East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-04-25
Such Is the Possible Status of
ANY Man Who May Travel
Over the United States.
BY ALBERT HANDY.

BY ALBERT HANDY.
THE constitution of the United States was
once defined by a school boy as the things at
the end OF the text book American history
which no one ever reads. There is. however.
one part OF the constitution which has been
more widely read than any volume of history
ever puSlished-that is the Eighteenth Amend
mcnt
The Eighteenth Amendment is brief. 1t con-
tains three sections. and the first is the great
est Of these. By this section the manufacture.
sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within and the Importation thereof into the
United States are prohibited This is the meat
of the whole amendment.
1t may sound simple but it holds many
complex possibilities. 1t is comprehensive
enough. probably; too much so in the opinion
of q considerable proportion of the population
Yet even that considerable proportion of the
population has not yet nerved itself to
the contemplation of America as a non-alco-
holic Sahara Somehow they thiHk that with
the help Of Gea CBaechus. the god of wine. of
esurse) aad . few lawyers the country may
yet BE savsd from becoming tae greater Amer
team deasrt- The in the street may be
perturesd; so. too. is the lawyer. fer he. to a
Ear greater extent than the layman. realizes
what mass OF legal complications may be
involved In that apparently simple language
With the temporary prohibition. designed to
become effective July 1. this article will
aot deal The questions here to be considered
have reference only to the prohibition amend
snent to the constitution. The proceedings now
pending to determine the validity CT the emer-
gency war measure and to enjon its enforce
. nent probably will not affect the main issue
Now the amendment itself is not statutory
enactment, and the better opinion is that it
cannot take effect until laws have been enacted
for its enforcement. In its second section is a
provision that Congress and the State IegisIa-
lures shall have concurrent Cnot co-ordinate)
power to enact appropriate statutes for the
enforcement of this article
No Penalty Provided.
In the absence of all legislation any ade-
quate means to its operation would be
wholly lacking. 1t is clear that person vio-
latins its provisions could not be fined or
otherwise punished. for there is no penalty
provided. Even seizure of the contraband ar
ticie would be of doubtful validity for there
is legal machinery designated which could
be set in motion to effect such seizure and
any attempt by the federal authorities to take
the liquor doubtless would be successfully
resisted the ground that it is a taking of
private property without due process of law
II is probable. however. that most of the
States. well the federal government
will enact legislation with the intent that there
shall be some compliance with the terms OF
the Amendment.
Such ieg-s:atior. however. instead of clari-
Tying the situation. viii create rev compiica-
tions. There will be imposed upon the courts
the task OF constituting raAs of statutory
enactn1ents. some Of which at least will not
tesr The test Of judicial construction. In New
York Stats IL has been proposed to put
messufs on tae statute books allowing the
ruanufacture and sale OF light wine and heer.
and bill already has been introduced at Al
sany defining liquor as anything containing
one half of per cent of alcohol and in
toxicatfnx Sewerage ss liquid containing any
thing more than three per cent of alcohol. Do
the Decisions OF other States throw any light
on the tras meaning OF the term Intoxicating
liquors?
In Oklahoma the courts have held that the
words Intoxicating liquors." as used in the
constitution. mean liquors which will intoxi-
cate ana are commonly used as Beverages for
sach purpose. The Texas court sas. however.
gone further in Its exposition OF the law and
has decided that beer Is not necessarily an
tz9oIicant and t.at proof of the sale Of beer
is nst proof Of the sale of intoxicating
liquor. and the New York Court Of Appeals
has readered Ike decision. Idaho. however.
scorrs such subterfuges and has held, that
even near beer is an intoxIcant. while the
contrary has been declared to be the law by
the Georgia courts
The Status of Beer.
In the majority Of States. however. beer Ia
3udicially regarded as Intoxicating liquor.