The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1904-02-04
NORTH DAKOTA COURTS.
>. = = 8 y = n,
Case, While . District Judge Jolts
the Pure Food Law.

s. - e. f. g
The supreme court has handed
down q decision. in the case of the
state against the 500 Railway COM
pany. ct al. reversing the lower court
and holding that a search warrant is
sued under the proceedings in ques-
ton was illegal. This is companion
case to the McGahey action, recently
decided by the court, in which Me-
Gahey was sentenced to Jail and a
fine for contempt in resisting a pro-
cess in a prohibition case, and which
sentence the supreme court set aside.
The case just decided is interesting
for the reason that by it the largest
seizure of liquor ever made in the
state under prohibition law was
made. The action was brought when
the Easements of the Northwest hotel
and 500 station in this city were
raided last winter. Over $50 cases
Of the stuff that made Milwaukee
famous were seized by the sheriff. A
few days later, OH an attempted re-
pleyin proceedings, the stuff was
taken from the Jail by the defendants
in the action and put on 2 box car
and shipped out of the jurisdiction
of the court. This raised such a
storm that the beer was brought
back and taken into the Jail again.
When the MeGahey case was ap-
pealed an appeal was also taken in
this case. The grounds were the
same, that a search. warrant could
not issue on the information and be-
lief of the states attorney, but must
be on the positive affidavit of some
person. The supreme court holds the
same rule in this case as in the other.
The beer that was seized still re-
mains in the custody of the. sheriff,
stored in q locked room in the co,ln-
ty Jail. No owner ever appeared to
claim it, and as the. supreme court
does not state anything regarding
its disposition, it is. not known what
will become of it, An action may be
brought to recover, but as the beer
has been stored for over a yenr, it
is likely to be stale, Hat and I'M
profitable" at the present time. u
Under q ruling made by. Judge Fisk
in the, district court at Grand Forks
the. pure food. law passed at the last
session of the North Dakota alegisla-
ture cannot be operated against those
merchants who ship groceriesoina car
load lots of consumers in the state.
Under the holding Of Judge Fisk
the law would operate only against
such merchants as offered impure
foods for sale, and not against those
who had shipped the goods in direct
to the consumers. ~, ,,.....,.... -,
The, two cases of the state against
l. ~. !Clarkswere called for. trial and
the complaint charging Clark with
selling adulterated maple sugar was
taken up first, The case had not pro-
ceeded far until. Geo. A. Bangs, rep.
resenting Mr.. Clark, moved that a
verdict for the defendant be: direct
ed on the grounds that Clark had not
offered the sugar for sale.
The ruling of Judge Fisk will stop
prosecutions Of this character until
the supreme court can render de-
cision on the appeal, and If the
higher court atfirms him the legisla-
ture will be asked at it's next session
to make some changes in the law
that will bring the boxcar merchants
who do large business In the state
under it's provisions. Al : 10
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