Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-11-28
AGAINST CIGARETTES
The Tennessee Law Regarding Than
Sale Upheld.
THB STATE LAW CONSTITUTIONAL
3as United States Supreme Court DsaaAa
1hat state Has The Right to Rexu-
late The Sale Of Tobacco in the
Form o. Cigarettes.

washington, d. c., Nov. 19.-The
United States supreme court today
rendered am opinion in the case e
William b. Austin VS.. the state az
tennessee, incolvfng the validity e
the state law regulating the sale a
cigarettes. The Law waS attacked a
an Infringement of the right Of con-
Gress to regulate interstate CON,
merce.
The Tennessee supreme court nm.
held that law, and ttoday's decision
sustained that verdict, though NOT
wathout disapproval of the positions
oaken, and then upon q very narrow
margin, four out Of THE nine members
Joining in a dissenting opinion, aud
another member of the court (Justica
WMte) placing his assent upon
grounds different from those an
nounced by Justice Brown who hand.
ed down the opinion.
The case grew out of the importa,
ton CT cigarettes into Tepneseeo
from North Carolina. They were
taken into the state in the ordinary
sized cigarette packages about two
by four inches and these packages
were loosely thrown intU buckets
which were uncovered. The claim
was made that these cigarette pack.
ages were what is known to the law
as original packages; but witho0
clearly defining am original package
bhe court held that 1T was clear thal
such packages could not be so con,
sidered. Justice Brown, in passina
upon the case said the packages were
obviously made up with the view q
evading the law, and as he spoxe ha
held one of the Nutle cigarette cases
mp to the view of his a. dEtors. On
this point the decision of the stnsta
court, ITO the effect THAT the packages
were not original was fully confirmed.
On another phase of the case, tha
state court was not SO fully -
dorsed. he Tennessee court had hel1
that the cigarettes are not an article
Of commerce. With this view Justice
Brown took issue, and he delivered
quhte dissertation upon the subiecA
Whatever is an ARTICLE of barter end
sale is, he said, an article of COM
merce, and must be so recognized.
Tobacco had been such an article for
400 years. 1t had been made the sub
5ect of taxation, and, indeed, had Be.
come more widely scattered than any
o6her vegetable. Probably. he added,
no other vegetable has contributed .
much to the comfort and solace 0R
the human race. This being the case
1t was entirely beyond bounds to snV
that tobacco was not an article e
Commerce. r-z
He then took mot6ce of the cluaR
that cigarettes are sm especially harm.
fua form of tobacco, and while he CON
cedei that this might be the case, ha
remarked that this claim was of com.
paratively recent origin. Still, he hell
that cigarettes are as much a subies1
oe state regulation as is liquor, and he
further held that while no state law
could prohibit Importation in origmn1
packages, it was entirely competent
for a legislature to regulate the sole
because of the general belief in tn
deleterioUs effect of THE article.
There was a dissenting opinion b.
Justice Shiras, In which the chiel
justice and Just1ces Brewer and PeclE.
ham joined. They based their dissane
ON the theory that congress has en.
elusive control Of Interstate CON.
m&rce.