The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-02-13
A Crank-Sided Daniel
Has Come to Judgment.

| las OO1AAC ~ JA0SA4lSlAbs
One Alex c. Robins, a lawyer, home
unknown but q contributor to the Cen
trail Law Journal, as testified to by a
| st. Louis dispatch, has been guilty of
| dabbling in questions of constitutional
law which he evidently knows very
little about. At the same time he may
voice the ideas of the eminent corpO-
ration attorney and late secretary of
state, Elihu Root, regarding the treaty
powers of the United States. The
Journal does not say he does voice
| those ideas-Only that he may; for it
is impossible to believe that as intel
ligent man as Root really has such
opinions. But. perhaps, it is rather
worse to think he has expressed them,
without believing them, simply for po-
litical purposes. If he has, why Robins
just voices his purposes.
This Robins declared in his article
that the terms of a treaty prepared by
the president and confirmed by the
senate OF the United States may
override the policies of any state, may
OveFturn all its legislation having ref
erence to aliens" And he is kind
enough to affirm that during the re-
cent anti-Jap excitement in the far
west it was evident that ill-advised
legislators of California and Nevada
are making the nation ridiculous in
the eyes of the world The learned
writer goes on to say that treaty
once confirmed by the senate, although
it may override every law of state.
becomes the highest law of the land
"a veritable Medes and Persians
proposition, with no hope of escape.
1t has not been our misfortune to
read the Robins contribution, but it is
easy to imagine that the gentleman
bit on more than he could chew of
the eud of constitutional interpFeta-
tion. He argued. no doubt. that as
the senate is composed OF members
directly representing the states as
sovereign bodies, two for each state
whether big or little, a majority of
these senators were authorized to
speak for their states and their votes
would be the same thing as state rati-
fication. .,--
If this were true. then the United
States might make a treaty with Tur-
key permitting its citizens to migrate
into the states. Of the Union and con-
tinue their usual practices-establish
harems and live in a condition of
lewdness prohibited by state laws.
They might annul the prohibition laws
of the states which have adopted them
by signing a treaty with Great Britain
permitting its emigrants to land in
this country and conduct bsrrooms
and distilIeries.
This Robins must be a wonderful
student! One would naturally think,
if the president and senate by joint
action could thus annul the laws of
sovereign states, that every law pass
ed by the house with the concurrent
vote of the senate and signed by the
chief executive would override" such
laws even more effectively. Yet the
supreme court of the United States.
whose opinions should command some
sort of respect from even so great
lawyer as Robins. has quite often up
set this calculation. And as that court
is the arbiter of law of this country
sensible people viii most likely coin
eide with its opinions rather than
with those of Rsbins-even if Roots
mind or Roots policy did inspire him
to make a fool Of himself!