Evening star., 1902-02-14
Representative Corliss Speaks
Upon His Bill Today.
CONGRESS HAS POWER
IT ALONE CAN GRANT PERMIS.
SION TO CONSTRUCT LINES.
Action of President Grant and Others
Referred to-History Of Com
mercial Company.

Representative CorIiss of Michigan. who Is
the author Of the bill which provides for
the laying of a government cable from san
Francisco to Manila, made his initial pre-
sentation Of the case to the House yesterday
during the debate on the appropriation bill.
Mr.. Corliss, who is bitterly opposed to the
construction Of cable by private COM
panies, has mapped out a rather original
campaign in offering his side Of the argu-
ment. He has divided the different aspects
of the situation into six chapters, to be ar
gued upon from day to day, in the battle
he will wage against Congress yielding any
concessions to cable monopolies, notably
the Commercial Cable Company controlled
by the Mackay-Bennett forces. In his
speech today he spoke of the peoples rights
to lay. land and regulate cables, and the
power of the President in the premises.
He also pictured the legal phases Of the
matter, supporting his statements with a
number Of precedents and decisions, and
dwelt emphatically on the importance or
the United States operating it's own cable
lines.
The Right to Construct Cable.
''The right to construct cable lines" be-
gan Mr.. Corliss, "is a public utility or
franchise held by the people. It's control
is an inherent right Of the nation. No one
has a right to lay a cable without per-
mission Of Congress. There is no law in
existence under which cable lines may be
laid
The special acts under which Congress
authorized private companies to lay cable
were then enumerated, and Mr.. COrliss
said that while thees acts conferred priv1-
leges on the companies named, they con-
l-:~ vol ot,nr TOW
upon the subject, and the scope of such
legislation had been positively determined
by the Department of Justice, which held
that the permission afforded by Congress
applied only to interior lines OF telegraph
with points of communication within the
United States and not to ocean cables. Such
procedure. Mr.. Corliss explained. was not
confined to the rulings Of the Department
of Justice. as Congress In the joint resolu-
ton annexing Hawaii expressly reserved to
itself the right to control the public do
main.
Congress has assumed the right to con-
troll the construction and operation of cable
lines in Alaska, and has authorized the
Secretary of War to establish commercial
business over such lines. 1t Is important to
note that in this act 1t was expressly pro-
vided," explained Mr.. Corliss. that no tele-
graph or cable lines owned or operated or
controlled by persons not citizens Of the
United States, or by any foreign corpora
tion or government. shall be established in
permitted to enter Alaska.
"Is it not far more important" demanded
Mr.. Corliss, "for the maintenance OF peace
and the welfare of our people to- control
cable communication with Hawaii. the Phil
ippnes and other islands in the Pacific?
The right to lay ocean cables and control
and operated is held exclusively by Con-
gress. The executive is not, In my judg-
mont, authorized by the Constitution or
laws to permit the establishment Of cable
HyaS toh1 chaH Nv I,o
acts of our Presidents justify my posi-
ton"
Conditions Established by Grant.
Mr.. Corliss then described the conditions
established by President Grant under which
cable lines had been laid, but never with
the direct authority of any President. In
order to prevent the establishment of an
offensive cable monopoly President Grant
threatened to employ the army and navy to
resist the landing of French cable in 1869
compelling the company to agree to certain
conditions for the protection of the United
States and it's people before they were per
mitted to proceed HE did not assume the
power to grant permission to lay the cable .
remarked Mr.. Corliss ''but submitted a
communication to Congress for their con-
sideration, communication fully covering
the matter"
In the opinion Of Mr. Corliss this demon
strated the absolute power of Congress to
control the laying Of cables, and he quoted
from an opinion Of W. Q. Gresham, who,
State. expressly held that the President had
no authority to grant permission for the
laying of cables without authority Of Con-
gress. This position was in full accord
with the opinion of his predecessors. Ham
ilton Fisk and James G. Blaine, and was
also sustained by Mr.. Olney when Attorney
General
In the case of the United States against
the French Cable Company Judge Lacombe
decided that without the consent of the
general government no one, alien or native.
had any right to establish q physical con-
nectton between the shores Of this country
and that of foreign nation
Defendant in This Case.
ut is important to know declared Mr..
Corliss. that the defendant in this case
was one Of the allied companies controlled
by the Commercial Gable Company, now
seeking to again steal upon our shores with
a cable for the purpose of establishing a
foreign cable monopoly, and I desire to
call attention to the language Of the court,
in which he says: But even II the defend
ants are correct In the contention that the
executive has nothing to do with the mat
ter. 1t Is certainly indisputable that Con-
gress has absolute authority over the SUBJ
ject.' 1t Is therefore clear, first that the
court did not hold that the executive had
authority. but that the defendant, the
Mackay company, now seeking to surrepti-
tiously usurp an important public fran
chise in the Pacific. did contend that the
executive had no authority over such mat
ters.
I'm August 1901. John W. Mackay sent
cable from London to the Secretary Of
State, in which he stated: i wish to Law
ana operate submarine cable or cables from
California to the Philippine Islands by way
OF the Hawaiian Islands by means of an
American corporation. to be organized here
after 1 respectfully write to ascertain the
conditions upon which such cable NAV he
landed at the various points under the ju-
risdiction and control of the United States
The same conditions that have been
prescribed by the United States In connec-
ton with the landing OF Atlantic cables
owned by domestic corporations will be sat
sfactory to me In connection with this pro-
posed enterprise