Court Opinion

ID: 9418614
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 22:34:10.391833+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:22:07.085187
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Butler,
dissenting.
Section 1 was originally enacted December 17, 1914, c. 1, 38 Stat. 785. It was amended by the Revenue Act of 1918 passed February 24, 1919, § 1006, c. 18, 40 Stat. 1057, 1130. It contains the following: “It shall be unlawful for any person required to register under the provisions of this Act to . . . sell . . . any of the aforesaid drugs without having registered and paid the special tax as imposed by this section.”
*358Section 2 appeared in its present form in the original Act. The pertinent provision is: “ It shall be unlawful for any person to sell . . . any of the aforesaid drugs except in pursuance of a written order of the person to whom such article is sold ... on a form to be issued in blank for that purpose by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.” 38 Stat. 786.
The effect of these two provisions is to prohibit sale by any person who has not registered and to permit sale by a registered person upon a written blank issued by the Commissioner. That conclusion is so plain that discussion cannot affect it.

Question 1 should be answered Yes.

Question % need not be answered.

Question 3 should be answered Yes.

Question 4 should be answered No.

Mr. Justice Sutherland concurs in this opinion.