New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-09-09
NswYoRK DAILY TRIBUNE SUNDAY SEPTEMBER O. 1906

demand FOR extradition must he addressed IN the
first plsre 80 the Secretary Of state. AZ Washing
ton and the national Executive thereupon. aet-
ing by virtue 80 two Congressional measures
bearing date Of lsas and 1850. respectively d.
reefs certain magistrates judges or commission
ers ~ the United States courts 10 take cog
nizance ~ the matter The Judge or commits
sioner thus INSTRUCTED issues warrants OF arrest
tries the accused. ana. finding that the alleged
crime is specified by treaty and that there is
prinna facie evidence 81 guilt that charge
under American laws. commits him 10 the Gus
tody Of the Executive who IN turn surrenders
him 10 the officers % the foreign government
that has demanded his extradition.
There certain important principles that
play preponderant role in the present system
Of extrsdition. One Of these is that no prisoner
who has been surrendered 20 a government
which has demanded his extrsditon may be
tried or punished after his surrender for any
other crime than the one for which he has been
extradted. The object Of this Is. OF course. 10
prevent fugitives surrendered for common law
crimes being punished more severely for polit-
cal offences. Bur the result ~ II Is that man
who hss been extradited on a charge Of forgery
could rot he tried for murder and punished for
that offence. even though that crime dis
covered only subsequent 10 HIS extradltion.
Another equally important principle IS 70 the
effect that extradition should be refused for any
offence that If not regarded crime by the
law Of the land upon which the demand for sur
render is made. Thus. there are certain offences
in the monsrchical states Of Europe that would
not b. considered crimes I'm this country. ana
IN no possibl. way the stipulations Of the
ertra6ition treaties he twisted as 10 enable
the American surrender Of foreigners subjected
are binding upon the Executives in cases Of de-
rnsnds for ertradiion by countries with which no,
TREATIES bearing upon the matter exist and. In
asunuch as Paul Stausland has been surrendered
by the Sultan Of Morocco 10 the United States
as 9 defsuting hank president. he could he tried
in this country only for wrecking the Milwaukee
Avenue State Bank. and not-let say-for at
tempted murder. II he were subsequently dis
covered 10 have rendered himself guilty here Of
that crime Nor does the absence Of the men
ton OF a particular kind Of crime In existing
extradition treaties mean that the national Ex-
ecutive Is debarred by this omission from sur
rendering fugitives guilty thereof 20 foreign
governments IL he sees 1T. and II should he
thoroughly understood that there is nothing In
the letter or spirit ~ the extrsditon treaties
in existence which limits the action Of the gov
ernments concerned 10 the offences enumerated
Before concluding this brief sketch Of the sys-
TEN Of extraditiOn I would add that there are
several European states. notably Russia. Austria
and. I believe. Germany. that decline 70 sur
render their own citizens whose extraoiuon Is
asked by foreign state taking the ground that
20 them primarily belongs the right Of Furnishing
offences committed by their own subjects upon
foreign territory. The United States Great
Britain and France. The other hand adhere 20
the principle that criminal la is territorial and
on this account refrain from calling their sub
jects 10 account for crimes committed abroad.
except I'm instances where their eKtradtion IS
demanded Thus n Russian who robbed muir
dered another Russian, or even an American, in
this country would be punished for his crime by
the MuscOyite tribunals his return home.
whereas. II an American citizen were to commit
a murder I'm Russia. or anywhere fin Europe. he
could not he punished by any American court
for the offence. and would only be arrested on
This side Of the Atlantic I'm connection Herewith
II his extradition were applied for by the cOun-
try i'm which he had perpetrated the crime. The
only exceptions which the United States and
Great Britain make I'm this respect when
crimes are committed by their subjects on the
high seas in semi-civilized barbarous
countries where they enjoy extraterritorial