Harlan F. Stone

“ But if in the light of such an examination it is found that the rule adopted by the local tribunal is an intelligible one, not shown to be out of harmony with local law or practice, it is not to be rejected because we think a better could have been devised or because we find it out of harmony with our own traditional system of law and statutory construction. ”

“ No provision is made for bringing such employees within the Puerto Rican Civil Service Act, Act No. 88 of 1931, adopted four days before the adoption of Act No. 99.
The Puerto Rican Supreme Court refused to hold that the provision that the City Manager 'shall hold office during good conduct' so conclusively established that he was to hold office for life as to preclude resort to extrinsic evidence of legislative intention. ”

“ And a tenure for a period of years during good behavior has not been regarded as a contradiction in terms by American courts. [10] In Shurtleff v. United States, 189 U.S. 311, 316, 23 S.Ct. 535, 47 L.Ed. 828, this Court recognized and applied the strong presumption against the creation of a life tenure in a public office under the federal government. To hold that the City Manager was appointed for life would, according to the terms of § 39, give to all employees appointed by him a tenure for his life. ”

“ Construing the applicable statutes of Puerto Rico in the light of the practical construction given to them by public officials and political parties of the island, and other matters of which it took judicial notice, the insular court came to the conclusion that 'the tenure of office of the City Manager * * * is that of four years, provided that during the same he observe good behavior'. On appeal from this judgment the Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, 1 Cir., 136 F.2d 419. ”

“ But to one brought up within it, varying emphasis, tacit assumptions, unwritten practices, a thousand influences gained only from life, may give to the different parts wholly new values that logic and grammer never could have gotten from the books. ”

“ We cannot say that these holdings were so clearly wrong as to require a federal appellate court to refuse to pay deference to the insular court's decision.
While a provision that an office be held 'during good behavior' is generally deemed indicative of an intention to create a life tenure unless cause for removal arises, see Matter of Hennen, 13 Pet. ”

“ An admissible construction would be that the Board of Commissioners appointed by the Governor to serve until January, 1937 was regarded as a single body with a five year term, despite the annual changes in its membership, and hence the City Manager, whose term of office was that of the body appointing him, also had a tenure of some six and one-half years. At least this conforms to what in fact occurred.↑ State courts have held that a provision for tenure 'during good behavior' does not preclude the termination of the tenure by good faith abolition of the office, Shira v. ”