The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-27
THE DECISION IN THE LOTTERY
CASE

AASE.
Judging from the comments in the
public prints it is not entirely clear
what the Supreme Court decided last
! Monday in the lottery cases. In some
of them it is contended that il es-
! tablished a principle that amounts to
a deadly blow at trusts, and in others
that it was limited to lotteries.
1t will be recalled that in his mem
orable address on the trust question
| before the Pittsburg Chamber Of Com
merce, Attorney General Knox asked
this question, HAS Congress the power
to prohibit" What he meant of course
was, has Congress general police power,
| the power to declare that it is immoral,
| inexpedient or illegal to transport this
or that article from one state to another
and then under the power it has to reg
| ulate interstate commerce to prohibit
| the transportation of such article from
one state to another? The Attorney
! General took the ground that it has
! such power. and il looks very much
as if the Supreme Court. in the de-
cision in the lottery cases, sustained
| his view.
In the lottery cases the court held
that lottery tickets were articles of
| commerce, and that Congress had the
right to exclude them from interstate
commerce. Now the question which
presents itself is this: If Congress has
the power to prohibit the transporta-
ton of lottery tickets from one state
to another why can it not prohibit the
transportation of an article manufac-
tured by a trust that it has declared
TO be Illegal? 1t was in 1895 that Con-
gress passed a law prohibiting the
transportation Of lottery tickets from
one state to another by express or
otherwise. 1t would seem to be an
easy matter to reach trusts under this
decision. All that it would be neces-
sary to do to reach a trust would be
for Congress to prohibit the transpor-
tation of the articles manufactured by
it from one state to another Judging
from the decision in the lottery cases
the Supreme Court would hold such
prohibition to be constitutional.
1t is true that in about every state
lotteries had been declared to be i'm
moral before Congress denied them
transportation, but in denying them
transportation Congress seems to have
exercised general police power.
The point is made of course by those
who contend that the decision in the
lottery cases goes no further than lot
teries. that the court expressly stated
that its decision had no reference to
questions that might come before It In
the future, but is not the conclusion
that if Congress. in the exercise of its
power to regulate interstate commerce,
should prohibit the transportation of the
articles of any one or more of the great
trusts, its action would be sustained
by the Supreme Court a fair one? It
is a conclusion that is sustained by
the decision in the lottery case If
therefore the LittlefeId bill, which
prohibits the transportation of trust ar
ticles, and which has been passed by
the House and is now pending in the
Senate. should become a law it would
it is safe to say, be held to be constf-
tutional by the Supreme Court. 1t is
not matter of wonder therefore that
the Senate win not pass it and that the
administration in not urging its pas
sage.