| Show THE OPEN DOOR POLICY the open door policy suggested as likely to be the one adopted in the control of the philippine and other islands by the united states has its opponents as indeed has almost every other phase of the expansion question annex annexation atlan being conspicuously included however those who are seeking to place stumbling blocks before the open gateways ays have more reason and therefore present better arguments for their position tion than the antl anti annexation s ts do A prominent opponent of the opan door policy is mr edwin burritt smith of the me oar bar nas has recently issued a pamphlet on the subject and who quotes decisions of the united states supreme court in support of hla his attitude which is in effect that once this country has acquired complete sovereignty over the islands the doors must toe be closed and opened only on terms A quotation from mr smiths pamphlet will be found interesting the moment new territory Is incorporated into the national domain its inhabitants babI tants become citizens of the united states and as such entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states the supreme court has held that the provisions of the constitution relating to trials by jury fr fir mmes ames and to criminal prosecutions apply to the territories of the united states that congress in legislating for the territories and district of columbia is in subject to those fundamental limitations in favor of personal rights which are formulated in the constitution and its amendments and that all citizens of the united states have the right to come to 16 the seat of government to have free access to its seaports and to pass freely from one part of the country to every other part the supreme court has also as late ns as march last held that under the fourte fourteenth fourteen enta tn amendment which provides thit all persons born or naturalized in the united states and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the united states and of the state wherein they reside american born of alien parentage are citizens and free from the provisions of the exclusion treaties and acts also that ann cnn rabat ress has no iio authority to te restrict strict the offset effect of birth declared by the constitution to constitute a sufficient and complete rw to citizenship mr smith further holds that the inhabitants of annexed territory become otti citizen zens fl of the united states and of the several elates without naturalization this ehte rule rile of international law has hafl always been accepted by us without question que etton until this year the ait tempt by to prevent its ift application to hawaii he saye will tall fall to eus eua baan lot it the supreme court roust must hold that congress may acquire territory conditioned that tt it shall not nio t he be subject to the constitution that it may determine whether acquired territory shall be its private possession or the property of the united states in a word trait it may in its discretion assume and exercise arbitrary power that Is ie briefly stated started that our fixed institutions are fixed in some cases but vot in ax ah that they mean one thing under certain circumstances and something else under other circumstances lt it Is dably the case that congress can make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other prcy of the united states for bor the constitution so provides but this is held to be subject to important limitations stations however the subject may be concluded upon the chief object will assuredly be kept in view acquisition must mearl acceptance of responsibility and the wielding of authority in the interest of the natives as well as the welfare of the united states |
