Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1921-11-11

Even great governments of the
world do not understand thoroughly
Where the authority OF the United
States ends and the authority of the
individual states begin. In 1882, or
Whereabouts. some public officials in
the city of New Orleans were killed.
by assassins, several OF whom later
were shot and killed by an aroused
populace. The Italian government in
stantly made representations TO the
United States in the matter of repara-
lions, because some of the men killed
in retaliation for their alleged acts
We're Italian subjects.
How italy Was Appeased.
1t seemed TO be an impossibility
for the United States government TO
make the Italian government under
stand that the affair was d state and
not federal matter The Italian gov
ernment said This thing happened
in the United States and therefore
the United States government is re-
sponsible' Virtually the only answer
that could be made was, The affair
happened in Louisiana and Louisiana
in such matters is a sovereign state"
OF course Italy could not proceed
against Louisiana and so Uncle Sam
took the matter over and, without
smashing the Constitution, or invading
states rights, or making final admis-
sion that nothing could be done, took
some money out of contingent fund
which happened to be in existence and
paid it over to the widows and CHI
dren of the Italian subjects who had
1een killed in the Crescent City fra
cas-. This satisfied the Italian gov
eminent, out it did nothing to change
the situation in the United States as
between the government and the states,
conditions which remain just where
they were.
There has been a gradual develop
ment Of the practice of throwing
bombs and of sending Internal ma
chimes through the mail, or by express,
to men marked for death. Prior TO the
year 1870 little or nothing was known
of such deeds in the United States.
In Europe bombs had been thrown on
occasion and sometimes they hit their
mark
Claims Court Needs Relief.
The great war has brought an
added amount of business to many
of the United States courts, but the
tribunal which fairly must stagger
under the weight of accommodating
work is the United States court of
claims which sits in the city of Wash
| ington.
! Comparatively little ever is written
about the court of claims, and yet
under its jurisdiction come many of
the most interesting suits at law
which the courts of the country know.
/ 1t is understood that even today the
court of claims has cases before It
which have grown out of the Revolu-
tionary war and Of the early Indian
wars in which the United States was
engaged
1t was only recently that under a
( blanket act of congress the last French
spoliation claims were settled. These
grew out of losses to American mer-
chants engaged in sea trade during
the time of the troubles with France
in the closing days of the Eighteenth
century.
The great war is responsible for
the accumulation of many cases be-
fore the United States court Of
claims. ANY citizen of the United
States who thinks that he suffered a
loss for which the government was
responsible is at liberty to enter a
suit in this court. even if the amount
of loss was trivial. The court, in
fact, can take up cases in which the
loss runs anywhere from one cent to
a billion dollars, although it is not
presumable that what might be called
nickel or 50-cent cases ever will trou-
BILE the iurists.
! To-day there Is one case before the
court in which evidence is being taken
which involves claim for damages
amounting TO $125,000.000 This case
has TO do with certain losses supposed
to have been sustained by reason Of
some trouble iii which submarines and
! torpedoes played a part.
Plan to Expedite Its Cases.
Today before congress there is a
bill In the form of an amendment to
the law governing the operation of
/ the court Of claims, which is intend-
ed to expedite the business of the
tribunal. The jurists desire that they
shall be given authority to appoint
( examiners who may go into the merits
( Of a good many Of the cases in adj
vance of the court proceedings. To-
I day this is the right of all the federal
courts except this particular one. and
vet this court, 1t is said, needs the
authority more than any other The
I bill has passed the senate, but il is
now hung up in the committee on iu-
dietary Of the house Of representa-
tives. Lawyers say that its passage
will save the people money and the
court much time. Court Of claims
cases under present conditions are apt
tc drag through long periods Of time
gn