The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-06-24
THE INSULAR CASES.


cided the Insular cases, it would seem
to be up to someone to decide the
Supreme Courts decision. Dooley in
his inimitable pleasantly has shown
the Singular cross divisions of the
court by which the result was reach
ed" but the Literary Digest has shown
in a scarcely less striking way, but
without any suggestion of pleasantly,
the same thing. 1t says:
amid the discussion, somewhat con-
fused, of the different lines of reason
ing by which the various justices of the
Supreme Court reached their conclu-
sions in the insular cases, one fact
stands out clear to all, namely. that
the court has decided that the tariff
clause of the federal Constitution does
not cover Porto Rico. Most of the
newspapers infer from this that the
Constitution does not cover new terri
tory until Congress extends the Con-
stitutiOn over it. So the decision, while
it seems to deny to the people of new
territory any constitutional right to
participation in our general govern
ment and to enjoy free access to our
markets, on the other hand is thought
to safeguard the people of the States
from being ruled, in part, by the bal
| lots of distant and semi-civiliZed peo-
pies, and from their unrestricted labor
competitions The court says of the
/ inhabitants Of the islands, however.
that even if regarded as aliens, they
are entitled under the principles of
the Constitution, to be protected in
life, liberty and property.
The Literary Digest then gives quo
tations from newspapers of various
sections of the country on the subject
! The quotations from the New York
papers probably give as clear an idea
of the confusion of apprehension and
opinion of the decision as any. They
are as follows;
In New York City The Tribune
! (Rep) declares that the court has won
victory for the nation, and says that
the talk of the courts critics about
recent degeneracy of the court is not
creditable to their own intelligence.
| The Sun (Rep) says that we should
rejoice in the wisdom of the Supreme
Court no less than in the triumph of
our arms in war;, and The Times Und.N
thinks that the court sustained the
position taken by the great majority
of the American people, that this is a
| Government of sovereign powers
| clothed with all the attributes of SOW
ereignty.' The country can take a
long breath and think of what it es-
capped remarks The Journal of Com
merce (FinO, and The Press az,
] .s.,4s
fervent thanksgiving The Evening
Post Qnd) believes that the power con-
ferred upon Congress by the decision
| includes power to set up Independent
governments in our new lands, and it
remarks that that is a judicial plat
form good enough for the advocates of
! Philippine independence to stand up
on The Herald Qnd) declares, how
ever, that the more the majority de-
cision in the leading insular case, with
the ambiguous and conflicting opinions
of it's supporters, is examined, the more
| absurd and mischievous it appears
and it expresses the opinion that it will
! some day be reversed. The Journal
! lays emphasis on the fact that the
supreme power over subject territory
| is Given to Congress, not to the Presi-
dent, and this, it believes, makes it
certain that every step of our progress
will be taken i'm an orderly, lawful way,
with the consent of the representatives
of the people and not by arbitrary exc
cutive DEGREES issued by a President
! assuming the powers of a dictator The
Buffalo Express Gnd. Rep) says on
this point There is far less peril in
the principle of the right of Congress
to exercise imperial power over de-
pendent territory than in the right of
the President so to do. But there is,
at the same time, far less efficiency in
it. A body more unsuited to such a
task than the Congress of the United
States hardly could be devised, and un-
less it should develop that Congress
has the right and is willing to delegate
this power to the President absolutely,
as has been attempted by the Spooner
Philippine act, it will be found that
Congress must in self-protection either
permit these territories to govern them
selves or admit them as States.