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Show jcCiSiON FlilL ID JiEEPIG Prohibition Constitutional, Law and Enforcement Power Granted. ELEVEN CONCLUSIONS COVER THE GROUND Congress on ths Several States Cannot Defeat or Thwart Prohibition. WASHINGTON. June 7, (Uy tho Associated Press.) The prohibition amendment and the enforcement act wor6 hold constitutional by tho supreme su-preme court today in a unanimous decision. de-cision. While atComoya for tho Intorosts attacking at-tacking the two measures were granted grant-ed permission to llle motions ror ru-1 hoarings, tho decision was regarded j generally as striking a death blow to the hopes of the wets. I The court's opinion, rendered by Justice Van Dovanter, was sweeping. It hold that tho arnondment not only I caino within tho amending powers' 1 conferred by the federal constitution, but was lawfully proposed and now was law. While recognizing songress! has limitations as to tho enforscmcntj of laws regarding boverag'cs, the oourtl 1 held those IlmlLa were- not transcended ill tho chacimOnl of tho enforcement , act restricting alcoholic content of intoxicants in-toxicants 10 naif of one per cent. While New i'ork, Now Jersey and Wisconsin acts permitting manufacture manufac-ture and sale of- beverages of more ihun one-half per cent alcoholic content con-tent wei'o not directly involved, the decision was interpreted as invalidating invalidat-ing them. The court said tho first section sec-tion of the amendment of Its own force "invalidated any legislative act whether by congress, by a stn,to legislature, legis-lature, or by a territorial assembly which authorizes or sanctions what tho section prohibits." Concurrent power granted by the amendment to federal and state governments gov-ernments to enforce prohibition, the court turther hold, "noes not enable congress or the several states to defeat de-feat or thwart prohibition, but only to onorco it by appropriate means.- Klofoii Conclusions of Court. J Tho decision was sot forth in eleven! conclusions covering scvon proceedings. proceed-ings. These proceedings included original suits brought by Rhode Island, Isl-and, directly attacking tho constltu-tlonallty constltu-tlonallty of (he amendment. Conclusions of tho co'jrt follow- "I. The adoption by both houses of congress, each by a two-thirds vote, of a Joint rob'olullon proposing an amendment to tno constitution snfri-olently snfri-olently shows thai tho proposal was doomed necessary by all who voted for It. An express declaration that they regarded It as necessary if not essential. es-sential. Nono of the resolutions whereby prior amendments were proposed pro-posed contained such a declaration. , '"1. Tho two thirds vote 111 each I houso which ia required in proposing.1 an amendment Is a vote of two-thirds ( the presence uf a quorum and hot a. volo of tWo-thirds of thc.entire mem-I mem-I bership present and absent.' .Missouri Pacific Railway company vs, Kansas, 24S U. S. 270. ! Referendum JWovislons. -3. The referendum provisions of state constitutions and statutes cannot be applied oohHistouily .with thd con-Stitunon con-Stitunon of tho United Slates, In tho ratiricittloii or rejection or amendments amend-ments to it. llawko vs. Smith U. S. decided JUno 1, JU2U. "4. The prohibition of the manufacture, manu-facture, sale, transportation, Importation Importa-tion and exportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes, as embodied em-bodied in tho eighteenth amendment, is within tho powor to amend reserved by article V of the constitution. "C. That amendment by lawful proposal and ratification has becomo a part of the constitution, ahd must be respected and given tho effect tho same as other provisions of that instrument, in-strument, Binds All Bodies. "6. The tirst section of the amendment amend-ment the one am bodying prohibition is operative throughout the entire territorial limits of tho United States, binds all legislative bodies, courts, public officers and Individuals within those limits, and of its own force invalidates in-validates any legislative act whether by congress, by it stato legislature or by a territorial assembly, which authorizes au-thorizes or sanctions what tho section prohibits. "7. Tho second section of tho amendment the ono declaring 'the congress and tho several states shall have ronrurrent power to enforro this article by appropriate legislation,' does not enable congress or tho several sev-eral suites to defeat or thwart the prohibition, but only to enforce It by appropriate means. "S. The words 'concurrent power' in that section do not mean Joint power pow-er or require that legislation thereunder thereun-der by congress to be effective shall bo approved or sanctioned by the several sev-eral states or anj of them; nor do they moan that th power 'to enforce Is divided between congress and the several sev-eral states along tho lines which sep-areate sep-areate or distinguish foreign and interstate in-terstate commcrco from intrastate affairs. af-fairs. "'J. The power confided to congress by that Section, whilo not exclusive, is torrlloriully co-extenslve with the prohibition pro-hibition of tho first section, embraces I manufacture and other intrastate transactions as well us Importation, exportation and Interstate traffic, and Is in notvlsc depended on or affected by action or inaction on the part of the several states or any of thorn. V10. That powor may be exerted against tho disposal for beverage purposes pur-poses of liquor manufactured booro tho arnondment became effective, Just as It may be against subsequent manufacture man-ufacture for those purposes. In either caso it is a constitutional mandate or prohibition that is being enforced. "11. While rccpgnlzing that thero arc limits beyond which congress cannot can-not go in treating bevorages as within Its power of enforcement, wo think those limits are not transcended by the provision of tho Volstead act wherein liquors containing as much mi one-half of ono percent of alcohol by 'niiiif and fit for uso for beverage purposes are treated as within that powor. Jacob Rupport vs. Caffey, UGl U. S. 2G-1." |