Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-08-02
Mr.. Edmunds on the Insular Cases.
Springfield Republican.

George F. Edmunds, 1t may be pre-
sumed, is still heard with respect, al
though he has now been out of public
life for number of years. Especially
in constitutional Interpretation was he
regarded as strong by his Republican COL
leagues In the old days In the senate.
Mr.. Edmunds, who might have been a
supreme court Justice himself, in the cur
rent number of the North American Re-
view discusses the recent decisions of the
court in the insular cases, and, while ac-
cepting those decisions with all respect
as the law of the land, he expresses clearly
his own non currence with the cOnclu-
sion reached. His analysis of the opin-
ions of the court need not detain us, but
the ideas which he advances are quite
worthy of consideration.
The Downes decision established the
doctrine that there can be unequal and
variant and irresponsible taxation within
the Jurisdiction of the United States GOV
eminent, and such taxation, says Mr..
Edmunds, sis, perhaps, the most CALLING
and destructive of all forms of tyranny
That the new despotism In this respect
is congressional does not lessen its dan
gers. "a cOnclave of despots has al
most always been found to be worse than
single despot. The French directory
was worse than the king it had slain, and
the commune was worse than Napoleon
III. Was the Declaration of Independ-
ence Of l776 mere phantasm of the
founders of the Republic, putting forth
fantastic fictlons? If so, the people OF
the United States ought, logically, to be
now crown colony of Great Britain,
awaiting, like the Beers, the good pleas
ure of Parliament and the king for such
measure of liberty and justice as their
masters might be pleased to bestow upon
them"
1t is a new idea in this country, al
though Justice Brown dared father it,
that the guarantees of written cOnsti
tuition are not needed by some people,
since they can safely trust themselves
to the benevolence and generosity anc
wisdom of another people, their masters
Mr.. Edmunds will have none of this
bastard imperialist doctrine. With GER
tain whitening sarcasm he says:
doubtless 1t is highly convenient, a:
1t always has been, to rulers having ag
gressive policies, good or bad, to carry
on, that no barriers to their free exercise
exist. Thus the colonial charters before
the Revolution were perverted, suspend
ed or revoked, at the will of weak ant
wicked king, or the passions OF party, OF
selfish motives of trade, as Is reported
the charter of Cape Colony has Just beer
suspended. And thus congress, think
ing itself free from any constitutions
constraint, has thought it fit to enact dis
criminative measures affecting intrinsic
rights and interests Of our citizens ant
the other people of Porto Rico ant
Hawaii, and has imposed conditions upor
the people Of Cuba not limited at In the
solemn, public declaration made by con
gress when the great drama out of which
have grown all our present embarrass
ments opened. And In the Philippines {
government is being Instituted and laws
decreed by the president alone, in his sol'
discretion, under an authority granted
him by congress for that purpose-and
in legal effect, a power to continue il
him until he himself shall consent to sur
render II, or two-thirds of each house
shall take it from him."