Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-04-16
Favorable Decision 10 Interstate
Case viii Hello The Movement.
COMMISSION TO DECIDE VERY SOON
Kansas City Brewing Company Filed
Complaint Against Several Express
Companies" colect on Delivery"
Question One to be Decided.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., April ia
case Is pending before the Interstate
commerce commission that Is likely
10 have n far.reaching effect on the
prohibition movement. which has de-
veloped to large proportion in the last
TWO years. Tho case. on it's face. is
n simple one. II was filed by Kan.
sas City brewing company agains.
several express companies. The all
egations were that for quarter Of
a century II had been the practice of
the express companies to accept ship
ments of malt beverages from one
state to another state with COLLECT
on-delivcry" order attached. In n
sense, that made the express COM
pany carrying the shipment an agent
of the brewing company
The complaint in this case has n
large number of customers in Kan
Sas. Oklahoma and Iowa. all of which
states have prohibition laws. The
express companies. by advice OF their
counsel, declined to accept collect
on'delivery" packages OF malt liquors
destined to persons In prohibition
states. as such acceptance was re-
garded as n technical violation OF the
law. Now the brewing company ap-
pealS to the Interstate commerce com
mission for an order 10 compel the
express cimpanics to carry collect
on delivery" shipments OF beer and
other malt beverages on the ground
that the shipping company Is being
disseminated against by the express
companies.
fat tfDA Of .I..t. l.,
regarded by lawyers as probably cor
rect, provided that the correct name
and address be given OF the person to
whom the shipment is made. Under
the present law the express compn-
MES hardly can refuse to accept such
"collect-on-delivery" shipments.
II Is known fact. however, that 4
practice has grown up of shipping by
express packages OF liquor-not ne
cessarily beer-into prohibition states,
the packages being consigned to some
fictitious person. When the package
reaches its destination, the express
company disposes of it and makes n
financial return to the shipping com
pany. This action Is held to be vio-
lation of the spirit, II not of the let
ter. of the law. To meet this condi-
ton bill now is Icing considered
by the United States Senate. 1t pro.
vides that there shall be no collect
on-delivery" packages of liquor ship
ped in interstate commerce In which
fictitious names are used, and that
the name of both the consignor and
of the consignee shall be plainly stat.
ed on the package. The packages
containing any kind of liquor, the
measure further provides. shall bear
labels showing the character OF the
contents. so that in prohibition
state the officials may have opportu-
nifty to trace the packages to their
ultimate destination.
II is no part of the purpose of Con-
eress to put all such shipments under
the police control of prohibition
state as soon as the packages enter
the state. but the enactment of the
pending measure undoubtedly would
be OF assistance to prohibition author
tiles. Several measures looking TO
the placing of packages containing H.
quor under the police control of the
states as soon as they crossed the
state borders have been under con-
sideration by committees of Con.
gress. but the Senate committee on
the Judiciary took strong ground
against them. holding by n decisive
vote that they were unconstitutional.