The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-06-14
THE WRITS GRANTED.
Cigarette Test Case to Go to
the L. S. Supreme Court.
A DECISION TO OPEN REVIEW.
Dictionaries Ransscked to De0ne the
Prohibited Artiele-The Original
Package Question ArEaed.

The anti-cigaretts law received black
eye yesterday in Judge Hanford's court.
although he did not pass upon the merits
of the questions raised. The case came be-
fore him on the application for writs Of
habeas corpus directing Sheriff Merton. of
Clarke county. to produce in court NJ. l..
Coovert, . retail tobacco dealer of Van
couver. who had been arrested and COM
mitted to Jail by Superior Judge Wiswall.
OF Clarke county, on eight different charges
for violation of the anti-ciRarette law.
Tho action was instituted by G. E. 8.
Wood, an attorney Of Portland, ON behalf
of the American Tobacco company, cigar
cite manufacturers of New York and North
Carolina, for the purpose of testing the
validity of the Law, it being alleged that
the law interfered with commerce between
the states. Prosecuting Attorney c. D.
Bowles. of Clarke county, appeared for tho
state and argued against the issuance of
the writ.
The contention Of the petitioner is that
the small package of cigarettes is an orig
inai package Of the manu-. acturer, and
hence that its sale cannot be abridged by
state law. as has been decided in the
Iowa liquor cases, in which il was stated
age. The ambiguity Of the term cigarette
as contemplated by the law was also
dwelt upon. and various dictionaries were
called into requisitioh to define the mean
ing Of the word as well as the internal
revenue bureau decisions and practice.
According to the dictionary definitions
and the internal revenue decisions cigar
ette is little cigar, and it may be made
wholly out Of tobacco. Counsel for the
petitioner argued that 1t would be an un-
just discrimination to say that . large
cigar might be sold. and that exactly the
same materials in the same form and diff
ferent only in being smaller should not be
sold.
The main argument Of the petitioner
that the small boxes retsiled to customers
were original packages within the mean
ing of the law was combatted by Mr..
Bow!es, who asserted that the carton con-
tanning fifty Of these boxes was the orig
inal package of the manufacturer, and the
only package in which he sold the goods.
Therefore the original package SO far as
commerce was concerned was the carton.
and not the small box of ten or twenty
cigarettes.
Judge Hanford said that as the case was
an important one he would grant the
writs, as that was the only way the case
could be reviewed in . higher court. In
that view of the case he deemed it un-
necessary to dwell upon the merits of the
questions raised. The wri.s were made
returnable juno %. At which time an ap-
peal to the supreme court of the United
States will no doubt be taken by the state.
Some new features Of the enforcement Of
the anti-cigarette law come to light almost
every day. and the necessity for whole
salers to know what they buy and sell was
illustrated yesterday. Several brands of
cigarette tobaccos have little pads Of cigar
cite papers stuck inside the wrapper of
each package, q fact well known by retail
ers and cigarette smokers, but it was not
until day or two ago that one Of the
Wholesale houses caught on. The boxes
had always been bought and sold I'M
opened, and none of the employees in this
particular house knew that cigar
cite papers were in the packages
until told by customer yester-
day. On hearing the fact the head
Of the firm Immediately ordered the boxes
to be opened and the papers taken out so
tho tobacco could DO sold. Other whole
sale houses, where the papers were known
to be enclosed In packages. had shipped
their stock Of these brands Of tobacco
away with the remnant of cigarettes on
hand when the law went into effect. On
the day the law took effect the retailers
extracted the cigarette papers from these
packages and either laid them or shelf
convenient 20 their customers or threw
them away outright. There are many
little lodges 70 evade the law and those
who are determined to have cigarettes and
are not too particular as to the kind of
paper used have no difficulty in finding
paper more or less suitable for their use.