The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-05-07
BAD ON PROHIBITION.
A Sweeping Decision Rendered by
the Supreme Court.

A Sweeping Decision Rendered by
the Supreme Court.
on Monday the supreme court Of the
United states rendered an opinion adverse to
the constisationality Of thc laws Of prohibi-
ton states, providing FOR the seizure Of liquor
brourh from other states. Snch laws, IT Is
held. are interferences with interstate COM
merce. The case in which The decision was
made was that Of I.sisy against Hardin,
brought up on appeal from the supreme court
of Iowa Leisy is beer manufacturer Of
Peoria, H. He shipped beer to keokuk' la
Il was seized in the original packages by
Harden, state official. a. having been sent
there in violation OF the Iowa laws The
supreme court of Iowa held that the law un-
der which the official acted was valid. The
supreme court Of the United States reverse
the decision. After referring to decisions
bearing on state license laws, the court says:
These decisions rest upon the undoubted
right OF the ststes Of the union TO control
their purely internal affairs. IN doing wnicn
they exercise powers not surrendered 70 lne
national government; but whenever the law
of the stale amounts essentially 10 rsgula-
ton Of commerce with foreign nations or
among the stales, as it does when II inhibits,
directly or indirectly, the receipt OF an i'm
ported commodity, or its disposition before
Il had ceased to become an article OF trade
between one state and another, or another
country and this, il comes in conflict With
power which, in this particular, has been e1-
clusirely vested ia the original governmenl
and is therefore void. The plaintiffs, eiuzens
Of illinois, had the right 10 import Their beer
into Iowa and had the right 70 sell IT, by
which act alone il became mingled in the
common mass Of property within the STATE
Jp to that point in the absence OF congress
sional permission 10 do 50, the state had no
power to interfere by seizure or any other
action. IN prohibition of importation and
sale hy the nonresident importer. Articles
which congress recognizes as subjects OF IN
ter-stste commerce may be controlled by
state laws amounting TO regulations while
they retain that character, but to concede 10
state the power 10 exclude such articles
without congressional permission IS to con-
cede TO a majority OF the people ol state
represented ia the state legislature the power
10 regulate commercial intercourse between
the states.
Justice Gray delivered a dissenting opin-
ion in behalf of himself and Justices Harlan
and Brewer The opinion says;
The statutes in question were enacted IN
the state of Iowa IN the exercise OF its un-
doubted power TO protect It's inhabitants
against evils, moral, physical and social at
tending the free use of intoxicating liquors
They are not aimed at inter state commerce; :;
they have no relation 10 the movement OF
goods from one state to another, but operate
only on intoxicating liquors within the ter
ritorial limits of the state they include all
such LIQUORS without discrimination, and
do not even mention wsiere they are made
or whence they come They Affect COM
/ merce much more remotely and indirectly
than laws of a state, (the validity of which
/ is unauestonedj authorizing the erection OF
bridges and dams across navigable waters
within its limits which wholly obstrnct the
course of commerce and navigation; or than
quarantine laws which operate directly upon
/ All ships and merchandise coming into the
ports ofthe state IL the statutes of the state
restricting OF prohibiting the sale of intoxi-
eating liquors within its territory. are TO be
| held imperative and void as applied to liq-
uors sent or brought from another state and
sold by the importers in what are called ORR
ginal packages the consequence must De
| that an inhabitant of any state may, under
/ the pretext OF inter state commerce. and
without license or supervision of any public
authority carry OF send into and sell IN any
or all OF the other states of the union. intox-
icating liquors of whatever description, IN
cases or kegs, OF even in single bottles or
TASKS, despite any legislation of those states
on the subject. and although his own state
should be the only one which had not en-
acted similar laws. We would require
affirmative and explicit legislation on the
part of congress to convince us that Il con-
| templated or intended sCs1 result.