The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-05-04
INTERESTING INTERVIEWS,
Liquor Men and Prohibitionists on the
Original Package" Case.

NEW YORK, May 3-The decision of the
! United States supreme court in the suit
known as the Original package" case
seems likely to exert an important infiu-
ence on the future of prohibition. The
! decision affirms that an inhabitant of any
state may under the operations Of the in
| terstate commerce laws and without
! license or supervision of any public au-
| thOrlty carry or send into and sell in the
other states any intoxicating liquors
! in cases or kegs or even in single
! bottles or TASKS, despite any legisla-
tion of those states on the subject and
although his own state should be the only
one which had not enacted similar laws.
This will have bearing not only ON states
where prohibition prevails, but through
out the country.
Mr.. A. E. j. Trovey, editor of the Brew
ers' Journal, and secretary of the Brewers
association, said yesterday: "The effect of
this decision will be to encourage the con-
sumption of malt liquors in the prohibi-
tiOn states. Of course, the result of this
enlarged consumption will be to supply a
market for the products of manufacturers
outside of the prohibition states, as they
will not be allowed to manufacture either
malt or Spirituous liquors within the state.
But the great benefit consequent upon
this decision consists in the fact that it
Will stamp out to great extent the dis
that are sold at high figures; the miserable
stuff which maddens those who drink it
and causes all the trouble. These COM
pounds are dispensed surreptitiously by
drug stores and perambulating barrooms
In all the prohibition states, and in Iowa
and Kansas particularly. l suppose the
decision will affect the localities where
local option exists.
Il regard it as a most righteous decision
"a commOn-sensede decision-and l hope
the people in Iowa will soon awake to the
necessity of common sense being exercised
on the question of malt and spirituOus
beverages. For the people will have them,
and unquestionably the people prefer malt
liquors to what is now dispensed i'll the
prohibition states The importation of
bad liquor reached its maximum prior to
the rendering of this decision, and its con-
sumption will now certainly decrease.
''It is not long since that a colony of
90 900 Swedes left the state on account of
the law This decision of the supreme
court will have the effect of bringing in
the German, Scandinavian and other beer
drinking people under the new order of
affairs, aseured by the action of the highest
legal tribunal"
The editor of Bonfort's Wine and Spirit
Circular. Mr.. Sadler said:
1.-The removal of the restrictions of the
law will increase the sale of malt liquors.
Where prohibition is the law the people
are saturated with cheap stutf-illegiti-
mate stuff Where the chances of cOnfis-
cation are large the liquor is poor. There
is no risk under this decision and good
liquors will accordingly be put upon the
market.
''One resort, and one only, remains to
the prOhibitiOnistS in this emergency. The
courts of last resort having decided against
them, they may apply to congress for the
enactment of national prOhibitOry law
But there is not much likelihood of their
being successful in that direction"
Dr. Isaac X. Funk, publisher of the pro- |
hibition organ, the Voice, said Il am not |
very much surprised at the decision. | |
supposed when the question came before |
the supreme court they would decide this |
way; because, under the interstate COM |
merce laws, it would really seem illegal to |
prohibit the sale in one'state of what was |
by the country as legitimate
article of commerce
The law, however, hits high license, in !
fact all license, just as it does prohibition,
because if the manufacturer has the right !
TO sell his goods in unbrOken packages in the
state to which he ships them, regardless
of the laws of that state, a high license law
will have to give way just as much as the
law.
This viii throw the whole question
back to congress, which will have to de-
eide which shall be the limits of interstate
commerce, and that is really where the
of this country have de-
sired the question to be placed. We believe
that there Will never be satisfactory pro
hibitiOn in America except by national
prohibition. Local option and state pro
libition are necessarily imperfect.
we desire the question to he settled ma
-iOnally. Hence we are not shedding any
tears over the decision of the supreme
court. The Republican party has been
trying to crystaliZe on high license and
local option, and has given US bitterfight
On this line, saying: Let Us try this means
first But this decision shuts out
both these factors from the future deter
ninatiOn of the subject"