Weekly journal-miner., 1915-08-18
SUPREME COURT DECISION
 MAY APPLY HERE
(From Wednesdays Daily.)


 not successfully assail the right of common carriers to ship liquor into the state for the personal use of con signees, or the right of citizens to purchase liquor outside the state for use here, the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the famous case Of the Adams Express Company against the Commonwealth of Ken lucky was awaited with widespread interest. The case was decided in favor Of the express company, June IA. and' a copy of the opinion of the Supreme court was received here on ly a couple of days ago.
 The express company was indicted for a violation of Kentucky statute which says, in part: Tt shall be un- lawful for any public or private car rier to bring into, deliver or distribute in any county, district, town or city, where the sale of intoxicating liquors has been prohibited. and spirituous, vinous, malt of other intoxicating liquor. regardless of the name by which it may be called; and this act shall apply to all packages Of such intoxicating liquors whether broken or unbroken."
 Justice Day, delivering the opinion for the court, said in part: "The ex- press company requested a preempt ory instruction for a verdict of not guilty because the shipments of liquor were interstate shipments and consti- tuted interstate commerce within the meaning of the commerce clause of the Federal Constitution. That the liquors being for the personal use of the consignees respectively is repug- nant 10 the Constitution of Kentucky, and if the indictment was authorized by the act of Congress, known as the Webb-Kenyon law, that law is in con travention of the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution of the Unit ed States and of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitutions The Webb-Kenyon act provides; "Be it enacted that the shipments or trans portation. in any manner or by any means whatsoever of any spirituous, vinous, matted. fermented, or other intoxicating liquor of any kind, from one state, territory, or district Of the United States, or place noncon. tiguous to, but subject to the juris diction thereof, into any other state, territory, or district of the United States, or place noncontiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction there of, or from any foreign country into any state, territory, or district of the United States, or place noncontig- uous to, but subject to the juris- diction thereof, which said spiritu ous, etc, liquor is intended by any person interested therein, to be re- ceived possessed, sold, or in any manner used either in the original package or otherwise, in violation of any law of such state, territory, or district of the United States, or place noncontiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction thereof is hereby prohibited"
 Commenting on the Webb-Kenyon act, Justice Day said:
 Tt would be difficult to frame Ian guage more plainly indicating the purpose of Congress not to prohibit all interstate shipments or transpor- tation of liquor into so-called dry territory, and to render the prohibi- ton of the statute operative only where the liquor is to be dealt with in violation of the local law of the state into which it is thus shipped or transported. Such shipments are prohibited only when such person interested intends that they shall be possessed, sold or used in violation of any law of the state wherein they are received Thus far and no fur ther has Congress seen fit to ex- tend the prohibition to the act in relation to interstate shipments. EX- cept as affected by the Wilson act, which permits the state laws to oper- ate upon liquors after termination of the transportation to the con signee, and the Webb-Kenyon act, which prohibits the transportation into the state, to be dealt with there in in violation of local law, the sub ject-matter of such interstate ship ment is left untouched and remains within the sole jurisdiction of Con gross under the Federal constitu ton.
 It becomes necessary, therefore, to inquire whether a shipment of the character here in question comes within the terms of the Webb-Ken yon act, because of the purpose to use the liquor in violation Of the law of the state of Kentucky. The stipu