The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-21
BY ROY A. HAYNES united StRtes Prohibition COmmts-
 siOuer
lspecInl to The Are.Mern1h1

Ni'iOLS ol the united states supreme tcourt might be of interest to the few judges who hold the prohibition laws 'in light esteem. These decisions. < covering many points raised by per { sons out of sympathy with law en- iforcement. are both clear and illumi- tnating.
 One of the first attacks upon the sconstitutionality of the national pro- ambition act was carried to the su- 3preme court in the case of Ruppert TVS. Caffey. In that case, the power sot Congress to define as intoxicating Ilquor any beverage containing one shalf of 1 per cent or more of alcohol Fby volume was considered. Certain brewers contended that the defini- ton of intoxicating liquor by Con- : gress worked a peculiar hardship and loss to owners of breweries and manufacturers of beer; and, by be- coming effective immediately upon it's passage, the law was arbitrary and unreasonable.
 The supreme court held that Con- gress had the power to enact Title l of the national prohibition act and that it acted within the scope of It's constitutional authority in defining intoxicating liquor
 The states of Rhode Island and New Jersey sought to enjoin the execution of the Volstead act In the case of Rhode Island vs. Palmer the supreme court settled the validity of the eighteenth amendment and the power of Congress to enact legisla- tfon making the amendment effec- tive.
 In the case of Street vs. the Lin coin Safe Deposit company and Cornelli vs Moore, the supreme court sta DP atn in private and government bonded warehouses.
 old Laws That sdH stand.
 Attempts to nullify the internal revenue laws relating to intoxicating liquor on the grounds that they have been repealed by implication when the national prohibition act was passed, were brought before the su- preme court in the case of United States vs. Bose Yuginovich In that case the court held that some of the less important provisions of the for mer statutes had been repealed.
 That decision was quickly followed by the enactment by Congress of the Wtllis-Ca mpbel act including pro vision that all laws relative to the manufacture and taxation of liquor effective on the date of the passage of the national prohibition act should be considered as still in effect and that the government should have the ceed either under the Internal revenue laws or under the national prohibition act in the prosecution Of cases It was provided, however, that conviction under one law should be a bar to prosecution under the other.
 After the enactment of this law various convictions were secured un- der the revised statutes and on constitutional question ease reached the supreme court agaln to test the effect and force of the so- called revenue laws. On January 2 1923, the supreme court, in the case Of the United States vs. Stafoft ct al. held that the former decision in the case of the United states Ns. YuginoViCh was nullified as to Vlola- tions of law committed after pas sage of the Willis-Campbell act and that offenses committed after the passage of that act were punishable under the revised statutes covering illicit distilling or under the na tional prohibition act as the govern ment might choose to elect
 Prosecution of vlolators of the pro- hibition laws by both state and fed eral government for the same of fense was upheld by the supreme court in a decision handed down in the case of United States vs Vito Lanza ct al. The court held that an act denounced as a crime by both national and state sovereignties IS an offense against the peace ana dignity of both and may be punished by each.
 Supreme Courts Consistent stand.
 There are other decisions of inn portance by the supreme court. but tho SC cited above suffice to illustrate the attitude of our highest tribunal with respect to the Eighteenth Amendment and the laws enacted hereunder. One looks in vain for phrase or word to indicate that the prohibition laws are held lightly or in low esteem by the highest court of the land.
 Happily, the judges of America, for the most part, have taken similar attitude in most Cf the cases orig mating in their courts. And grad ually the violator of the law is com ing to realize that he may not dis obey the prohibition laws with inn punity, True, the realization has come more quickly in jurisdictions where prison sentences are imposed, but almost everywhere it is appar ent One of the most distinguished federal judges in the United States wrote recently as follows:
 My colleagues and I have been enforcing the law and I am proud to report that, comparatively speaking, in this district the law Is respected and our experience shows that It can be enforced. You would expect that this would be one of the most difficult centers in the United States, but among the crooks of the under world this city has the reputation of being a place to avoid in the traffic in intoxicating liquGr, and likewise
 - has the same reputation.
 "Of course, we have plenty to do, but l assure you that 1t Is not any where near the burden that l ex- pected it would be- and 1t is getting lighter all the time. If In other districts the same degree of insis- tence on honoring the law was reached. our own burdens would be much lighter"
 The Judge Who Is Hostile.
 Let us lock at another kind of judge. To quote an enforcement of ficial:
 There is only one source of hin drance (to enforcement work) and that results from the attitude of Judge --. His hostility to prohibl- ton cases clearly encourages the criminal class, as 1t manifests itself in his rulings from the bench, and orrespondingly discourages our agents. Most of the cases in which they are witnesses are dismissed upon peremptory instructions from the bench"
 When public officials take an at titude hostile to law it Is difficult to get Juries to convict. The attitude of the judge and prosecuting attorney has much tC do with the verdict of the jury. In some cases. l am in- formed, 1t would be difficult for an observer in the courtroom to tell at times whether it is the bootlegger or the prohibition agent who Is on trial.
 The attltnde of these nnhlic offi-