The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-11-29
Senator Knox's Language

'" 'FirstAInterstate shipments are not completed until they reach the con signee.
 [" 'Seeond-An Interruption or interfer- enee with interstate shipments before they reach the consignee constitutes a regulation of commerce
 ' 'Third--Regulating interstate ship ments is an exclusive function of Con gress.
 'Fourth-Congress cannot delegate any part of it's exclusive power to the states
 e 'Fifth--To remove the bar or imped imeut of exclusive federal power which shuts the states out of the federal do- main and thereby allows them to enter that domain is to permit or sanction a state law in violation of the constitution and in effect to delegate a federal func- tion to the states.
 Senator Rayner who was also member of this committee, stated his views in the following clear and con elusive language: Congress has no power, in my opinion, to remit to the police jurisdiction of the states the commercial contract under the consti- tuition which does not terminate until delivery to the consignee- The bills before us all contemplate that the po- lice jurisdiction of the state shall at tach before the contract is executed.
 Doctrine 0t states Rights
 "A firm believer in the doctrine of states rights and anxious to accord to the states all the jurisdiction that they are entitled to, free from federal in- terference, l have been unable to find any reasoning of tho supreme court or any tendency in any of the author ities that would permit Congress to pass a law allowing states to break the commercial contract of the constitu- ton in relation to the matter before us and remit the whole subject to their diversified legislation. On the contrary, the reasoning of the court in an un- broken line of cases since the reversal of Pierce against New Hampshire in the 1 license cases in 5 Howard, have all brought my mind clearly and unmis- | takably to the conclusion that ak the bills before us are fatally defective, 1 because, in the language of the SUI. prems court, they remove an impedi ment against the exercise of police l jurisdiction by the states and thereby permit the states to exercise their iur- l isdiction over a contract before it is executed, which contract the supreme court has said arises under the con- stitution of the United States
 1 The Kenyon bill, therefore. which you ask me to indorse, simply seeks to renew the ones which were defeat ed in the Sixty-first Congress, because they undertook to delegate to the states in violation of the federal con- stitution the supreme and exclusive power of the Congress to regulate in- terstate commerce. l cannot under stand how any lawyer can reach the | conclusion that bill which seeks not | only to delegate part of the consti- | tutional powers of Congress to state put also to enlarge the police powers | of the state, can be regarded other | wise than as clear and manifest vio- lation of the federal constitution. But 1 all argument on this question Is abso- lutely concluded by the opinion of the chief justice. In re Rahrer, 140 United | States, page 2562, in which the fol lowing language is used: It does not admit of argument that Congress can ! neither delegate it's own powers nor enlarge those of the state The man. ifest purpose Of the bill is to empower the state to seixe~and confiscate intox- icating liquors before the interstate commerce transaction is ended by de- 1 livery of the gooes to the consignee
 Produce Commercial Anarchy
 As declared by the supreme court \ of the United States the effect of such a bin would be to produce that com mercial anarchy and confusion neces- sarlly resulting from the divers exer- tion of the power by the several states I of the union, and which it was the pur- pose of the constitution by the com merce clause to prevent and as de- clared by the supreme court, i25 Unit ed States in the case of Bowman against Chicago Northwestern Railroad lcompany, the commerce clause would be a very feeble and almost useless provision, but poorly adapted to secure