The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-08-24
WEDNESDAY. AUGUST "a. 1921
The Indivisible Fourth.

The tndlvISlbIe Fourth.
Tonight is the time set by the SEN
ate for the beginning of a months
recess. At the present writing there
seems to be nothing to delay this va
cation except possible deadlock be-
tween the two Houses of Congress
concerning the Stanley amendment OF
the Willis-Campbell bill, relating to
the enforcement of the Volstead act.
The disagreement on the deficiency
bill, with its appropriation Of nearly
s50,000,000 for the Shipping Board
end its provision for the expenses of
the coming international conference
to consider reductions of armament
the event commonly but enormously
styled the Disarmament Conference
dropped out of the way in the
Senate yesterday. Other measures at
issue, like the McNary agricultural
aid bill and the Tincher grain and
cotton gambling bill, are practically
within the Senates control for
settlement
There remains. however. this no
table difference of opinion and ac-
tion between the two houses con-
corning the extent to which one
clearly declared constitutional prin.
ciple and requirement may be VIC
lated in order to give effect to an
other plain purpose OF the Constitu-
ton. Two weeks ago THE New YORK
HERALD pointed out the broader as
poets of this surprisingly important
question. About a week ago we dis
cussed the significance Of the pro-
posal to nullify the Fourth Amend
ment, in whole or in part, for the
sake of an easier and more conven-
lent enforcement of the Eighteenth
Amendment and the legislation there
under. In conference there has been
no approach yet to a reconcilia-
ton of the respective attitudes Of the
Senate and the House. The two po-
sitions are, indeed, irreconcilable;
and if the House stands to it's avow-
ais and the Senate holds the ground
1t has most emphatically made its
own, Congress will be kept in ses-
sion unless the settlement is. post
poned till after the recess. The sit
uation is this.
The Senate maintains that to leg
islate prohibitory enforcement by
means of searches and seizures with
out warrants specific in every case is
TO violate the guarantees OF the
Fourth Amendment; to outrage the
right OF the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers and
effects against unreasonable searches
and seizures; to nullify for the con-
venience of a statutory law the con-
stitutional requirement that no war
rants shall issue but on probable
cause. supported by oath or afIlrma-
ton and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the person
or things to be seized" This is the
guaranty and the principle expressed
in the Stanley amendment, which the
Senate adopted by signal majority
and which the House has resolutely
refused to accept in its entirety
The House has been maintaining
that while the constitutional rights
of personal liberty guaranteed by the
Fourth Amendment may be held to
apply TO household search and seiz-
ure they shall not apply to other
attempts to search and seize without
a warrant; as, for example, in cases
OF transportation by automobiles or
other vehicles, or in parcels on the
person of the citizen.
Ii is as clear as daylight that the
distinction cannot be made by law
without violating one part of the
Fourth Amendment while pretending
10 respect the other part. The spirit
and the language Of the constitutional
guaranty protect the citizen equally
IN either case, and it does not meet
4 the obstacle to say, as the House
substantially says, that, while the
Fourth Amendment may be per-
mitted to run in the case Of the citi-
zen who is behind the doors Of his
own domicile, the practical exigen-
cies Of enforcement require that it
shall not run in the case OF the
citizens person when he is outside
his domicile.
The Houses position in this re-
spect is untenable. There can be no
division Of the positive requirements
Of the Fourth Amendment II is
either all valid or all negligible 1t
cannot be half alive and half dead
at the same time.
We are glad that the Importance
cf this Issue is coming to be recog-