The St. Louis Republic., 1901-05-28
BY A VOTE OF FIVE TO FOUR, sU PREME COURT ~.
DECIDES CONGRESS CONTROLS THE COLONIES

nexation citizens Of the United States their chill
dren thereafter horn. whether savages civilized.
sns sre sIsh ana entitled ~ ,G all the rights
status status the SonssSSenSes VIII be extremely serious
sent to tho annexation of territory upon the con-
dtion that its Inhabitants. however foreign they
life shall become at once citizen. OF the United
states In all its treaties hitherto the treaty max
iss 1es, power has made special provision for this sub
,n.r, Graxs Of danger ssl. by
on ss IN ss as
.nsai.d in
fsars. however find no justification in the action
Of British toward n II. ous sI
sx sree the Msea1
fs.q as 70 q
II ss sss os os he
ge.m,,sd se.a e form ndepsnden. seyesnment..
ss aes tSow that in the TIN awstns
personal rights unprotected by the provisions Of
On s sc E.n e %
aliens they are entitled. under the principles OF
the the Constitution to be protected in fe liberty
Large powers must necessarily b. intrurted to
are bound 10 assume tina. they viii be .judieious:
iy exercised That these powers may be abused
powers under In. constitAion a. we'll o as ~ out IT.
side Of 1t. Human wisdom has never devised
be perverted to bad purposes It is never s con ON.
elusive to argue against the possession OF GER
iesislation manifefty dictated by selfish interests
the people Indeed i. is Scarcely @ possse shst q
You'd ia b. n sens e ha
could not the States taxes and
thiIn. within our r internal revenue system including
naa .e snd ana sppsne II 70
tories which have had no experience Of this
Did Not ,Foresee the Future.
Commenting upon the virtual absence Of
pr9ylsion i1 the Constitution for the ae
S i can only be accounted for on the sround
that the Trainers OF that instrument did
s tie. n sss sss ..ys future
Il Il be once conceded that We are at liberty to
The ah.r ss nations hsS
.a1.s to exercise With to ter
gs~.r xsss enns..ss e wa. to ea.rsi.s @s %s..hia
The United States. II was also intended to limit
Of the United state. % Should % thereafter ns aesuPe
such such iimiiations m SHOULD have been expressed In
only to states. except in the territorial clause.
which y absolute in Its terms and suggestive Of
dealing With them 1 The States States could only dele.
10 anG q. Sss mo as 10
new territory. they had none to delegate in that
COnneCtton.
THE LOGICAL INFERENCE FROM THIS IS
THAT IF CONGRESS HAD POWER TO AC-
QCIRE NEW Territory. WHICH IS con-
PERED BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL. PRoViS-
IONS
Case ON Its Merits.
In the last paragraph OF his opinion, before
announcing the Courts opinion. Justice
Brown said:
Patriotic and intelligent men may differ widely
as to the desirableness Of this OF that acQuis-
tion. but this Is solely political question. We
can only consider this aspect OF the case SO far
TO say that construction Of the Consttu-
tion should be adopted which would prevent Con-
gress from considerin9 each case upon Its merits.
unless the language Of the instrument impera-
lively demand II. false step at this time might
be fatal to the development OF what Chief Justice
Marshall called ''the American Empire"
Choice In some cases. the natural Gravitation
Of small bodies toward large ones In others. the
result Of q successfu war In still others. may
bring about conditions which would render the
annexation Of distant possessions desirable. II
those possession: are Inhabited by allen races races,
methods Of taxation and modes Of thought. the
administration Of government and Justice. ac-
cording to Anglo-Saxon principles may for q
time be impossible: and the question at once
arises whether large concessions ought not to be
made for q time. that. ultimately our own theo-
ries may be carried out. and the blessings Of
free government under the Constitution extended
WE DECLINE TO HOLD THAT THERE Is
ANYTHIN0 m THE CONSTITUTION TO FOR
BID SUCH ACTION.