The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-07-28
NORTH DAKOTA
NOT BONE DRY,
/. SAYS JUSTICE
-
Sufferings of Boozless Thousands
Unnecessary, Says Judge
Robinson
DISPOSEs OF S. B. IS
BUT NOT BOWMAN BILL
Jurist May Have Overlooked Pas
sage Of Second Prohibition
Measure by Assembly

North Dakota has no bone dry law.
Justice James e. Eobinson, the most
venerable member of the supreme
court and who last fall proved the
nonpartisan league pacemaker for
Lynn j. Frazier, is authority for this
statement.
In his famous Saturday evening
letter released today, Justice Robin
son says: Il see nothing in the
hone dry law to prevent any person
from honestly importing liquor for his
own use. He has a perfect right to
carry 1t into the state and to hire any
person to carry it for him. When
fairly understood, the act does not
forbid the importation of liquor by
any person for his own use. 1t for
bids only importation for illegal pur-
poses, and the act of congress for
bids only importation for illegal pur-
poses, and the act of congress forbids
importation only when it is contrary
to the laWsSOf the state. While con-
gress has power to regulate COM
merce, it has no constitutional right
to destroy or put an embargo on COM
merce between the different states.
Ely our state constitution every per-
son is guaranteed the right for his
own use to import, acquire aud pro-
tect property He has also the right
to. pursue and obtain safety and hap
piness. Hence, this cannot be made
a crime by the most cunning use of
words or by any legislative Device
May Have Overlooked Bet
Justice Robinson reads North Da-
kota out of the prohibition ranks on
the grounds that the bone dry act
does not forbid importation Of liquor
for personal use but merely places
the ban ON Hquor Imported to be used
in violation of law.
The concensus of opinion locally is
that the justice is barking up the
wrong tree. North Dakota passed
two bone dry acts at the last session
of legislature. Justice Robinson dis
posses of one of them, introduced as
senate bill IS, and referring more par
ticularly to the transportation of in
toxicants, but he has not settled
house bill 80, introduced by Represen-
tative Bowman, and more generally
referred to when the bone dry law IS
under consideration.
The Constitution
Other parts of Judge Robinsons let
ter follows:
"You know we have written con-
stitution which is the fundamental
law of the state and all the Judges are
sworn to sustain it. z. 1t gives the
most strenuous assurances to life, lib
erty and property and to the right of
every person to acquire and possess
and to pursue and obtain
safety and happiness; and it is the
primary purpose of the state and the
courts to aid in protecting, and not in
destroying constitutional rights. Still
it is true that in crusades against
vice and liquor the legislature and
the courts have not shown regard to
the constitution. Last December one
wrote up decision sustaing
an order made by a justice of the
peace to destroy wine property
to $25O0. By good for
tune he was showed under and re-
tired and his decision was reversed
"By section PIT of the constitution,
liquors are to some ex-
tent put under the ban of the law.
Under this section no person may i'm
port such liquors for sale or gift, bar
ter or trade as a beverage and the leg
islature may enforce the same by. suit !
able penalties, but under the plain
words of the constitution, every per-
son is left entirely free to import Ii. !
quor for his own use and to forbid
such importation the lawmakers
have no more right than to forbid
the importation of grain, livestock or
any kind of property, with the single
exception made by the constitution it.
self. Every person has right to buy
and import property OF any kind and
to pursue and obtain safety and hap
piness, but under the bone dry law
as proclaimed in the newspapers, it
it unlawful to import liquor for any
purpose whatever.
The Act Diagnosed
"The first secion of the act declares
It a misdemeanor to import any Ii
uucrs to or for any person within the
state or into the state to be used in
violation of law.
"The second section declares it
for any person to carry
liquor into the state to be used in
violation of law and that it shall be
a common nuisance which may be re-
,trained nv iniunctiOn
The fifth and last section is that
a violation of the injunction shall be
punished in a summary manner tho
same as a contempt. For the first Of
tense the punishment is a fine of not
less than $100 nor more than $1,000,
and Imprisonment in the county jail
(Continued on page two,) !