Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-30


Percentage Of Alcohol.
1.-THE Government insists" continued
Judge Webb, in his decision, that the
defendant Is guilty, because the jury
found from the opinion Of the police
and eonten nc tS.t tkis c sss aC o.
beverage, although not Intoxicating,
comes under the general prohibition ir
the act defining LIQUOR, and that the de.
PENDANT Is subject to the pains and
penalties prescribed generally in the
act. This brings us squarely to thE
Interpretation of the last clause of Sec
ton 20 of title of the national prohi-
bition act, which Is as follows:
1.-the penalties provided In this act
against the manufacture of liquor with
out a permit shall not apply to a per-
son for manufacturing on-intoxicating
cider and fruit juices exclusively for use
in his home, but such cider and fruit
juices shall not be sold or delivered ex-
cept TO persons having permits to manu-
facture vinegar
I'VE are interested" continued Judge
Webb, In the argument of the Gov
eminent briet IN this case, but are
forced to the conclusion that, what
ever Congress may have meant by in
serting the above clause in the pro-
hibition act, We are bound to consider
and accept the plain language of it.
We are forced to the conclusion that
Congress intended to take out of the
general class of intoxicating liquors non
Intoxicating vinegar and such fruit
juices in a different class, and required
that, before a person can be convicted
under the act for manufacturing such
vinegar and fruit juices, same must be
| provided by the Government to be in
fact intoxicating.
Must Prove Charge.
We therefore hold that in all such
cases 1T is necessary to prove that such
vinegar and fruit juices are in fact in
texicating before q conviction can be
had"
Turning to his experience in Con.
gress, and writing 1t into the decision,
Judge Webb continued: This view of
this section Is unanimously held by the
court, and as the writer of this opinion
was a member of the lower house of
| Congress when this act was passed, he
can say without doubt that the fore
going construction OF this section was
the intent and meaning of Congress.
| This provision now under consideration
was not a part of the bill as it passed
the House of Representatives, but was
inserted in the Senate after a number
of speeches had b6en made by per-
sons complaining that the grandmother
and housewife were going to be pc
naliZed and made criminals If they
made blackberry cordials or blackberry
wines for use in their own home.
In order TO meet such objection on
the part of such critics of the bill, this
provision was agreed upon and inserted
in the Senate, after q conference Of
members and Senators deeply inter-
ested in the passage of the act and
the success of prohibition. A different
Interpretation than this one placed
upon the act would be to totally dis
regard the plain Language of the Con-
gress, which inserted this provision in
the Volstead act for the purpose Of
making q different rule for conviction
OF persons who make non-intoxicating
vinegar and fruit juices exclusively for
their home uses"
Another Ruling Cited.
OF apparently another tenor, how
ever, came last week . decision from
Federal Judge Alexander Alderman at
Tampa, Fla. Judge Akerman ruled, ac-
cerding to q dispatch from the AS
ISOLATED Press, that manufacture or
possession Of any alcoholic beverage in
q home constituted O violation of the
national prohibition law"
The judge was quoted directly as
saying: Il don't think any man has the
right to start brewery In his home. a..
IL Is my belief that possession applies
to all persons, whether they intend to
sell liquor or use 1t themselves
Another question that impinges d.
reetly on the problem Of whether the
widespread sale Of grape juice for wine
manufacture at home could be found
illegal, arises out of that part of the
Volstead act which concerns articles
designed or intended" for use in max
ing liquor.
This part reads: "It shall be unlawful
TO advertise, manufacture, sell, or pos
seSS for sale, any utensil, continuance
machine, preparation, compound, tablet
substance. formula direction, or recipe
advertised, designed or intended for
use in the unlawful manufacture of in
toxicating liquor"
Creates Hard Problem.
That sentence, 1t has been agreed
has been q poser for both the grape
grape juice for eventual wine, and fol-
the Government, which the law charges
with responsibility for enforcement.
The advertisements put out by the
manufacturers of grape juice, according
TO experts who have studied them, arc
said to be highly ingenious. They ap-
pear TO be designed specifically and
with peculiar aptitude for evading that
part of the law against recipes and
formula directions. If these advertise
ments and directions sent with the
grape juice gave explicit instructions on
how TO turn the grape juice into wine
it is held by Government experts they
would fall under the penalty for vio-
lating the law But many of them sc
far discovered have proved so cleVerly
written that it would be hard to prove
to jury they constituted such viola
ton.
The effectiveness of this part of the
Volstead act against materials and
recipes designed or intended" to violate
the law, has been upheld by the Su-
preme Court of the United States, In
the case of Manfred Feitler and Ike
Danovitz, doing business as The FeitleI
Bottle Co. A large amount of property
including liquor, empty bottles, labels
cardboard cartons, demijohns, corks
Irvine, caps for bottles, siphons and
filters, gin extract, and whtSkey barrels
had been seized in that case, and were
held by the Supreme Court TO have
been properly seized and ordered con-
fiscated and destroyed" The Supreme
Court held that this came within the
purview and scope of the provision
under review, as Congress declared In
widely leglslating to carry out the pur-
pose OF the eighteenth amendment"
Court States Position.
The court further held: Mere pos
session of property designed for the
manufacture Of liquor Is not forbidden
by section rs, title 2, of the act; the
inhibition goes to property so designed
when the linIIOr ma nIIfAcfIIrad or tn hf