Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-03-02
II STATES WILL
FIGHTEFFORTTO
ANNUL DRYLAW

/ WASHINGTON, March 1.--Twenty-
/ one prohibition states. represented by
Charles L. Hughes, Republican candi-
date for president in 1916, today an
intention of fighting the efforts of
Rhode Island to have the eighteenth
amendment and the Volstead law en-
forcing it declared invalid.
! AS the court met Mr.. Hughes ask
! ed permission to file a bFief for the
dry states, aTnici curiae which backs
tfhe cont e1lrioa ssof Il he sderal gesseeAf-
ment that the Rhode Island suit
Should be dismissed. Rhode Island,
| it is understood, will oppose the &C
! ton on the grounds that it must be
filed by the attorney generals of the
several states and not Mr.. Hughes.
, The states represented are Della
| ware, North Carolina, Kentucky,
! Louisiana, Indiana, Alabama. Maine
| Arkansas. Michigan, Florida, Oregon,
! Kansas West Virginia, Nevada, Ne
brasla, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and
! Arizona.
Every effort will be made to en-
! pedite the proceedings i'll order that
! the main points Of contention may
be determined before the annual
summer recess of the court in June.
! Main Questions
The main questions that the wet
forces will Ysll the court to deter
mine are:
Is the eighteenth amendment valid?
Was it legally passed by congress
and ratified by the states?
Does it infringe on states rights"
Can it be enforced in a state that
did not ratify the amendment?
Can states withdraw their ratifi-
cations by referendums as Ohio has
done?
Is the Volstead law constitutional?
Did congress have the power to fix
the percentage of alcohol that may
be legally said to make a beverage
intoXica ting or must the drink really
be Intoxicating before it's use can
be prohibited? his.
Must the government compensate
the owners of the liquor for the loss
caused by prohibition?. J.
Does that part of the amendment
giving congress and the several
states concurrent power to enforce
JuSctII Lila |. d CGh(C lA1S'y
allow the use of light beer and wines
which it's Legislature says are not
Intoxicating?
Three Cases in Court
Only three cases are now directly
before the court. One is the original
bill of complaint of the state of
Rhode Island challenging the valid:
ity of both the amendment and the
Volstead law and declaring that It
cannot be enforced in Rhode Island
because the state did not ratify the
amendment.
Charles z. Hughes is expected to
ask the court today to be allowed
to file q brief for several dry states
attacking the position taken by
Rhode Island. AS d political side
light. Eiinu Root. ranking with
Hughes as a prominent Republican,
will appear ii one case for the wet
forces.
Argument Of the Rhode Island case
probably will be set for next Mon
DAY and with it an appeal by George
Dempsey, a Massachusetts, Hluor
dealer, who insists the Nolste2d law
is unconstitutional because Congress
iii passing it disregarded the fact the
amendmenG gives to the states COZ
current power to enforce prohibition.
The third case is brought by Ohio
dry forces, who seek to have the
| court declare tina" legislative ratifi-
&c atoms Of the amendment can not lie
Withdrawn, even if the people de-
+ rided against national prohibition by
q referendum. This has been adj
| vanced for argument early next week,
Department of justice attorneys
! lcere are watching with keen interest
the move TO pass a law in New Jersey
legalizing the sale of 3.5 per cent
beer despite the fact that the Vol
| stead law fixes the maximum at ore
half per cent. They express the opin
ion that if the bill is passed i Will
have little immediate effect as legal
steps will be taken at once by the
| government to enjOin its operation
until the supreme court determines
| it's validity. Present plans are for
federal agents tc make arrests rs
soon as the first sales are made uD-
! Ger the proposed New Jersey law.
These probably will be made test
| cases to be carried 20 the supreme
| court.
The wet forces sought to advance
an appeal from q Kentucky federal
court decision holding constitutional
prohibitions valid. The suit wa
drought by the Kentucky DistilIing
and Warehouse company.