The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1913-06-12

4 8
against Hon. Thos. E. Watson for
violating Sec. 211 of the Criminal
Code CT the United States, which
prohibits the mailing of obscene,
lewd or lascivious letters and publ
cations To my mind there is grave
doubt of the authority of the Con-
gress to enact such legislation. The
authority, of course, if any exists,
must be found in the Constitution
of the United States.
The old Articles Of Confederation,
ratified in 1878, in comforting au
thority over the post-offices, is as
follows:
'<The United States in Congress
assembled shall also have the sole
and exclusive right and power of
establishing or regulating post
offices from one State to another
throughout all the United States,
and exacting such postage on the
papers passing through the same as
may be requisite to defray the ex-
penses of the said Office"
The Constitution of the United
States is in this language: E"The
Congress shall have power to estab
fish post-oftices and post-roads.
The first amendment to the Con-
stitution prohibits the Congress from
making any law abridging the free
dom of speech or Of the press.
This amendment is guaranty to
the people of the States that the
Congress shall make no law abridg
ing the freedom Of speech or of the
press, thus denying to the United
States Government this power.
In the Kentucky Resolutions,
drafted by Mr.. Jefferson in 1898, he
meets the issue squarely, and holds
such laws unconstitutional.
Sec. 2 of the Resolutions is as fol-
lows:
Resolved, That the Constitution
of the United States, having dele
gated to Congress a power to punish
treason, counterfeiting the securi
ties and current coin of the United
States, piracies and felonies COM
mitted on the high seas, and offenses
against the laws of nations, and no
other crimes whatsoever; and it
being true as a general principle,
and on Of the amendments to the
Con stitution having also declared
that 1.-THE powers not delegated to
the United States by the COnstitu-
ton nor prohibited by it to the States
are reserved to the States respective
ly, Or to the people," therefore the
act of Congress passed and entitled
can Act in addition to an act emit
tied an act for the punishment of
certain crimes against the United
States" as also the act passed by
them entitled, can act to punish
frauds committed on the bank of the
United States,'' (and all their other
acts which assume to create, define
or punish crime other than those so
enumerated in the ConstitutiO-,) are
altogether void and of no force; and
that the power to create, define, and
to punish such other crimes is re-
served, and, of right appertalns sole
ly and exclusively to the respective
States, each within it's own terri
tory.
8. Resolved, That no power over
the freedom of religion, freedom of
speech, or freedom of the press be-
ing delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, All lawful powers
respecting the same did of right re-
main, and were reserved to the
States or the people, that thus was
manifested their determination to
retain to themselves the right of
judging how far the RIGHTEOUSNESS
of speech and of the press, may be
abridged without lessening their use
full freedom, and how far those
abuses which cannot be separated