The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1914-02-21

EASY WAY
FOR BOOZE
SCHAAP DECISION GIVES
CHANCE TO SHIP LIQUOR
INTO OKLAHOMA


II resulted in placing the Indian terri
tory in the anomalous position tina
II Is still as muca a federal statutor
ofiense to ship liquor TO any poin
into that territory-or to any tow
i'll the territory. as any court has eve
construed it to .be; but the bars ar
completely down in fact: in that lio
uor houses from anywhere IN tn
= United states may snip liquor int
old Oklahoma, and from there II
may be distributed to any point II
the indian territory portion OF tn
state, without any Interference BY III,
federal authorities
Prosecuting Attorney Bourland re.
ceiyed an official copy Of the find
q ing OF the court OF appeals Monday
~ Later in the day he forwarded it tt
the attorney general at Washington
for instruction upon the question OF
appeal to the federal supreme court.
The Official text shows thai the
court OF appeals did not PASS upon
1 either the issue Of sufiieieney Of the
Indictment or upon the other issue
) OF whether alcoholic medicines were
! exempt. Specifically tle court of ap-
peAls reversed the Fort Smith case
upon the finding that il was error
for the lever court to deny defendant
the right to show By evidence that the
point to which he was alleged to have
shi5 ped liquor was not under Indian
title.
The indictment in the case at bar
mad peen based upon the federal
lstatute of 1897 That act prohibits the
sale or delivering Of any form OF in
toXicatng liquor into Indian coun-
| try located anywhere in the United
States; the said act specifying that
lands include all Indian reservations
or Indian allotments OF when the
! title remains in the name OF an In
dian. AS distinguished from the act |
of 1897 the act of 1895 specifically |
forbids the shipment manufacture, |
sael or delivery of Intoxicating liq-
uor into the Indian territory. mean
ing the specific section Of the cOun-
Try which belonged to the Five CIV
ililed Tribes and which became a
part Of the state Of Oklahoma n
order TO understand the significance +
Of the recent decision the distinction
between these two acts must be Rapt /
in mind The 1895 act exclusively ap-
plies to the Indian terFltort the 1897
act applies to Indian country any
where
The Schaap case was based upon
the general act OF 1897; for tAat reas
on the defendant had a right to intro
duce evidence to show that he did not
ship liquor to Indian lands held either
as an indian reservation or by all
lotment title. 1t was precisely upon II
hat point that the lower court was
reversed. But in making the finding
thr coart Of a1.eals went beyond
the specific finding and held that
the act of 1895 barring liquor from
he Indian territory pori:3n os Okla
loma is still in force, and that it is
still violation of federal law to ship
liquor TO any point in that portion of
Oklahoma II
But in making the last named find
hg the court threw in the further
PROVISION that to he violation of the
act OF 1895, the shipment must be
Interstate, and that the federal sta n
ute does not apply to shipments of
liquor from one point to another who'll
" in the state OF oklahoma. An
'ther effect of the decision is that.
lnless the supreme court overrules,
here is held 10 be no such offense
gainst federal law as attempts to
introduce liquor into Indian territory.
That specific charge has been written
nto more than 100 prosecutions in
his city in the past two years.
Here then is the situation under
he new ruling as ii affects this city:
Dealers may ship liquor from this
iiy into old Oklahop3 and It may he
eshipped to any point in Oklahoma
iithout fear OF prosecution, or inter-
orence on the part OF the federal au-
horities anywhere Dealers wno ship
quor from this city to any point IN
he Indian territory cannot be inter
erred with by the federal authorities
] this city The offense has not been
ommitted until the act OF shipment
as been completed. and that puts
ie jurisdiction in the Oklahoma
'derai courts True the federal sta
ties technically give jurisdiction in Il
9TH courts. but in practice this court 4.