, another of the insular cases
decided at the last term The decision
of the lower court was affirmed
Justice Brown explicitly said that the
opinion was not to be construed as JUS
| tffcation of export duties
The chief justice and Justices Harlan,
Brewer and Peckham united in dissent
ing opinion, which was harAled down
duty imposed was export in character
and the fact that it was levied for the
benefit of Porto Rico did not change it's
character.
Particulars of DooIey Case.
This case grows out of the imposition
OF tariff duties on goods shipped from
New York to Porto REQ, May 1, 1900,
to October 20 of the same year, under tho
act of April ~, 1900, providing
revenues and civil government
for Porto Rico the amount involved
| icing 81, ,433. This money was coli
lected at Porto Rico on goods shipped
to that port by Dooley, Smith & Co., to
| their agent who was in San Juan. The
! collections Were imposed under that por-
| ton of the law in question, which pro-
! vides that "all merchandise coming into
Porto, Rico and the United States shall
be entered at the several ports of entry
upon payment of Is per cent of the duties
which are required to be levied, collected
and paid upon like articles of "Aerchan-
disc imported from foreign countries into
the United States under the Dingley tariff
law"
Dooley, Smith & Co. brought suit IN
the circuit court of the United States for
the southern district of New York TO
recover the money paid by them,. which
they declared had been wrongfully col
lected at San Juan. 10 their petition the
United States demurred on the ground
that the court had no jurisdiction of the
subject of the action and on the further
ground that the complaint did not state
facts sufficient to constitute a cause Or
action. Judge Lacombe, OF the New
York court, sustained the demurrer upon
the second point. The case was car
ried from his court to the supreme court.
The contention on the part of Dooley's
counsel was that congress had not tho
power under the constitution to impose
taxes or duties such as were levied under
the act of April IL, upon articles taken
into Porto Rican ports from other parts
of the United States, Porto Rico being
an integral portion Of the nation.