The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1890-07-04
The WHISKY wAR.

ney-General to Appear For the Stats Ii
Original Package Cause.-The fowa
Claimed BY the Federal Courts IL ErauGN
With Serious Consequences.
TOPEKA, Kan, June 50.-In response
70 letter from Prosecuting Attorney
r b. WEIGH, Of Shawnee County, Gov
ernor Humphrey has directed letter
to ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Kellogg instruct
ing him to appear before the Circuit
Court of the United States and repre-
| sent the State of Kansas in the original
package cases
After reviewing the business from its
| inception, Mr.. WEIGH in his letter calls
attention to Judge CaldwelTs decision
and the writs of habeas corpus that have
been issued. He then calls the Govern
or's attention to the fact that both the
prosecuting attorney and the sheriff
have been restrained from instituting
or serving any legal proceedings against
| them.
Acknowledging the receipt of the
letter from Prosecuting Attorney WEIGH
the Governor, after br. efiy reviewing it,
in ordering the Attorney-General to
represent the State. says:
AS I understand IL the pretense for these
| extraordinary proceedings in the F. deral
courts is tho recent decision of Judge Cald-
well disch "rging certain persons VINO were
held in custody under the authority of our
State courts for the violation of the Proh!b-
| TORY Liquor laws of Kansas. While have
| NO personal knowledge of the proceedings
in the Circuit Court of the United States, I
| understand that there has been no final
trial In the State court; that only
/ a preliminary showing mas Deen nuuoi
| that these parties had violated the
| State laws. On the strength of
this preliminary showing warrants for their
arrest had been issued the arrests made
and the parties held to bail They chose to
go to jail and then caused habeas corpus
proceedings to be instituted in the Circuit
Court of the United States; and that court
| proceeded to determine the question of thelr
| guilt or innocence, on the merits, ana dis
charged them because of a want OF evidence
tending to show their guilt state these
| facts without comment
simultaneously with the arrest of these
parties civil proceedings were commenced
| In the district court of shawnee County
seeking to have adtudicatlons that thelr
| places of business were nuisances under our
| State laws. / understand that one OF the
bjects, II not the main one, of these original
| package men is to have the Federal court
| restrain the State court from any futther
| proceedings in these civil actions
1t Is remarkable that IL the Federal courts
| possess the power to restrain the law officeTs
of the State from an investigation as TO
| whether or not laws of the State have been
violated, the saloon element is the first to
Invoke the exercise of this extraordinary
authority. have searched the pages OF the
judicial history of this country in vain 10
ind when and where such a power was
claimed or exerc sed. Can Ii be possible
that the State courts can be controlled by
the Federal judiciary in this manner? II
they can, we might as well dispense with
our local judicial system.
AsIunderstaud the duties of a county at
torney, it Is incumbent upon him to inquire
whether or not intoxicating liquor is being
sold in this state in violation of law. Keeog-
nizng the right of the distiller to introduce
his manufactured spirits into the state.
the question still remains whether or not
L. sfariN
whether the sale of such introduced liquor
is made in the original package; whether or
not under the pretense OF a sale IN original
packages he is not conducting a tipping
shop; whether not he is selling as the
agent OF a foreign principal or on his own
account, and a thousand kindred questions
| that may arise under the existing state OF
facts Disclaiming any purpose to interfere
with any one of all of the rights given the
agent for the sale of original packages under
, | the recent Supreme Court decision, insist
that those privileges must not be used to
any greater extent than the express terms
of the decision justify, and under n % circum-
stances will these vendors of the forbidden
article be permitted under the guise of n
mandate of the court to convert n place of
, commercial barter and exchange into rum
hole.
This claim should be boldly met and all
iud cial methods and remedies should be
Exhausted before we surrender the contest
The assertion of the Federal courts of the
possession of such n power, and of their
right to exercise such jurisdiction, Is
fraught with so many serious conse-
quences, and invokes such vast inter-
ests that is is our bounden duty TO tight
for home rule in every form this
extraordinary power can be exercised In be-
half of whisky, 1t will be invoked on other
: occasions to fasten upon the people OF the
State many things at which the public con-
science Will revolt. Ardent spirits or intox-
| icating liquors of every kind hSye been tho
, constant subject OF local regulat ion and con-
troll in every civilized Government on the
!, face of the earth since history gives
any account of its manufacture down
to the present time. There is not a single
: State or Territory in this Union but
, has local laws directed against its manu-
: fucture and use or regulating its sale and
use. Restriction, too, upon its Introduction
into every country is common to all Govern
menis 1t is one of the recognize evils OF
the world and legislation to suppress It to
control II, to tax and license it and to lessen
; its evil effects has been the constant effort
of law makers throughout the civilized
globe for centuries.
D The force and vigor of this iud cal decision
, has, according to its advocates, made whis-
Ky at once the most precious and most sa-
credly guarded OF all the articles of COM
8 merce the worll ever knew. They now pro-
/ pose to go one sep further, indeed. but one
| more step is needed-and to say that no law
officer of any State in this Union shall
Investigate whether or not it is being sold In
I violation of local laws; that 1t Is an article
: | of commerce whose manufacture and sale ia
= above and beyond the control OF the Law
. making power OF the State. II this Is sound
. as to whisky, which for ages has been sub
;, ject TO local laws, it ought to be stronger
i when applied to all other articles of com
q merce whose manufacture, protection and
use have never been subject to State regula
tIon, and hence the State can be flooded witt
impure commercial articles which would
: affect the heath, pollute the morals and
g offend the nostriIs of helpless people.
{ Denver Dissatisfied.
i DENVER, Col, June 29.-There is great
= dissatisfaction here over the way the
Z census in the CITY has been taken.