Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-10-11
Liquor Dealers Claim National
Statute is Impossible Of
Enforcement
THE STATE LAW TO BE TESTED
In View of the Delay of Enforcing Some
of Sections of National Law, Iowa
Statute Will Be Put on Trial
AduIteration of Liquors a Big Cues
ton.
Special to Times-Republican.

Des Moines, Oct lit is peihs
claimed by liquor dealers and some
food manufacturers that the national
pure food law is a bluff. 1t Is 1neli
claim that it is unconstitutional and
that it is furthermore impossible for
the government to enact constitu-
tional pure food law. 1t is intlinatea
Furthermore that there will be no test
of the law in the courts because the
government is aware that the law is
unconstitutional
At a meeting in Chicago of food COM
missioners of the various states at
which food manufacturers and liquor
men were present. their claim was
made. The liquor men have not tested
the ruling of the national department
as to the meaning of adulterated when
applied to liquors and they gave as d
reason that they were doing as thes
pleased and were unmolested by tile
national department because the ma
tional department knew that the law
was no good. For this reason it is more
than likely that there will soon be a
fest of the constitutionality of the
state law of Iowa. for the Iowa depart
ment is confident that its law is GOOD.
The matter is of Importance because
the various state departments nave
been waiting for the government 10
act. The question OF the authorizations
of LIQUORS is one of the big and lntrl-
cate ones. 1t is possible with the use
of alcohol and prune juice and Few
other things to manufacture WHISKY
that is so much like the original MADE
by the old process of distilling that the
most expert consumer cannot tell the
difference and it is the claim that the
manufactured is the more healthful or
at any rate the least harmful.
The grounds on which it is main
tanned that the national law Isl I'M
constitutional are that it does not reg
ulate interstate commerce. The law
provides that no adulterated foods can
be shipped from one state to another
and provides at some length just what
adulterated foods are. The law states
that its purpose is to regulate inter-
state commerce. At the last session
OF congress With SoulhVAh SoA5A SNN' .
man introduced a law prohibiting the
shipment of goods made by child Ia
Dor he was laughed at as his law was
clearly unconstitutional. II is now
maintained that to prohibit the ship
ment of adulterated foods is as clear
ly unconstitutional as to prohibit child
labor made goods or manufactured
clothing containing part cotton. 1t is
claimed that the governments powers
end at regulating Interstate commerce
so that the shipment shall be uniform
as between states and that the right
to prohibit the sale of certain adulter-
ated goods is a police power for the
protection of the people and rests en-
tirely with the state.
AS a result it is probable that the
state law will be tested in the courts
sooner than was anticipated. The
pure seed law is to come up in the
federal court some time next month
on a case brought on injunction by a
Nebraska firm that sold in this state
While the Standard Oil company has
I'D it's taxes to the state, about
hirty-tive oil companies have detieC
he authorities and threaten suit t.
,1event collection of revenue, from
their tank line cars, for the benefit o!
the public treasury
IN a letter to Secretary Dawson OF
the executive council yesterday, Secre.
tary C. y. Chamberlin of the Nationa
Petroleum association has closed al
extensive correspondence with the sig.
/ nificant statement that if Iowa under
4 takes to assess and tax the property
/ of the members of the association ap.
peal will be taken at once to the court!
7 for relief
1t is the purpose Of the state authori
! ties to levy an assessment and collec
taxes from the properties of the com
panies if it is possible to do it, and will
proceed under the plain direction o
the law toward that end until stopped
by the courts.
There are about thfrty-five com
panies in the National Petroleum asso
citation whose headquarters are a
II Cleveland Some of them do bushes
in Iowa The executive council nov
has agents in the field to discove
4 which ones of them operate in tn
h state. and when cars belonging to then
are found anywhere in Iowa it will b
noted.
Annual Chautauqua Meeting.
Special 10 rimes-Republican-