664 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (ALABAMA.) 



for the present system of republican government 

 a system of domination over distant provinces in 

 the exercise of unrestricted power." 



Mr. Justice Harlan, in his dissenting opinion, 

 said : " It would seem, according to the theories 

 of some, that even if Porto Rico is in and of 

 the United States for many important purposes, 

 it is yet not a part of this country with the privi- 

 lege of protesting against a rule of taxation which 

 Congress is expressly forbidden by the Constitu- 

 tion from adopting as to any part of the United 

 States. In my opinion, Porto Rico became, at 

 least after the ratification of the treaty with 

 Spain, a part of and subject to the jurisdiction 

 of the United States in respect of all its territory 

 and people, and Congress could not thereafter im- 

 pose any duty, impost, or excise with respect to 

 that island and its inhabitants, which departed 

 from the rule of uniformity established by the 

 Constitution." 



Dec. 2, 1901, the court handed down its decision 

 in the case of 14 diamond rings, Pepke, claimant, 

 vs. United States. This case involved the con- 

 stitutionality of the imposition of customs duties 

 upon merchandise brought into the United States 

 from the Philippine Islands after the ratification 

 of the treaty of peace with Spain. Emil J. Pepke 

 was a soldier in a North Dakota regiment, serv- 

 ing in the Philippine Islands. He brought with 

 him from Luzon 14 diamond rings, which he had 

 purchased or acquired subsequent to the ratifica- 

 tion of the treaty of peace. In May, 1900, in 

 Chicago, these rings were seized by a customs 

 officer as having been imported contrary to law 

 and without payment of duties, and the same 

 were declared forfeited. Chief-Justice Fuller de- 

 livered the opinion of the court, holding that the 

 Philippines became domestic territory for tariff 

 purposes by the ratification of the treaty, and 

 therefore the collection of Dingley rates of duty 

 on goods shipped from the island to the United 

 States was unconstitutional. Justices White, 

 Shiras, McKenna, and Gray dissented. The effect 

 of this decision was to give the Philippines the 

 same status that Porto Rico had before the 

 Foraker act was passed. 



On the same date the case of Dooley et al. vs. 

 United States, known as the " second Dooley 

 case," was decided. The court held that duties 

 collected on goods imported into Porto Rico from 

 the United States since the passage of the Foraker 

 act were legal. Justice Brown delivered the opin- 

 ion, and the court was divided on the same lines 

 as in the first Dooley case. 



The result of these decisions is, in effect, that 

 Congress has the right to enact any tariff what- 

 soever between the United States and its Terri- 

 tories and possessions; and that, until Congress 

 has acted, it must be assumed that no tariff bar- 

 riers exist between regions that are under the 

 jurisdiction of the United States. 



Salaried Officers. In Glavey vs. United States, 

 decided May 27, 1901, it was held that when an 

 office with a fixed salary has been created by 

 statute, and a person duly appointed to it has 



aualmed and entered upon the discharge of his 

 uties he is entitled, during his incumbency, to 

 be paid the salary prescribed by statute. Such 

 an appointment is complete when duly made by 

 the President and confirmed by the Senate, and 

 the giving of a bond required by law is a mere 

 ministerial act for the security of the Government, 

 and not a condition precedent to his authority 

 to act in performance of the duties of the office. 



Bankruptcy Law Construed. Dec. 9, 1901, in 

 the case of Wilson Brothers et al. vs. Nelson, 'the 

 court construed the bankruptcy act with regard 



to preferences. Cassius B. Nelson had permitted 

 a creditor to obtain a judgment against him and 

 the levy of an execution upon a note dated thir- 

 teen years before. This was held to be a prefer- 

 ence, and Nelson's failure to vacate or discharge 

 the preference was an act of bankruptcy, though 

 the judgment was entered without the knowledge 

 or consent of the debtor, and he was unable to 

 prevent its enforcement in any other way than 

 by filing his petition in bankruptcy. 



Contracts. The case of Bedford vs. Eastern 

 Building and Loan Association of Syracuse, N. Y., 

 grew out of a sale of stock in the building asso- 

 ciation to Bedford, he being a resident of Tennes- 

 see. Bedford made default in the payment of his 

 note and pleaded the violation of a law of Ten- 

 nessee, passed after the contract, requiring the 

 deposit of funds by building associations doing 

 business in the State. The court held that the 

 loan was a contract which the act of the State 

 Legislature could not impair. The power of a 

 State to impose conditions upon foreign corpora- 

 tions doing business within the State is recog- 

 nized, but it can not be exercised to discharge a 

 citizen of the State from his contract obligations. 

 ALABAMA, a Southern State, admitted to 

 the Union Dec v 14, 1819; area, 52,250 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial cen- 

 sus since admission was 127,901 in 1820; 309,527 

 in 1830; 590,756 in 1840; 771,623 in 1850; 964,201 

 in 1860; 996,992 in 1870; 1,262,505 in 1880; 1,513,- 

 017 in 1890; and 1,828,697 in 1900. Capital, Mont- 

 gomery. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers in 1901 : Governor, William J. Samford, 

 who died June 11, and was succeeded by the 

 president of the Senate, William D. Jelks; Secre- 

 tary of State, Robert P. McDavid; Auditor, G. 

 L. Sowell; Treasurer, J. Craig Smith; Attorney- 

 General, Charles G. Brown; Superintendent of 

 Education, John W. Abercrombie; Commissioner 

 of Agriculture, Robert R. Poole; Adjutant-Gen- 

 eral, W. W. Brandon; Railroad Commissioners, J. 

 V. Smith, W. C. Tunstall, A. E. Caffee; President 

 of the Convict Board, John J. Flowers; State 

 Examiner of Public Accounts, John T. Gorman; 

 Director of the State Department of Archives 

 and History, Thomas M. Owen; Agent for the 

 Sale of Swamp Lands, W. M. Byrd; Chief Mine 

 Inspector, J. de B. Hooper; Chief Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, Thomas N. McClellan; Associate 

 Justices, Jonathan Haralson, John K. Tyson, 

 Henry A. Sharpe, James R. Dowdell ; Clerk, Rob- 

 ert F. Ligon, Jr. All are Democrats. 



The term of the State officers is two years, but 

 when the new Constitution goes into effect it will 

 be four years; and the Legislature, which now 

 meets biennially in November of the even-num- 

 bered years, will meet but once in four years. 

 The session is limited to fifty days. The elections 

 for State officers will take place at the time of 

 the presidential elections. 



Finances. The condition of the State treas- 

 ury was reported Sept. 30, as follows: 



The receipts for the last year were something 

 over $128,000 less than the disbursements, but 

 this was caused by extraordinary expense, that 

 of the Legislature, the constitutional convention, 

 and the university land settlement. The follow- 

 ing statement comprises all receipts and disburse- 

 ments during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1901 : 



Cash on hand at close of Sept. 30, 1900 ... . $629,691 44 

 Receipts from Oct. 1, 1900, to Sept. 30, 1901 2,842,435 64 



$3,472,127 08 

 Disbursements from Oct. 1, 1900, to Sept. 1, 1901 2,970.767 78 



Leaving balance on hand at close Sept. 30, 1901 $501,359 30 



