The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-28

AA~J SA~
States supreme court today opinions
were handed down in all but two of
the cases before that court involving
the relation of the United States to it's
insular possessions. The two cases
in which no conclusion was an
nounced were those known as the
Fourteen Diamond Rings case and the
second of the Dooley cases. The I'M
decided Dooley case deals with a
phase OF the Porto Rican question,
and the Diamond Rings case involves
the right to the free importation of
merchandise from the Philippines into
the United States.
The original intention of the court
had been to adjourn for the term
after today's sitting, but discussion
of the cases passed on today took
about five hours, so the court ad-
journed until tomorrow, when it is
presumed the remaining cases will be
passed on
Of the several cases decided today
the two which attracted the greatest
share Of attention from the court were
what is known as the Delima case and
that known as the Downes case, and
of these two the opinion in the
Downes case is considered the more
far reaching, as it affects our future
relations, whereas the Delima case
dealt with a transient case of our in
sular relations.
One Against Government.
The Delima case was the first to
receive the attention Of the court
and as it appeared to be quite sweep
ingly opposed to the governments
contentious, many persons, precipi-
lately arrived at the conclusion that
the government had been worsted all
along the line. This view suffered
a decided change when the conclusion
was announced in the Downes case.
The court was very evenly divided
on both cases, but political lines we're
not at all controlling.
The Delima case involved the pow
er Of the government to collect a duty
on goods imported into the United
States from Porto Rico after the
ratification of the treaty Of Paris and
before the passage of the Porto Rican
act. The court said the governments
contention in this case was substan-
TALLY a claim that Porto Rico is a for
eign territory. The entire case turned
upon that contention. The court held
that the position was not we'll taken;
that Porto Rico was not at that time
foreign territory and that therefore
the duty on which had been collected
must be returned.
The decision in the Downes case
followed the history of the dealings
of the United States with Porto RI
co a step further. That case dealt
with the legality of the exaction Of
duties on goods imported from Porto
Rico into New York after the passage
of the Foraker act providing for a
duty upon goods shipped from the
United States into Porto Rico, also
on those shipped from Porto Rico to
the United States. In this case the
court held that such action was legal
and constitutional.
Right to Impose Duties
The point of the two opinions con-
sidered collectively is that Porto Ri
co was never after the acquisition of
that island foreign territory; that
until congress acted upon the ques-
ton no duty could be collected, but
that as Don as congress outlined a
method of controlling the islands
revenues that action became binding,
in other words, that congress has
power under the constitution to pre-
scribe the mi of collecting the
revenues of the country's insular pos
sessions and has the right toy lay a
duty on goods imported into our in
sular possessions from the United
States or exported from them into
the United States. It holds, in brief,
that for taxation purposes they are
not q part Of the United States to the
extent that goods shipped between
their ports and the United States are
entitled to the same treatment as
though they were shipped between
New York and New Orleans.