The age-herald., 1901-05-28
WAS 4 VICTORY FOR
 THE GOVERNMENT Declares Solicitor General Rich- ards Relative to Decision CONSTITUTION OF ITSELF Did Not Apply to the New Possessions, He says-Porto Rico and the
 Philippines are Domestic
 Territory.
CONSTITUTION OF ITSELF

Washington, May 27.-Solicitor General Richards, who had charge of the insular cases before the Supreme Court, tonight made the following statement containing his interpretation of the decisions of the court today:
 ''The important question involved in these cases was whether the sessions of territory contained in the treaty of Paris made Porto Rico and the Philippines an integral part of the United States within the meaning of that provision of the con- stitution requiring all duties, imposts and excises to be uniform throughout the United States The court held that the cession simply made Porto Rico and the Philippines domestic territory of the United States, subject to the full control of Congress, which control could be exer- cised without reference to those limita- tions. This limitation, the court held, was intended to apply to the states of the Union, and does not apply to the acquired territory, unless the treaty and by subse- quent act of Congress- 1t is incorporated within and becomes an integral part of the United States. The decisions are
  ment They sustain to the fullest extent the so-called insular policy of the admin istration.
 "The government has now the sanction of the Supreme Court for governing those islands as their needs require. The court holds that the constitution did not of it's own force at once apply to those ceded territories. placing their people, their products and their ports on an immediate equality with ours and conferring upon them all the rights, privileges and im- munities enjoyed by the people, products and ports of the several states. While their fundamental rights are preserved by those underlying principles of the con- stitution which apply everywhere the status of their citizens and the nature of the customs and commercial regulations are to be determined by Congress. Ob- viously what I have said regarding Por- to Rico applies equally well to the Phil ippines so that the President is perfectly free under the Spooner act to govern the Philippines as their needs and their in terests may require.
 "At the same time the court has sus- tained to the fullest extent the conten- tion of the government in these cases; deciding as a matter of statutory con struction that the Dingley act could not be held to impose duties on goods brought from Porto Rico because by cession Porto Rico became domestic territory of the United States, and therefore refused to be foreign country" The decisions of the court call for no change in the ad- ministration of the law. The court did not decide what Is known as the second Dooley case which involved the validity oi the collection of duties under the ForakeI act on goods taken into Porto Rico from the United States. While have informa- titon on the subject, 1t may be that the court thinks there is involved in the case another question as to whether such duties would not amount to duties on ar ticles exported from a State. The court also failed to dispose of what Is popular ly known as the fourteen diamond rings case involving the entry free of duty of rings brought into the United States by a returning soldier from the Philippines. There were no decisions affecting the Philippines today. and I presume both of these cases will go over until the fall term of the court"