Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-12-16
"WETS" ONLY HOPE
IS PROCLAMATION,
ENDING WORLD WAR
Volstead Law and 2.75 Per Cent
Beer to be Passed on Later
by Supreme Court.
DRYS WIN EVERY POINT

W Arlington, Itec. 1b.-Only a proc
Iamation by tho President declaring the
war at an end and rehabilitation COM
pletc offers any chance for the sale of dis
titled spirits between now and the time
constitutional prohibition goes into effect
on January I6. Since the Supreme Court
decision yesterday upholding wartime
prohibition.
BEER STATUS UNDECIDED.
Whether beer can be sold during this
interim is still 10 be determined by the
court. Yesterdays decision did not pass
ON the question as TO whether two and
thrre-uuarter per cent beer can be sold
under the wartime prohibition against
Intoxicating" liquors. The court VIII
meet again next Monday for Its last
opinion dav before tho Christmas holidays
Nor did the court pass on the question
as TO whether the Nolstead act, whicn
SITS up the machinery for enforcing
etatutory or constitutional prohibition,
is constitutional.
Prospects that the President viii re-
leve the present situation by proc
Iamation declaring the war at an end.
and thus automatically repeating the
Wartime Prohibition act, Is extremely
remote His attitude in this respect has
not been influenced, IL Is stated, by the
rendinc question before Supreme Court.
Int hv the fact that the Senate, having
failed 10 ratify the treaty of peace, is pro-
longing the state of war.
AL WET ARGUMENTS REyUTEp.
Justice Brandeis, reading the courts
opinion today, demolished every consti-
t,ltional objection set up by the VETS
IN the hope of invahdsting the Wartime
Prohibition act.
The opinion denied that there was
any confscation of property without due
process Of law involved, taking the
ground that dealers have been given
flll warning and full opportunity TO
dispose Of their wares.
TO the contention Of the '.wets" that
the war actually had ended and that the
wartime act therefore was imperative,
the court gave answer that the only
grounds for such \ contention were news
naner reports and the casual references of
the President and other officials in State
napers The act. however. the court
maintained, makes il clearly incumbent
slpon the President % declare hostilltics
nj an end by formal proclamation: that
e,ich proclamation has not been issued,
and that, as a matter Of fact, the war
etill exists technically by reason Of the
tar1 that q treaty Of peace has not been
ratified Furthermore, the court cited
the fact that the report Of the Secretary
ct War, recently published, shows that
e<s late - a month ago rehabilitation WAS
eth IN prv>grc4r The opinion sdds that
ERE railroads are still bel6 by the Govern
mrnt mt~r emergency war powers and
thaA for similar REASONS the Government
ohD = exercising its powers to restrict the
aufxil,ution and consumption Of fuel
svvsR PAss UroS MOTIVES.
With regard 70 the point raised bv the
~~rtr' that the intention Of Congress
ssd been completed IN that the act al
rs-sfy had served the purpose Of conserving
food supplies for the war, the court de-
slArrd that IL never had been its practice
10 60 into the motives OF Congress where
At as cieariy shown that an act Of Congress
~.s constitutional.
Finally, the Court held. there was no
Srround for the contention that the adop-
ton of the Constitutional Prohibition
amendment had by implication rendered
Invalid the Wartime Prohibition act
The contention Of the ''wpts" had been
that BY allowing narGn OF one wear
before IL should be come itself operative
the amendment had implied thst during
this per1od the sale Of liquor would be
permitted The opinion disposed OF
this by declaring that whereas the Con
stitutional amendment was permanent
legislation operating during war and
r.race. the Wartime Prohibition act was
ras-e>d under the supreme war powers Of
the Government and. therefore, was 10
be considered as a distinct exercise OF
authority
10 leaving unanswered the question
81 20 what constitutes Intoxicating
beverages within the meaning of the
Wartime act, the Court leaves unsettled
the question az to whether dealers who
have been engaged IN the sale Of 234 per
cent beer, by grace OF InlunctioIs allowed
bv lower courts, may still DC prosecuted
criminallv The Department of Justice
come time ago gave warning that such
iniunctions would not prevent the de-
pArtrnent from bringing these prosecu-
tons after the question had been finally
determined by the highest court.
INJUNCTION DISSOLVED.
Todsys decision was rendered on the
sppeals taken from the Federal courts
IN. kentucky and New York, and in de-
ridhg the question the Supreme Court
dissolved inlunctions which had restrain
rd revenue officials from interfering with
the renewal from bond Of shout sc. .OO0, 900
gallons oi whisky valued 81 approx
rnately s75.O00,000 and held by the Ken
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