Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-06-29

hundreds of men On police duty who might be
| engaged in productive innustryi Increasing BY
! hundreds Of thousands Of dollars every year
the expenses involved in prosecuting and pun
ishing criminals; eorrupting the moral char
acter Of multit1des who would otherwise De
good citizens: causing directly eight tenths Of
/ the crime committed. and seven-tenths OF the
cases Of hopeless insanity. and nearly all the
/ pauperfsTn that curses the land: changing hlIs
| bands and fathers into hends who are terror
/ 70 those entitled TO their love and protection;
| and more and more threatening to undermine
| and destroy our national and social well-being
4 And whereas. The right 10 protect itself
/ from whatever is fatal or even Injurious TO its
best interests inheres in every organized com
1 munity and ought TO be asserted whenever the
necessity arises.
ton this natural right of self-protection can
i De effectively enforced only through appro-
pirate legislation. Therefore,
/ ResoIted, That we, the citizens Of Chatham
| county ia mass meeting assembled, do most
| heartily endorse the efforts now making
throughout the state Of Georgia to secure the
/ enactment Of such laws as will utterly destroy
/ the traffic IN strong drink.
ResoIred That we do earnestly invoke the
aid Of the women and young men and maidens
| of the State In creating and fostering a public
sentiment that will authoritatively demand
such legislation as viii protect our native land
from the accursed business that Is causing
! poverty and crime and wretchedneSs untold.
Resolved That we pledge ourselves TO co
| operate with the temperance people Of the
State in urging upon the Legislature the pass
age OF q pFOhibitory Law applicable to the
whole State, as a general local option Law, that
| shall give to every county and every incorpo-
rated town the right 10 prohibit the liquor
traffic within its bounds, as may be deemed
best.
Mr.. Lsmotte followed the adoption of
these resolutions in lengthy and we'll
timed address, in which he introduced the
annexed opinions of the Supreme Court of
the United States and the State of Georgia
| o. f1n0n this 3mnartanf guh4pPfs
Supreme Court Of Georgia, August term. 1855.
James P. Perdue. Clerk etc, vs.. William j.
Ellis. Mandamus-from Spaulding.
The petition in this case sets forth thai by
the charter of the city Of Grimm. it is provided
that the Mayor and Council shall have power
to license persons 10 retail and sell, by retail,
spirituoUs LIQUORS in said city, and also to levy
a tax of not exceeding 80 per cent. over the
State tax on all persons. professions and prop
erty within the corporate limits OF said city
subject to taxation by the laws Of the State.
Ordinance passed requiring license fee Of $500
for retailing. Petitioner applied for license and
offered TO pay $50 and tender the usual bond,
which was refused by the Clerk. Petitioner
applied to the Superior Court for mandamus
compelling the Clerk to issue the license, which
was granted by Judge Starke. from which de-
cision respondents in the court below excepted.
Judge Lumpkin, delivering the opinion of
the court, said:
very readily understand upon wha- principle
our brother Starke ordered y pesemptOry
mandamus to Issue commanding IN Clerk of
the Council to grant license upon the pay
ment of fifty dollars II this was the sum
formerly paid, the ordinance requiring it was
repealed and fee of S92 substituted in its
place. The price, therefore, was 500 or moth.
ing The fact that $50 Is the penalty pre-
scribed for retailing without license both By
the State law and the city ordinance, Is no rea-
son. OF course. why the payment of that sum
in advance should entiJle the applicant to a re-
tail license, and upon this ground alone the
plaintiff in error might obtain a reversal OF the
Judgment below.
~ But not to rest the decision Of 50 i'm
portanta question upon such narrow ground.
we will consider the c2se as IL has been dis
cussed. IL is.one undoubtedly of the utmost
magnitude.
The question is one Of potoer and not OF ca
| pedteRcy. The former is for the courts, while
the latter belongs to another and more appro-
pirate forum-t1e ballot bog.
Has the General Assembly OF Georgia the
right, should the public good require it, and
public opinion demand it, to pass a law to re-
strict or even suppress the traffic in spirits
Have they the power to delegate this authority
| to a municipal corporation TO be exercised
within its limits And has this privilege been
conferred on the city If Griffin? These are
the points to be adludicated
BY the constitution Of 11BS 0shS and 1871 1t
| is declared that the General Assembly shall
have power to make all laws and ordinances
which they shall deem necessary and proper
for the good of the state which shall not be re-
Tugnant to the constitution of this State or of
| the United States.
It is not pretended that such an act would
violate any provision of our State constitution.
Would It impair the Constitution OF the United
States, any law made in pursuance thereof, or
any national treaty. Whatever doubts may
have eVisted in eighteen hundred and thirty
| nine or before or since, here or elsewhere.
| upon this subject it is now no longer an open
question.
The license laws OF Massachusetts, Rhode
| Island and New Hampshire were brought be-
Sore the Supreme Court at Washington at its
January term, 1917. They were ably and fully
argued by Mr. Webster, Mr.. Choate and many
OF the leading lawyers OF the Union. and 1t was
unanimously decidedt hat the acts of these sew
| eral States we're not inconsistent with any of
| the provisions OF the Federal Constitution or
statutes of Congress under it. % How. S. C.
Rep, SOD. Six Of the Justices gave separate
opinions each for himself.
Chief Justice Taney says "These laws re-
stricting the domestic traffic, may discourage
imports and diminish the price which ardent
spirits would otherwise bring, still the State is
not bound to abstain from the passage of any
Law Ehich it may deem necessary or advisable
to guard the health or morals OF its citizens
And il any State deems the retail and internal
traffic in ardent spirits Injurious to its citizens
and calculated to produce idleness vice and
debauchery, see nothing in the Constitution
of the United States to prevent it from regu-
lating and restraining the traffic or from
prohibiting it altogether"
Said Mr. Justice Mclean, "In all matters OF
government, and especially of police, wide
discretion is necessary. lt is not susceptible of
any exact Limitation. but must be exercised
under the changing exigencies of society. In
the progress OF population, wealth and civil
cation. new and vicious indulgencies spring up,
which require restraints that can only be i'm
posed by the legislative power. And when
this power is exerted, how far il shall be car
ried and when it shall cease mustsInainly de-
pend upon the evil to be remedied. It is clear
that law Of a State i5 not rendered uncon-
stitutional by an incidental reduction
Of importation, and especially Is
has a salutary tendency on society and is
founded on the highest moral considerations"
Said Mr.. Justice Catron: II admit as inevita-
BILE that If the State has the power OF restraint
by license te qHg ertent. she has the discre
tionarv power TO judge OF the limit. and may
20 to the length OF prohibiting sales altogether,
De her t Ry beore e 9Sur6 nd be
admitted it could mott, so neither could
we interfere in the extreme case of entire
exclusion except % protect imports belong
and the reasons, continued Justice Datron, are
obvious. We have no power to inquire into
abuses. II such there be, inflicted by State
authority upon the inhabitants of the State,
unless such abuses are repugnant to the Con-
stitution laws or treaties OF the United States .
Said Mr.. Justice Woodbury.: From the first
settlement Of this country, and in most other
nations ancient Or modern civilized or savage,
it has been found useful 70 diseountenance
excuses In the use of Intoxicating liquor.
And without entering into the question mere,
whether legislation may act IN this as in other
matters become at times Incorporate, ana
react iniudiciously to the statutory objects
sought TO be promoted, IL is enough TO say,
under the general aspect of it, tina the legis-
latiou here is neither novel nor extraordinary.
nor apparently designed TO promote other OBJ
iects than physical moral and social improve
ment On the contrary, its tendency is clearly
to reduce family expenditure, secure health,
lessen pauperisHl and crime, and cooperate
with rather than eountsract the apparent
policy of the General Government itself Ia
respect TO the disuse of ardent spirits They
aim then, at righb object; they are calcu-
lated to promote It; they are adapted 70 no
other, end no other or sinister or
improper view can, therefore, either with
delicacy or truth, be imputed to those acts.
Finally Mr.. Justica Greer said: ut is not
necessary for the sake Of justifying the State
legislation, NOW under consideration, to array
the appalling statistics OF misery. paupeE-
ism and crime which have their origin
In the use or abuse OF ardent
spirits. The police power, which Is ex-
ciusively in the States. is alone competent 60
the correction OF these great evils, and all
measures of restraint or prohibition necessary
to effect the purpose are within the scope of
that authority. There is no conflict of power
or Of legislation as hetween the States and the
United States. Each is acting within
its sphere for the public good, and il a LOGS of
O.