East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-10-11
LEGAL! HONE BREWING
HANGS FIRE AS ROW
OVER RAIDS STYLES
Right of Agents to Search
Homes Without Warrant,
Way to Settle Question.
RY J. BART CAMPBELL
international News Service Staff
Corracnpn6ent

RY J. BART CAMPBELL
international News Service Staff
Correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, oct. l1.-Repu5 5li-
can and Democratic Senators who
have waged a long and determined
fight against ehe "anti-beer bill" de-
clare they Will he satisfied if they only
succeed in giving public attention upon
the Fourth Amendment to the United
States Constitution.
When they starte their fight
against indiscriminate search and
seizure by prohibition agents they
were aware they faced overwhelming
odds in the dry" majority of Con-
gress, which has seldom failed to heed
the demands of the Anti-Saloon Lea
que for the Tightening or prohibition
restrictions about the American peO-
pie.
Amendment Still Alive
But their real purpose, they say,
was to begin in agitation that would
remind the American people that
| there is such a thing as the Fourth
| Amendment still in existence, despite
| Volstead days it was frequently ignor-
ed in prohibition enforcement in
dry" States and communities
! Senator Sterling (R), of South Da-
kota, and other dry" leaders of Con-
gress contend there is nothing in the
search and seizure provisions they
have written into the anti-beer bill
| which is in conflict with the spirit or
the letter of the Fourth Amendment.
Their opponents argue otherwise, and
the controversy will doubtless end in
the courts as many dispntes over pro-
hibition enforcement invariably do.
The Stanley amendment, sponsored
by Senator Stanley CD, of Kentucky,
and adopted by the Senate unanimous
ly, even Senator Sterling agreeing to
accept it, was expected to prevent in
discriminate raids" upon the home
and personal property by the prohibi-
tion police" unless they could show
probable cause" or were armed with
warrants 1t was merely intended to
bind them strictly to the restrictions
clearly imposed upon search and sell
zure by the Fourth Amendment
DryS Hard To Please
But the "dry" forces rose up against
the Senates unanimous action and
demanded the rejection Of the Stanley
amendment when the anti-beer bill
was sent to conference. Even a substi-
tute amendment proposed by Repre-
sentative Volstead (R), of Minnesota,
whose name the prohibition enforce
gf ,,-l,f ,fol,-
the House by a decisive vote Of 12O to
So, didn't suit the "bone-drys.'
Wayne +. Wheeler, general counsel
for the Anti-Saloon League, even
found himself in the uncomfortable
position of being bitterly critized by
some of the 'eNtremists" in his own
organization for permitting the House
to adopte Volstead's amendment. Vol
stead was himself assailed on tho
House floor by some dry" spokesman
for fatherng a proposition which he
admitted would by its limitation of
search and seizure, probably permit
home brew not intended for sale. n.
Extremely dry" House members
clamored for authorization of prohibi-
tion agents to turn the home inside
out and to prevent drop of alcoholic
liquor from being made or used within
it. Representative Fields CD, of Ken
lucky, an aVowed "bone-dry' sought
to limit the protection of the home by
causing the manufacture of liquor to
be made sufficient reason for the isst-
ance of a search warrant against a
dwelling regardless of the question Of
intent to sell. Fields proposal was
beaten by vote of 96 to "a
Then Wheeler, spokesman and lob
| hyst for the Anti-Saloon League.
slipped into the room in which the
+ Senate and House conferees were
meeting. Whereupon Senator Ashurst
| (D), OF Arizona, one of the Senate con-
| ferrees "bolted" the conference with
the declaration that he would agree to
| the Stanley amendment or nothing.
| His departure left the "bone-drys" in
control of the conference, and they
! promptly tossed both the Senate and
House amendments into the nearest
waste basket and, with Wheeler's as
slstance, wrote the following bone
dry substitute for them.
Section 6. That any officer agent.
or employe of the United States en-
gagged in the enforcement of this act.
of the national prohibition act, or any
other law of the United States, who
shall search any private dwelling as
defined in the national prohibition act,
and occupied as much dwelling, with
out a warrant directing such search,
or who while so engaged shall without
search warrant maliciously and
without reasonable cause search any
other building or property, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined for a
first offense not more than 1000 and
for SUBSEQUENT offense not more
than $1,000 or imprisoned not more
than one year or both such fine and
imprisonment
The "drys' have placed one con-
struetion on them, their opponents an
other, and always the Fourth amend
ment has been cited. The courts will
doubtless have to yet decide to what
extent the Fourth amendment re-
stricts search and seizure by prohibi-
tioH agents. Some day the United
states supreme Court will probably
hand down a decision as to whetherr
the Stanley, the Volstead or the bone
dry amendment was constitutional or