The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-07-11
DEEt:l;;j i !: J,.<=.j IIl
PROHIBITION LAW
beverage Purposes" May uD.
set Bone Cry Status.
FEDERAL POWERS LIMITED
Amendment Declares .ntoxicants May
Be Used For Medicinal or Industrial
Needs

Washington, July ll.-An almost ia
tai defect has been discovered in The
| eighteenth amendment to the cOnsti
! tuition which nailed down nationwide
| prohibition and paved the way for the
! toI,,t,.;: ,.4.J. ,vl.l>Lt act.
! II i. ..'~,.::-t,tt liiitt light is all -aC
/ for those who favor sensible, and not
| fanatical, dryness.
The apparent hole i'll the eighteenth
! amendment revoiVeS around the words
beverage purposes. 1t is claimed
| that congress has 10 authority TO regu,
late intOXicants except under the pow
ers conferred by the indicated phrase
According to the new construction
this means that every state IN the ,Uns
! Ion would have the right to permit the
| use of alcohol, wine and beer for me-
dicinal and industrial purposes. Moth
! ing would remain of existing restric-
! lions but the prohibition against these
| fluids for beverage purposes
Each state would he left free To en-
act such legislatory laws as might
seem advisable regarding the use of
| wine, beer and alcohol for medicinal
| and industrial purposes, but congress
could have 70 participation in origin
ating or supervising these fluids
The eighteenth amendment provides
that: The manufacture sale or trans
portation of Intoxicating liquors with
in, the importation thereof into, or the
en- thnpn,f ~
| States and all territory subject to the
jurisdiction thereof for beverage pur-
, poses is hereby prohibited.
Some of the best legal experts in
congress began a careful study of the
eighteenth amendment. The pending
/ WilIis-Campbell bill to regulate the
prescribing of wine and beer and to
further limit the Use of alcohol caused
them to take the matter UP. They
promptly reached the conclusion that
the WilliS-Campbell measure of neces-
sity is unconstitutional, as the eigh-
teenth amendment gives congress no
powers to regulate the use of alcohol
Wine-or beer for medicinal and indus
trial purposes.
The opinion also prevailed that the
eighteenth amendment is utterly iIlef-
fective in prohibiting the use of I'M
toxlcants for other than bevera -,
poses, and sets forth in the amend
ment ftselfland cannot possibly be con-
strued as limiting the use of intoxi.
cants for medicinal or industrial uses.
Having reached, the conclusion that
congress already has far exceeded the
authority given it by the eighteenth
amendment. the legal experts are ex-
amining all the decisions of the courts
handed down since the amendment and
the EolStead act became operative.
1t already has been found that the
opinions on the Rhode Island and
New Jersey cases do not cover the new
point raised. These decisions were
based on the right of state to per-
nit the making and selling of intoxf-
cantS within its own borders for bev-
erage purposes. The question of the
state power to permit the manufacture
and sale of such intOxicants for medici-
nal and industrial uses was not raised.
Hence, the belief is expressed that
nothing will be found in any conclu-
sion of the United States supreme
court recognizing the power of con-
gresS to regulate the use of intOxi-
cantS within state except for hey
erage purposes" as clearly declared in
the eighteenth amendment.