The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-01-08
Chief Justice White Says
Contention of Appellants
Mostly Imaginery.
DRAFT CASES
OF SEVERAL STATES
Provisions of Act Cited in
Opinion Written by
Chief Justice.
(By Associated Press.) J

" dSIlllS Ton, jan g. ne SeiSNtlNS =
service act was upheld as constitu-
tIonal by the supreme court in an
opinion today in the draft cases.
Chief Justice White, who delivered
the unanimous opinion. in brief
statement declared that after consid
ering the various contentions the con-
Clusion had been reached that most
Of them We're imaginary rather than
real
The governments contentious that
the power given congress to declare
war includes power to compel citizens
to render military service both al
home and abroad We're sustained by
the court.
The decision resulted from the ap-
peals of thirteen cases growing out
of the convictions under the selective
service act, five coming from New
York, three from Ohio, four from Min
nesota and one from Georgia. Consti-
tutionality Of the act was made the
basis for all of the appeals.
The cases from New York from
those of Louis Kramer, Morris Beck
er, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berlx-
man and Meyer Grubard The first
four were convicted of attempting 10
induce others Of draft age laot to reg
TO register was made against Kramer
who was sentenced to two years i'm
prisOnment. Becker was sentenced to
one year and eight months in Jail
while Emma Goldman and Berkman
We're ordered imprisoned for two years
and fined $4,000 each. \ one year
sentence was given Graubard for fail
ing TO register.
Charles f Ruthenherg, Albert wag-
enknecht, and Charles Baker were
convicted in the Ohio federal district
court on a charge of inducing Alphons
J. Schue not to register. Each was
sentenced to one year Imprisonment.
The Minnesota cases We're those of
Joseph f.. Arver Alfred I. Grahl. Otto
and Walter Wangerin, indicted for
failing to register and sentenced to
serve one year in the Minnesota state
reformatory. The Georgia case was
based on the refusal of the federal
district court to grant a writ OF
habeas corpus TO Albert Jones a ne
gro. arrested and confined in jail for
refusing TO register on June 5.
Chief Justice White in his opinion
said;
The law. is its title declares, was
intended TO supply temporarily the
increased military force which was re
Quired by the existing emergency, the
War, then and now tlagrant."
Here the chief justice recited the
provisions Of the act and the conten-
tion of those who attecked its con
stitutionality.
The possession of authority to en-
act the status said the chief justice,
must be found in the clauses of the
constitution giving congress power to
declare war. to raise and sup
port armies, but no appropriation of
money 10 that use shall be for a long
er term than two years; 10
make rules for the government anu
regulation Of the land and naval forces
And the mind cannot conceive an
army without the men Ia compose i.
on the face of the constitutions the
objection that it does not give power
to provide for such men would seem
to he too frivolous for further notice.
1t is said, however. that since, under
the constitution as originally formed,
state citizenship was primary and
united States citizenship but deriva-
tive and dependent thereon, therefore.
the power conferred upon congress to
raise armies was only Coterminous
with the United States citizenship and
could not be exerted So as TO cause
that citizenship to lose its depeuden:
character and dominate state citizen
ship.
But the proposition simply denies
70 congress the power TO raise armies
with tho constitution gives. That pow
er by the very terms Of the constitu-
ton. being delegated. is supreme. In
truth the contention simply assails the
wisdom OF the trainers of the consti-
tuition in comforting authority on con-
gress and in not retaining it as IL was
under the confederation in the several
states. Further ii is said. the right
to provide is not denied by calling for
volunteers enlistments. but Il does not
and cannot include the power to exact
eforced military duty by the citizen
This however. but challenges the eN-