The Brookhaven leader., 1890-11-06
ANOTHER DECISION.
Judge Caldwell Gives an Opposite Decision
- that of Judges Philips and Foster as
tD Original Packages.


to Original Packages.
LITTLE Rock, Ark, Nov. The
opinion of Judge Caldwell, of the
United States Circuit Court In the
original package case Of IL NJ. Van
Niliet OF Iowa, was filed yesterday. 1t
discusses the questions raised and ex-
tends over more than 140 large type
written pages The court holds that
the act OF Congress and the laws Of the
State are valid. The following are
some of the salient points in the opin-
ion:
by the act of Congress the right
which the importer previously enjoyed
OF selling liquor in original packages in
the State where the transit ended, re-
gardless OF the laws of such State, is
taken away, the act declaring that the
liquor shall, upon it's arrival in such
State or Territory, be subject to the op-
Grafton of the laws of such State"
After citing the authorities and the
act of Congress, the opinion proceeds:
ut will be observed that by the terms
OF the act the original package, upon
arriving in the State, is put on the same
footing with liquors produced in the
State. The original package, when it
arrives within the State where the tran
sit terminates, is at once reduced to the
rate of domestic liquors, enjoys no privi-
lege not enjoyed by domestic liquors, is
subject to the operations and effects Of
the laws of such State, enacted in the
exercise of its police powers, to the
nd IN, ho
domestic liquor.
Now there never was any question
that the laws of Iowa prohibiting the
sale of liquors produced in the State
were constitutional. These laws were
in full force at the date of the passing
OF the act of Congress and that act hav-
ing in legal effect abolished ori ginal
packages on their arrival within the
State, by placing them on the same
footing with liquor produced within the
State, as such they are amenable to the
State laws as if they had never existed
in the form of original packages.
Congress can regulate Interstate
commerce, but not intrastate commerce
1t may regulate commerce among the
States, but not in the States The
State may regulate partly internal, but
not Interstate commerce. The act is
drawn in view of those settled prin-
ciples. 1t protects the Interstate trans
portation of liquor until it's arrival in
the State where the transit is to end,
and no longer. Upon its arrival in the
State the act of Congress declares that
it shall be subject to the laws of the
the State.
Ut is said the Supreme Court decreed
these laws to be unconstitutional al in so far
as they prohibited the sale of liquors by
the importer or his agent in the original
packages, and that Congress could not,
in the language of the learned, validity
dead statute There are two answers
to this contention. The first is, the act
OF Congress relegates the original pack
age of liquor on its arrival in the State
to the laws of the State, passed in the
exercise of the police powers, and there
is not now, nor ever has been any
doubt of the validity of these
laws 1t is not the laws of the
State but the original package that
is dead. The obvious designs and
intentions of Congress was to with
draw at once the protecting shield of
Interstate commerce from the original
package of liquor the moment they
entered the State whore their transit
was to end by placing them on the foot
ing of liquor produced in the State and
declaring they be subject to the same
laws.
THAT is what the Supreme Court, as
construe their opinion had said Con-
gress might do, and it is what it did do
in language that admits of no evasion
or discussion"