The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-29

upon imports TO anu from country ltie
beneft OF it government be sufficient APP
parently not VII acts making appropriations
for its postal service. for the establishment OF
lighthouses for the maintenance OF quarantine
stations. for erecting public buildings have that
cfects VIII an act establishing complete
al government bat with the reservation Of a
right to collect duties upon commerce, be AIDE
qultc .-r that purpose? None Of these nor all
together viii be sufficient II the contention OF
the Government be sound. since acts embracing
all these provisions have been passed in con
nsltiou with Porto Rico, aud 1t is insisted that
1t Is stiIi a foreign country within the meaning
Of the tariff laws We are unable 20 acquiescc
in this assumption that a territory may be a.
the same time both foreign and domestic
From the foregoing it is evident that
the Philippine question might present
difficulties which would render 1t con-
venfent to postpone. But Of one thing
there is no doubt. If Porto Rico was
American territory from its cessicn IN
I'll the passage of the Foraker law, and,
during the interim, subject to the tax
alton and revenue clauses Of the Con-
seitution. the Philippines must be in
exactly the same condition today. All
OF the duties which have been collected
on Philippine goods entering mainland
ports. and vice versa, must be refunded,
and absolutely unrestricted cree trade
allowed between the States and the Ter
ritory- That is a proposition which is
unassaiIable under the de Lima de-
cision. and its acceptance Is Our plain
duty"
Having distinctly decided that the
Constitution does not extent, ex proprio
vigore. beyond the limits Of the con
stituent states of the Union. and only
by Congressional grace. which there is
TO legal necessity to extend to Ter
ritories, the result is that Congress is
declared to have power to treat and
govern them in any way it may see
fit It may. levy one rate Of taxation in
one and another in a second. It may
deny civil rights where it pleases,
whether the Territory be the Philip
pines. Guam, Alaska, Arizona, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, or the District of
Columbia. It may establish custom
houses between the District and Vir-
GINA and Maryland, or between Ari-
iona and California, and place a tariff
on Territorial products as foreign"
The Downes decision erects an i'm
IeriaHsm plain and unmistakabIe, IN
der the operation CT which no resident
Of a Territory can longer consider him
self a citizen of the United States.
Under the enormous and hitherto IN
dreamed of powers granted to Congress,
which at present is the creature Of an
oligarchy of monopolists, it viii be an
easy matter for the interests anxious
to secure possession Of the undeveIoped
resources Of our Territories next to
take Hawaii by the throat and then
Alaska, and the others in succession;
appropriate their forests and minerals,
through Congressional legislation. and
make a complete job Of what has been
in progress for the past four years
This Is the real article Of imperialism,
and the destruction Of what we have
believed for hundred years was the
protection Of the great Constitution of
our nation; all brought about by the
duplex elliptic carebration andyariously
,.-t;,,os -.1t, OF ovo cc75+s,.-- fy,J75,,557,,oT
named Brown. We have come to the
parting Of the ways. It IS time to send
Story and the great decisions of that
mighty man. John Marshall, TO the sec
ond-band book shop. Hereafter our
standard text and sole authority-un-
less the court should change its mind
some day-win be The Constitution,
by Brown"