394 BURR— THE TREATY-MAKING POWER [April 20, 



the Italian suitors in the Federal court were finally denied relief 

 against the municipality which had suffered the mob violence,^^^ the 

 reason was that neither the treaty nor any Federal statute existed 

 to create liability. Had such statute or treaty provision existed, the 

 decision must have been otherwise. 



The United States has by certain provisions of the Revised 

 Statutes created it a crime against the United States to combine to 

 hinder the execution of any lazv of the United States or to deprive 

 any citizen of any right secured by the Constitution or lazes of the 

 United States. In Baldwin z's. Franks,''-"' despite the strong dissent 

 of Mr. Justice Field and Mr. Justice Harlan, we have seen that these 

 statutes were held not to apply to violations of treaty provisions 

 nor to protect aliens. As things now are, therefore, treaties are 

 made in a form which puts it beyond the power of the Federal 

 executive to enforce the rights guaranteed thereunder without an 

 amendment to existing statutes, and our diplomatic representatives 

 are left to explain matters as they best can. The remedy is simple. 

 Let Sections 5336, 5508, 5509, 5519 of the Revised Statutes be 

 amended to include the words " treaties of the United States " as 

 well as the words " laws of the United States," and to extend their 

 protection to aliens as well as to citizens. ^^" Then let the bill intro- 

 duced in the Senate on March i, 1892, and reported with approval 

 on March 30, 1892. be enacted into law,^^^ and there will end the 

 grave danger and national disgrace which springs from guaranteeing 

 treaty rights, the power to enforce which is not provided. 



It is of course clear that the passage of statutes applicable to 

 all treaties would best subserve the national and international inter- 

 ests involved. There is no constitutional reason, however, why a 

 treaty should not, in itself, provide for the enforcement of the 

 rights it guarantees. The third article of the treaty with Italy has 

 been quoted above. The Italian government having in mind the 

 New Orleans and Tallulah occurrences, might well say to the United 

 States : You have advised us that as matters now are under Aour 



*" New Orleans vs. Abagnatto, 62 Federal, 240 (1894). 

 "^^ Supra, pp. 218-220. 

 ^'' See note IQ. 

 ^^ See note 20. 



