Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1890-05-10
stato Rights and interstate Rights.

The decision of the supreme court
in the Iowa "original package" case
has some extraordinary, not TO say
revolutionary, features, says the Globe
Democrat. 1t directly antagonizes
the venerable democratic doctrine of
state rights and asserts theory of in
terstate rights which materially en-
larges the scope of federal interference
in local affairs. Singularly enough,
all the democratic members OF the
court Join in the decision, while three
of the six republican members unite
in a dissenting opinion. Moreover,
the former go against ruling made
in similar case forty years ago by a
democratic chief justice and concurred
in by all of his democratic colleagues.
The theory of strict construction of
the constitution in respect of grants of
federal power is practically discarded
in favor of a theory which, to say the
least, is surprising concession TO be
made BY men Of democratic faith and
association. 1t has been understood
heretofore that the authority of state
was supreme in the matter OF dealing
with the liquor traffic, even to the
point of absolute and complete prohi-
bition; but this decision upsets that
idea in most pronounced way. There
is q hitherto unsupported federal pow
er, il tells us, in the constitutional pro-
vision with regard to Interstate conf
merce, by which state authority is so
limited as to leave room for defeat of
almost any form of local restriction OF
said traffic, in the absence of congress
sional warrant for such action.
To be sure, the decision does not say
in so many words that state license
laws as well as those of prohibitory
character are void as to original pack
ages of liquors shipped in from anoth-
er state; but the drift OF legal con-
struction is to the effect that such is
its logical meaning. If this shall turn
out 10 be the correct Interpretation,
then the whole system of liquor legis-
lation will be revoIulionized. To say
that q state must coutlne its laws 70
liquors produced within its own lin
its, or "mingled with the mass of COM
mon property" by the breaking Of the
original packages introduced from
another state, is equivalent to saying
that the traffic may be carried on in
spite of any law that state may pass.
License laws, particularly when they
impose high charge, differ from pro-
bi6itory laws IN form rather than in
principle. Any process OF restriction
or curtailing Is in a given measure
discriminative, and so comes implicitly
within the forbidding clause of the
constitution concerning interstate COM
merce, as defined in Chief Justice
FuIler's opinion. at devolves upon
congress-" the court says in an analO-
gous case decided the same day, "to
Indicate such exceptions as in its
Judgment a wise discretion may de-
mand under particular circumstances"
That is to say, the state right to con-
troll and regulate the sale of liquor is
unfortunate 10 the interstate right to
import and sell liquor In original
packages, and before the state can pro-
hibit or restrict sHch sales 1t must have
congressional permission to do so.
Possibly the complete decision, when
published, will DO found to contain
some modifying terms; but as u now
stands, this is manifestly what II
means, and the states viii have to
govern themselves accordingly.