The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-12-14

cut carly SIage oil the bul'S CON
sideratiop. Opponents Of the bill
are expected to tresort 70 about
every parliamentary expedIent
known to prevent passage and moth
ing except a storm.tossed course
for II up to the final roll cali Is ex.
pected by anybody in touch with
the situation.
The drive TO make Christmas, 4
hootchless holiday is concentrating
the attention OF the Prohibition En-.
forcement Bureau here as It has
never been foscussed before. Plans
have been drawn with great care,
and It is now up to enforcement OF.
ficials everywhere to see that they
are carried out: One gets the i'm.
preston by a visit to that bureau
that the holidays are to- be the
supremest, test that the prohibition
enforcement organization has ieveS
been put 10 and Il is the plainly.
shown ambition OF the high officials
in charge to have their department
give a good account Of itself
There arc more people working on
the outside to Illustrate successful
enforcement during the Ynletida
season than the bureau has at its
command. They are engaged 10
the booze business. In that army
there are many more divisions than
Director Haynes has In his. and
their strategicaI ability and ali
around resourcefulness are not 10
be, denied. While the heaviest re.
Inducements OF the bureau are ia
be marshalled In the most ponulous
senters, particularly near the bor.
'ders and the tlree.mile limit, each
state unit 10 to be held strictly IS
account for what happens in its re-.
spective territory. The aim Of d..
rector Haynes is to furnish the
country with satisfying demon
stration that the Volstead Law can
be fairly successfully enforced Ia
a national way at q, season when
the desire for drink is presumed "a
be a Temporarily magnified appe.
Ute for a wee bit Of the stuff that
tends TO make two Santas and a
couple Of chimneys appear in The
,offing where there should be, and
really is, but one. The ability OF
the government 10 enforce prohl,
bition so that It really does pro.
hlbit has been under an Increased
barrage of doubtful criticism OF
late, and Director Haynes and his
associates are well aware OF It. II
has spurred them to great prepare.
ton, activity, and high hope.
The o. S. Supreme Court dc.
cided that the Pennsylvania law
torbiddinG the mining Of anthracite
coal which affects surface strlc.
lures is unconstitutional as IL dc!
prtTes property without compensa.
ton. The decision was based on
a test case brought by II. J. Mahon
70 prevent the Pennsylvania Coal
Co. from further mining under hIs
house. The decision is of import.
ance to West Virginia and every
other state In which coal is mined
and similar situations have de.
veloped or are bound to some time
In the future. Justice .Brandets
did not agree with the court and
rendered a dissenting opinion. con.
tending that the Pennsylvania law
was in the interest Of public safe.
ty S
Government hardly could 20 on
II to some extent values incident
to property could not be diminish.
cd without paying for every such'
in the general law said
Justice Holmes In nullltying the
law, which had been sustained pre-.
viously by the Pennsylvania SUI
preme Court, from which appeal
had been taken by the: defendant
company. I'VE are IN danger or
forgetting that a strong public de-
sire TO improve the public condi.
ton Is not enough to warrant
achieving the desire by a shorter
cut than the constitutional way Of
paying for the change. IS
$50 far as private persons or
communities have been Ut to take
he risk ofsacquiring only surfacsi
lights, we cannot see that the fact
hat their risk is becoming a dan.
ger warrants tie giving to them
greater rights than they bought, It
purports to abolish what Is recog.
1ized In Pennsylvania as an estate
In land-a very valuable estate.
The case has been treated as : ona
IN which the validity OF the actl
should be discussed. The act can.
not be sustained as an exercise
Of the police power so. far as II az
reefs thei mining OF cod undes
streets or cities In. places where
The right to mine such, coal has
been reserved.
'The. right TO coal consists in
the right to mine It, What makes
the right to mine coal valuable IS
that It can be exercised WITH prone.
TO make It commercially impracti.
cable to mine certain coal Is very
nearly the same eject for consti
tnuonal purposes as appropriatfneI
or destroying II. The rights Of the
public In a street purchased or laid
ont; BY eminent domain are those