Show THAT FAMOUS LIQUOR DECISION THE decision ftc the supreme court of the united states rendered april 28 invalidating the law of the state of iowa which provided for the confiscation of intoxicating liquors exposed for sale contrary to its provisions has occasioned a great amount of discussion all over the country it has been both commended and condemned by layers lawyers and newspapers and is generally regarded as a staggering if rot cot fatal blow to prohibition unless congress shall come to the rescue of with appropriate legislation one of the most strongly written criticisms of it which have appeared in the american press is an article by T E willson which was given in the new york world of may ath that any writer should find in any decision of the supreme tribunal of the union ground for such denunciation of the action of that august body as is uttered by mr willson is a matter ot profound regret and of the deepest concern to every citizen of every state the world precedes the article with the following headlines set in display type AH IMPERIAL DECREE TUB STATES CONTROL OP OF TRA B RR BB TO ITS OWN PRODUCTS CROSSES A STATE LINE LIMB is 18 UNDER CONTROL OF CONGRESS all state laws regulating the sale of dis die eased meat adulterated food poisons explosives liquors obscene books and everything brought into one state from another declared void by the supreme oburt 11 the article in full is here appended it bears date of washington D C may ath the decision of the supreme court of the united states in the ease case of lersey fc co vs J A harding city marshal of keokuk la ia who seized seize certain kegs of liquor imported bv lersey fc co from another state stale and exposed by them for sale in keokuk in violation of the state law forbidding the sale of liquor is one which fifty years ago would have convulsed the country both political parties would have ignited united then in in wiping aut out a court so evidently in open rebellion against the union today it la is difficult to get any one even to listen for two minutes to a mere statement of the case much more a thousand times more important than the dred scott decision patriotism is absolutely dead only here and there can be found a man who cares whether he lives under a despotism or a democracy ain in effect the decision of the supreme court of the united states is that the state law of iowa and all laws made by any state regulating the sale within its boundaries of any thing brought into it from another state is unconstitutional and void all control and regulation af such imported products within a state being exclusively clu within the of the united states the court generously leaves to each state the right to regulate the sale of its domestic pro due a and of imported products from other states after they have been so broken up and disturbed that they are no longer distinguishable in the general maw mass tho the state law of iowa is divided into parts and this decision is also divided into two parts the alist part of the state law prohibits the importation into the state of certain manufactures which the first part of the decision declares the state of iowa has nd no right to do it cannot pass any law limiting or confining the absolute free trade ordained by the constitution between the states or any act affecting in any way any goods or bade which may be outside its boundary boun daiy lines this inhibition has never been assailed by the most ardent advocate of state rights there was no objection to it in the constitutional convention it was a part of the articles of confederation it has often been explained ear expounded bounded and upheld by the court of the united states from the adoption of the constitution to the present present time there is no one who would attempt at this day to conW controvert vert it and no state court would permit a state law to be enforced in violation of it our federal union of states is based upon an absolute and unqualified un taxed free trade within the boundaries of the united states such as exists within one country or state which cannot be regulated limited or restrained in any way by congress or by the states any state law forbidding a citizen to import a certain thing is a limitation of the right which btuch the state may not attempt the bring bringing it to the boundary boundary line the actual actual crossing of the badary boundary line is not in itself an act which the state may puni sli but after the thing gets across the boundary line the state is sovereign the power is not taken from the state by the constitution to be lodged in congress the perpetual unlimited and free trade between the states can no more be interfered with or regulated by the united states than it can be by a state the free trade of the constitution is as binding upon the one as upon the other it is not at the pleasure or will of either the state is not forbidden because congress may but bat because if there be a because the congress is forbidden to meddle with trade between the states as well as within the state I 1 IA A score of decisions of the su supreme oreme court running back to 1810 uphold the present judges in declaring that so much of the iowa state slate law as forbids the importation of any foreign products is unconstitutional but there I 1 is not one line to justify their reason for it that the congress has control of the question and that the congress may set up a tariff and free list int of goods to be I 1 imported 0 led from one state into another TIT their 1 reason however need not be debated here so much of the decision is sound however fa faulty i alty the logic may be but and here to is the point which marks the new doctrine of the supreme court the second part of the law law and the second part of this decision affect the right of the state to regulate the action of its domestic trade inside inide in ide its boundaries the state law of iowa forbade the exposure of liquor for public sale the supreme court of the united states wipes this law off the iowa statute books the state not only may not forbid the importation por tation the court declares but it may not forbid or even interfere with or regulate the sale of imported articles so 90 long as they remain in the original packages or the possession of f the importer it has no authority or control over the buyer the seller or the goods the right to regulate domestic trade is ia expressly reserved in the constitution to each state of the union it rt is one of the rho most important of their reserved rights there is not a word a hint in any of the expressly delegated powers of congress that can by the widest wiclest stretch of fancy be made to grant frant to lo congress a right aright to interfere in any way with the absolute control by each state of all internal state trade or of every kind or with the right of each state to dictate what shall be sold or what shall not be sold within its boundaries and by its citizens when the supreme court declares as it does declare in this case that con gress and not the state has the right to decide what shall be sold and what shall not be sold within the limit of each state it is revolution it is a revolution that can only be met by force and it is the duty of every patriotic american to arm himself to provide himself with powder ana and ball and to organize for armed resistance to any attempt to carry arry out this deck deci ion blon whether in his own state or in any other state there can be no appeal to the bal lot box though every citizen in the united states should vote against this decision their ballots would not disturb it it cannot be repealed or changed or amended six ty millions of people are re help helplessly lely in the grip of these six infallible caesars caesara Cae sars who can do no wrong there is no legal remedy for this monstrous betrayal of a foolish trus force is alone left the force of arms to overthrow this treason and rebellion of these six men against their sovereign the people I 1 there can be no appeal to congress these six caesara caesars are the masters of congress of the president of all other courts they may wipe any enactment they wish from the statute book they may interpret or change those that remain to suit themselves they are the LAW it is the law which has seized the sovereign by the throat it is the law which has committed treason and which is now in in open rebellion agai against fist the union the only appeal from the law is to the bullet mark what the decision means it is not a question cheth r liquor 1 shall be sold in iowa or in any other state of the union it is not even a question of the invasion of the rights of the states it passes in importance behind all these it is the last fast time the people of the united states will ever have an opportunity to ask themselves if the constitution shall be preserved and whether this government shall be converted into an absolute despotism governed by the president and congress accod ding to the arbitrary win will of the six caesara caesars of the supreme court the state of new york cannot forbid the importation but it can and doi docs s forbid the sale ale s within her boundaries of obscene books or pictures the six caesara caesars of f the supreme court declare that if these books are imported from Connecticut New jersey or pennsylvania their sale shall not be interfered with by the state of new york and they promise to protect the person to jorhom whom rhom the obscene books are consigned or who offers them for sale from any molestation by any state court so long as they remain in the 0 original ve n al binding and until they are absorbed or d by traffic in the general merchandise of the state the state of new york cannot fol foi bid the importation of lottery and policy tickets but it can and does forbid their sale within her boundaries the six BIX caesara caesars of the supreme C urt have bave served a notice on the legislature and courts of new york and upon all peace officers that hereafter lottery tickets imported from louisiana or policy slips imported from hoboken may lawfully be exposed for sale in their heir original shape anywhere and at any time sundays or any days and that hat any interference with the meither with the sale or the sellers or the buyers erst will bring upon this state the mailed hand of military government go which thirteen have felt the state of new york cannot forbid the importation of 1 quoos but it can and does regulate the sale permit ting olly v persons duly licensed to sell it and forbidding its sale by them on S sundays or between I 1 am and 5 am on week days or to minors the six caesaro caesars of the supreme court lotif notify the people of the state of now new york that they have no right to require dire a license for the L ale lale of imported liquor that they cannot limit its sale to any particular days or times or to persons of any particular age and that each saloon in the city of new york may keep open the same on sundays as on any other day and may keep open all night without license provided it sens sells in the original package or bottle imports fro from n J jersey I 1 or city it warns the police captain pt jai ew york who arrest only when they affie cannot blackmail that if they attempt to blackmail the unlicensed sunday seller to children of imported liquor they will land in auburn prison As the sunday law is only kept on the statute books to provide blackmail black mail and blood money for these official Blu eskins and criminal protectors this may be a good thing so far as new york city is concerned but it out cuts I 1 deeper and wider it absolutely d destroys destroy the license system it make rum free when imported it exempts its sale from license when imported it forbids any court to interfere with its sale when imported it forbids the legislature to regulate its sale in any way when imported the limitation to imports and to the original a package is flimsy subterfuge all liquor sold will hereafter be from another state and sold only in the original package for to cart it out of the state and bring it back will cost less than a license what liquor is made here will not even have to be traded for that made in other states to make it imported T the state of new york cannot forbid the importation but it can and does forbid the sale within her boundaries of diseased meat impure milk and unhealthy food products the six camara of the supreme court promise to protect with the army and navy if necessary all persons engaged in violating these laws it if one hundred cans of swill milk is sent into new york city from new jersey and the board of health attempts to interfere with its sale to the dealers while it remains in the original cans or before it becomes absorbed into the general trade the members of the board shall be fined and imprisoned the state of new york cannot forbid the importation but it can and e the sale within her boundaries of a thousand things of nearly everything from poisons and ex ves to peanuts and excelsior the six caesara of the supreme court wipe e out this control and regulation 71 and declare that all licenses of every kind are unnecessary when on t the e thing sold is imported an and in its original package whatever that may be so long as the obscene book is i in its original covers the diseased m meat t in its original carcass the impure milk in the original can the po poison i son in the original bottle the dynamite in the original bomb the state of new york cannot forbid the sale nor regulate the sale nor interfere with the seller or the buyer every action by a state court in contravention of this decision is a misdemeanor to be severely punished by these six camara at washington the six camars go further than this they take away this right from the slate sate to regulate their domestic trade and they confer it upon congress they decree that congress may decide what shall and what shall not be imported from one state into another ther they announce that here after the freedom of trade between the people of the different states may be limited to a list of articles prepared by congress but until congress prepares a forbidden list and free list every thing must be considered as on the in ter state free list this is the daring stand of the ultra projectionists protectionists iLs and it simply forces a little in advance of the time lime set fur for the fight they have planned for the future the six caesara caesars notify them in advance that they are with them in protecting the north against the south the east against the west and in extending the advantages of protection to the pluto brats of special states and sections the six cleara notify congress that while they will not permit a duty to be placed upon alabama iron sent into other states for sale it may forbid the importation of that iron from alabama into pennsylvania or any other state slate in the union where it win will interfere with a republican iron master the six camara notify congress that it has their permission to say what products of labor in any one state may be sent into any other states and what may not be sent the six caesara caesars notify congress that they have conferred upon it the same power over the trade between states that it has over foreign commerce with the sole exception that it may not cou couple 13 a fine with permission to import tom from one state into another state as it does with importations from foreign countries instead of a dutiable list and free list as with foreign nations Con congress gross must prepare for each state a forbidden list and a permitted list of articles it may import and export the list to be made up for each state stale so as to best beat prO protect the min mill owners and capitalists of it against the competition of other states the pretense under which the six cakars caesars change the whole character of our government is found in the power conferred |