The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1920-03-31
CONsTITUTIONALITY OF
VOLSTEAD ACT is
ATTACKED BY BREWERS


Washington, March 3O-Coustitu-
tionality Of the prohibition amend
ment and parts Of the enforcement
acts were attacked in a brief filed in
the supreme court today by counsel
for Christian Feigenspan, a brewti'
Of Newark, N. J. Feigenspan is ap-
pealing from federal court DEGREES
dismissing injunction proceedings to
enjoin prohibition officials from pre-
venting him from manufacturing beer
alleged to be Misunderstanding, but
containing more than one-half Of one
per cent Of alcohol.
Arguments in this case, as well as
in the original suit brought by New
Jersey and appeals from Wisconsin
involving these questions, will be
heard by the court Monday.
The brief, which was prepared BY
Elihu Root and William D. Guthrie.
contends the amendment is invalid
because in reality it is legislation out
side the scope of limitations imposed
By article V Of the constitution; that
IHREE-t.. :. . >. =. -.
it impairs the states police and gov
ernmental powers and that it has not
been legally ratified by three fourths
OF the states, because the constitution
Of several states requires submission
of the amendment to the electorate.
ut is submitted" the brief said.
that the destruction of the liquor
traffic, even if desirable In some as
poets, at the expense of ultimately
subverting our federal system and To-
cal self-government and turning our
constitution into mere code of statu- 1
tory enactments, of erecting a consti-
tutional precedent which will afford
legal justification for spoliation and
the destruction of republican govern
ment and of leaving every natural
right whether or life, liberty or prop
erty, wholly at the mercy Of future
constitutional amendment, may be too
high price to pay for even the
greatest reform, and such a misfor-
tune should not be visited upon tn,
people of the United States because
comparatively small minority of then,
are incapable of self-restraint in the
use of liquor. 1t may be the duty
Of government to protest the COM
paratively few weak and degenerate
among the people, but it cannot be it's
duty to remedy an even admitted evil
if such remedy necessarily involved
laying the foundation for the pos
sible ultimate overthrow of our fed |
eral system of government"
Contents of Brief.
Replying to contentious raised in
the Feigenspan brief, the govern
ment defended both the prohibition
anne ndment and the yolstead act. AS
to the latter the brief said:
"In order to effectively enforce the.
prohibition against Intoxicating H.
quors, Congress had ample power to
adopt the definition contained in the
Volstead act as u means appropriate
to such enforcement. The Volstead
act is an exercise of the police power
and whatever hardships may result
from the destruction or impairments
Of the value of property or of beer
lawfully manufactured, il
cannot be said that there has been
such a taking of property or beer a.
requires compensation or that the re-
sulting impairment of values is I'M
constitutional.
ut is said that the amendment au-
thorized Congress to prohibit only in
toxicating liquor and that beverage
which does not contain largely more
than one-half of one percentum of
alcohol is not intoxicating. The con
tentlon is that Congress, being en-
only to prohibit intoxicating
liquors, cannot by definition, make .
beverage intoxicating which is not, in
fact, Intoxicating within the meaning
Of the language of the amendment.
For this reason it is said definition
adopted is untruthful and arbitrary,
and therefore unconstitutional.
at is of course true that Congress
IAN not extend its powers by giving
10 the language used in comforting
those powers an arbitrary meaning
which does net belong to it. But so
ong as it has the constitutional pow
II to do the thing which it does, it
nay use the words employed which il
chooses to give them. In other words,
{, in order to enforce the eighteenth
amendment, it has the power to pro-
,ibit the sale or manufacture of bev-
,rages containing less alcohol than is
necessary to render them Intoxicating,
t is immaterial whether it provide
for their prohibition or ac-
Tho CANA thing h,y tnot,d