New Britain herald., 1930-12-17
unconstitutional"
 May Take Appeal


 May Take Appeal Philip Forman. the United States attorney, who prosecuted the case of William Sprague, clerk of Wan tage township, and a farmer, on a charge of transporting beer, n which the indictment was quashed by Judge Clark's decision, was studying the opinion today with a view of taking an appeal,
 He said the appeal might be car ried either to the United States cir cult court of appeals or direct 10 the supreme court.
 Meanwhile" he said, "as I un- derstand it. no other judge in the 1 United States, nor the judges of this district are bound by the opin- ion. and therefore enforcement of the Volstead act in New Jersey will continue until the remaining three judges of this bench all decide in agreement with Judge Clark. or, un- til a decision of the higher courts is reached on his opinion" Governor Larson said: AS far as l am concerned the eighteenth amendment still is the law of the land. The prohibition question just now is a wilderness and there will some day be a Moses to lead US out of it. I would not ad- wise my friends to transport liquor." Outcome Of Test Case Judge Clark's decision was the outcome of what amounted to a test case of the contention of a. com- mittee of the New York County Lawyers association that the adop- ton of the eighteenth amendment was invalid under the 10th amend ment to the constitution which modi- fled article five.
 Selden Bacon, Daniel F. Cohalan and Julius Henry Cohen, members of the committee, presented the argument against validity of the amendment before Judge Clark. Frederick M. P. Pease, of Newark, a former assistant United States at torney. was counsel of record for the defense.
 Judge Clark at B is the young est member of the federal bench. He was appointed in May, 1925, by President Coolidge, resigning from the bench of the New Jersey court of appeals to accept the federal post. His appointment was backed by the late Mayne B. Wheeler, su- perintendent Of the Anti-Saloon League.
 He was born in Newark and is a graduate of Harvard He served as captain in the World War and was cited for gallantry in action.
 In his five years as federal judge three Of his decisions have been reversed out of B cases car ried to higher courts.
 Uses 15,O0O Words
 Judge Clarks decision of 15,00O words, devoted little attention to points raised by counsel. Authori- ties cited were, in the main, picked from the volumes which line the walls of the library in his huge colonial house in Princeton. For it was there. far into many nights, that this tall. angular man who gradu- ated from Harvard in three years and although an heir to millions, took his place in the ranks during the World war, pondered his prob lem.
 Declaring the points he was decid- ing had never been submitted 10 the supreme court, Judge Clark noted thai the fifth article states amend ments to the constitution may be ratified ''by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths there of
 Cites Article Five
 Political science" he wrote, "can give only one answer to the ques- ton presented by the alternative | methods of ratification prescribed by article five. If the amendment to be considered is one designed to transfer 10 the United States powers heretofore reserved to the states, or If there are any such, to the peo- | pie, that answer must be in favor of | the convention method" He held his decision should not affect other amendments ratified by state legislatures. since the only one whose nature in any respect re- sembled the 18th, was the 18th, the slavery amendment.
 The distinction, he said, was that the 18th amendment did not, "as does the 18th. contain a grant Of power to regulate and prohibit cer- tain acts"
 Washington ListIess
 Washington, Dec. IT P>-Neither cheering nor groans echoed in