Arizona republican., 1905-04-18
International ExtradItlOns.

The Hobbs extradltion case, deter mined before Judge Kent yesterday. should serve generally to remove much of the prejudice which has grown up in Arizona against Mexico because of the difficulties encountered in extradit- ing criminals found in that country. The great international case just fin ished has emphasized the wisdom of the provisions contained in the extra dition treaties between the United States and foreign countries. and the procedure followed has been practical ly the procedure insisted upon by the Mexican authorities before surrender ing one of their citizens for trial in Arizona.
 In this case. Hobbs. a deputy sher- if of Graham county, was charged by the British government with the crime of murder on the high seas. But. fol- lowing the provisions of the treaty be- tween this country and Great Britain. and the rules formulated by our gov ernment, it was necessary before ex tradition to establish, prima facie. the guilt of the prisoner in accordance with the rules of evidence in force in the United States. Accordingly. Chief Justice Kent. sitting as a United States district judge. went into the merits of the case all most as fully as if the pris- oner had been on trial for a murder committed within this Jurisdiction. That is to say. it was necessary to establish that a homicide had been committed. and that the prisoner did the killing.
 None of this procedure is necessary in extraditions between the states. If Arizona, for example, demands a fugI- tive from Texas, it is merely necessary for the governor of this territory to is- sue his requisition on the governor of Texas and annex to the requisition an exemplifed copy of the indictment, the bench warrant, and the application of the local district attorney setting forth that he is convinced of his ability to convict the fugitive of the crime charged. Thereupon the governor of Texas orders the arrest of the fugitive and his surrender to the agent of this territory for trial here. It is true that extradiiion may be defeated by a sat- isfactory showing that there is a mis- take as to identity. but the governor of Texas would not concern himself with the guilt or innocence of the ac- cused. It is taken for granted that an American citizen is assured of a fair trial in any court of the land.
 But in international cases the situ- ation is entirely different. Govern ments agree among themselves that as a matter of comity they may surrender their own citizens for trial abroad. but the proceedings must be hedged about with the utmost caution. Our authorities must be satisfied not only that the man sought by a foreign pow CT is the person really charged with the crime, but that his guilt is prob able
 While Mexico very rarely calls for the surrender of an American citi- zen, Arizona several times has de- manded the surrender of murderers who have taken refuge in Mexico particularly in Sonora-and the fail ure of our district attorneys and sher- ifs to understand the requirements of the treaty between the United States and Mexico and the procedure there under, has caused much unjust preJu- dice and complaint against the govern ment of Sonora. Invariably. when a criminal of the Mexican race fees from Arizona into Sonora, he claims to be a Mexican citizen when his ex- tradition is sought by the authorities of this territory. More often than otherwise this claim is falsely made, but 1t is natural. perhaps, for the gov erHor and courts of Sonora to give the