The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-12-05
NOT FOREIGN TERRITORY
Supreme Court So Decides Regard
Ing Philippines.

| Washington, Dec. 3.-The United
! States supreme court rendered a de-
/ cision in the case of Emil j. Pepke
VS.. the United States. This is the
case known as the fourteen Dia-
mond Rings Case," and involves the
constitutionality of the imposition of
customs duties upon merchandise
brought into the United States from
the Philippine islands after the ex-
change of the peace treaty with
Spain. The opinion was handed
down by Chief Justice Fuller.
The opinion was adverse to the
claims of the government on the
ground that the Philippine islands
were at the time the rings were
brought in, American territory.
Ceasing to be foreign territory,
they became domestic territory, he
said. The decision of the De Lima
Porto Rican cases was cited at length
and it was held that the resolution
adopted by congress concerning the
Philippines We're not sufficient to
change the situation.
The chief justice concluded his
opinion by reversing the decision of
the court below. Justice Brown read
an opinion concurring in the result,
but differing from the conclusions
drawn on minor parts.
Justices Gray, Shiras, White and
McKenna dissented.
The case is one of the two i'm
portant cases left undecided by the
court at it's last term when it de-
cided a number of cases involving the
customs relations of the United States
with it's insular possessions. The
cases decided at that time bore en-
tirely upon the relations of the coun-
try with Porto Rico and this was
the only case of a. large number
which were then argued and consid-
cred which involved the relations of
the United States with the Philip
pines. The other case involves the
right to impose, duties on articles
exported from the United States to
Porto Rico. Much interest has been
manifested in this Philippine case be-
cause of the probability of legislation
relating to the Philippines at the APP
preaching session of congress. The
record shows that Pepke, who was
the respondent in the court below,
was soldier in the army of the
United States in the island of Luzon;
that while there and after the rati-
1ication of the peace treaty he pur-
chased the fourteen diamond rings
which are involved in the case. He
afterward brought these rings, while
still i'll the service of the United
States, aboard the United States yes
sci transporting the regiment to San
Francisco, where he was mustered
out. Later he came with the rings
IN vv,1,o I,
seized by the custom officer under
the claim that the Philippine islands
were foreign territory and merchan-
the United States was subject to
customs duties which were not paid
by Pepke. Peplse set up the claim
that the imposition of duties on mer-
chandise under the circumstances
was contrary to the constitution of
the United States and in violation of
his rights as citizen.
The case came to the supreme
conrt from the district court of the
United States for the the northern
division of Illinois. In that court
the facts set up in Pepke's plea We're
admitted by demurrer filed by the
United States and that court sus-
tanned the demurrer, overruling the
plea and entering Judgment against
the merchandise thus seized, and di-
recting that it be sold in accordance
with the law and from this decision
the present writ of error was prose-
cuted.
In his opinion in the Philippine
case Chief Justice Fuller said that
the Philippine islands ceased to be
foreign as soon as the Paris treaty
of peace was signed and the reso-
buttons to which he referred as being
ineffective and not binding was the
resolution adopted by the senate
soon after the ratification of the
treaty.