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 E\}t Inronatttuttattal Sra 
 
 Prohibition Amendment Defective 
 Defeated in Congress by Majority 
 Life. Liberty. Peace. Religion. Truth 
 Industry. Commerce. Revenue. Exports 
 The People and their Constitution 
 Modes and Problems of Ratification 
 
 *Omnia Praesumuntur Contra Spoliatorem. 
 By Emanuel M. Beckerman 
 
 OF the ILLINOIS BAR 
 
 Published by 
 
 SIMEON J. BECKERMAN 
 
 113 Canal Street 
 
 NEW YORK
 
 I 
 
 Copyright, 1919, by 
 Emanuel M. Beckerman 
 
 BRONX, N. Y. 
 
 Copyrights for Great Britain and the 
 
 Dominion of Canada pending. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 Price $2.00— Postpaid $2.25 
 
 Address: 
 
 SIMEON J. BECKERMAN 
 
 113 Canal Street 
 
 New York
 
 
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 879516
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PACE 
 
 The Prohibition Amendment 7 
 
 Introductory Ellements 9 
 
 I. On the Title 11 
 
 II. On the Resolution 13 
 
 III. Evil of Evils 15 
 
 IV. Specifications 17 
 
 V. The Preamble 19-20 
 
 VI. On the Article XVIII 21-26 
 
 VII. Violation of Article One 27 
 
 VIII. Defeated in Congress 29-33 
 
 IX. The Unconstitutional Era 35-60 
 
 X. Regardless of Referendum 61-66
 
 SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 AT THE SECOND SESSION 
 
 Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the 
 third day of December, one thousand nine hundred and 
 seventeen. 
 
 JOINT RESOLUTION 
 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the 
 United States. 
 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 
 of the United States of America in Congress assembled 
 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein). That the 
 following amendment to the Constitution be, and hereby 
 is, proposed to the States, to become valid as a part of the 
 Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of the 
 several States as provided by the Constitution: 
 Article — . 
 "Section 1. After one year from the ratification of thia 
 article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxi- 
 cating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the 
 exportation thereof from the United States and all terri- 
 tory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage pur- 
 poses is hereby prohibited. 
 
 "Sec. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have 
 concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate 
 legislation. 
 
 "Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall 
 have been ratified as an amendment to tiie Constitution by 
 the legislatures of the several Slates, as provided in the 
 Constitution, within seven years from the date of the 
 submission hereof to the States by the Congress." 
 Champ Clark, 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 Thos. R. Marshall, 
 Vice President of the United States and 
 President of the Senate. 
 I certify that this Joint Resolution originated in the 
 Senate. 
 COPY. James M. Baker, Secretary.
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 Elements of the Amendment 
 
 The so-called National Prohibition Amend- 
 ment to the Constitution of the United States, 
 an exact copy of which is reproduced on the 
 preceding page, consists of the following ele- 
 ments: 
 
 1. Title. 
 
 2. Resolution. 
 
 3. Article. 
 
 Vital defects are pointed out in the suc- 
 ceeding chapters, showing the amendment in 
 question to be constitutionally unconstitu- 
 tional.
 
 CHAPTER I 
 On the Title 
 
 The TITLE omits to set forth the subject of 
 the amendment. It fails to state whether it 
 pertains to prohibition or anything else. 
 
 Provisions not covered by the title are void. 
 
 Measures which would not be discovered 
 by reading the title only are void. 
 
 It cannot be used to extend or to restrain 
 positive provisions contained in the body of 
 the Act. 
 
 A complete title has the value of a title ! 
 only, but if incomplete it has no value at all | 
 and renders the act also worthless. I 
 
 11
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 DEVOID IN RESOLUTE MOTIVE. 
 Resolution and Article Omit Asserting 
 
 Pretensions of Amending 
 
 The Constitution of the United States. 
 
 Words "of the united states" Lacking. 
 
 The Resolution gives no resolute motive for 
 the proposal of the Prohibition Amendment. 
 
 Neither in the body of the Resolution nor in 
 the body of the Article is any mention made, 
 affirmatively or otherwise, that the Constitu- 
 tion of the United Stales is so endeavored to 
 be amended. 
 
 These pertinent omissions coupled with the 
 defect in title constitute causes sufficient to 
 vitiate the enactment. 
 
 13
 
 CHAPTER III 
 Evils of Evils 
 
 The National Prohibition Amendment may 
 be characterized as an evil of evils and as an 
 instrument of oppression and high treason: 
 
 First, because it undermines the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States in its entirety. 
 
 Second, because it abolishes the sovereign- 
 ty of the States and transforms that of the 
 United States. 
 
 Third, because it subjects the people to a 
 form of tyrannic government. 
 
 Fourth, because it converts the Magna 
 Charta into a piece of "scrap paper." 
 
 Fifth, because it makes a farce of the Dec- 
 laration of Independence. 
 
 Sixth, because it creates a barratrous stir- 
 ring up of law suits and quarrels amongst the 
 people within the several States, and is un- 
 American. 
 
 15
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Specifications 
 
 In substantiation of the averments set forth 
 in the preceding chapter reference is made 
 and attention invited to the direct and most 
 dangerous conflict with, and censurable vio- 
 lation of, the (Constitution of the United States 
 by the Prohibition Amendment, more partic- 
 ularly, of the following specifications: 
 
 Firstly, violation of The Preamble. 
 
 Secondly, violation of First part of Clause 
 5 of Section IX, Article 1, 
 
 Tliirdly, violation of Article V. 
 
 Fourthly, violation of First part of Amend- 
 ment 1. 
 
 Fifthly, violation of Amendments IX 
 and X. 
 
 Sixthly, violation of Article V and Amend- 
 ment X in conjunction. 
 17
 
 CHAPTER V 
 The Preamble and Object 
 
 The object of the Constitution of the United 
 States is summarized in the preamble there- 
 of, forming the resolute elements and basis 
 of it. 
 
 Tlie object of the Preamble is to name the 
 parties to the Constitution, and to declare its 
 meaning. It is evident from the copy herein, 
 that the Constitution of the United States was 
 established not by the States in their soverigii 
 capacities, but, as the Preamble declares, by 
 tlie People. 
 
 Copy of Preamble. 
 
 "We, the people of the united states, 
 in order to [IstJ form a more perfect union, 
 [2nd.] establish justice, [3rd.] insure domes- 
 
 19
 
 20 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 tic tranquillity, [4th.] provide for the com- 
 mon defence, [5th.] promote the general wel- 
 fare, [6th.] and secure the blessings of liberty 
 to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
 establish this Constitution for the United 
 States of America." 
 
 This Preamble has been constantly referred 
 to by statesmen and jurists to aid them in ex- 
 pounding the provisions of the Constitution 
 of the United States.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 On the Article 
 
 The Article constituting the National Pro- 
 hibition Amendment is wholly inconsistent 
 with, and contrary to, the conditions expressed 
 in the preamble, is reactionary to, and in- 
 compatible with, the order of government de- 
 signed by tlie CONSTITUTION of the united 
 STATES, and owing to the following, among 
 other reasons, seems unconstitutional per se: 
 
 1st. — It forms not a more perfect union but 
 on the contrary, tends to make the union im- 
 perfect, as evidenced by several State Legis- 
 latures refusing to join in ratification. 
 
 2nd. — It disestablishes justice since it over- 
 throws an established industry involving, ac- 
 cording to the U. S. Government Census, more 
 than One and One-lialf Billions of Dollars. 
 
 21
 
 22 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 3rd. — It insures not domestic tranquillity, 
 but on the contrary, creates strife and con- 
 tention, as is apparent from the overwhelming 
 protestations by the people of many of the 
 States of which the Legislatures even acqui- 1 
 esced in ratification. 
 
 4th. — It provides not for the common de- 
 fence, but on the contrary, reduces the chan- 
 nels thereof in the abolishing of a substantial 
 revenue essential therefor; the amount in rev- 
 enue, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 1918, from wine, beer and distilled liquors, 
 exclusive of imports, netted the Federal Gov- 
 ernment the sum of $443,839,544.98; the 
 amount estimated for the current year from 
 the same source which had been incorporated 
 in the revenue bill then pending in Congress 
 and which had to be automatically eliminated 
 upon the unexpected ratification news, was 
 One Billion One Hundred Million Dollars. 
 
 5th. — It promotes not the general welfare, 
 but on the contrary, curtails it in depriving 
 such of the freemen as care to, from earning
 
 ON THE ARTICLE 23 
 
 a livelihood in an industry conceded legiti- 
 mate since the creation of the world. Accord- 
 ing to the U. S. Census, about 500,000 peo- 
 ple are employed in the manufacture of dis- 
 tilled and fermented spirits, and to them are 
 paid in wages $600,000,000 annually. About 
 100,000 American soldiers who were work- 
 ing in the liquor trade, some bartenders, por- 
 ters, waiters; some worked in breweries, dis- 
 tilleries, etc.; their employers are expected to 
 give the boys their old jobs back, but how is 
 it possible since the business is to be put out 
 of commission? 
 
 6th. — It insecures the blessings of liberty 
 to ourselves and our posterity in forbidding 
 the manufacture, sale and, therefor the use, 
 of the liquid and nourishing product of the 
 vine, grain, vegetables, and fruit essential for 
 the proper sustenance and prolongation of 
 life, for the pusuit of happiness in health, and 
 for the prevention of disease. 
 
 A resolution offered in General Assembly 
 in the State of Rhode Island, March 12, 1919,
 
 24 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 reads in part: "And, whereas, it believes that 
 this attempted amendment of the Constitution 
 by Congress has created the following among 
 other grave questions of constitutional rights, 
 to wit: in that it does not amend the system of 
 government erected by said Constitution, but 
 completely alters and transforms said system; 
 in that the amendment invests Congress with 
 police powers in the States hitherto exclusive- 
 ly exercised by them, and thus constitutes a 
 revolutionary transformation of the Govern- 
 ment by reason of the extension of the power 
 of the United States, and a compulsory accept- 
 ance by the States of a national police rule to 
 be enforced within their borders; and in that 
 such an amendment is contrary to the spirit 
 and system of the dual form of government 
 erected by the Constitution, and instead of be- 
 ing a proper amendment of the Constitution 
 is destructive of it!" 
 
 The following Resolution was passed 
 March 18, 1919, by the General Assembly in 
 the State of New Jersey:
 
 ON THE ARTICLE 25 
 
 "Wlicreas, New Jersey remains firm in the 
 conviction that she shouUl not interfere with 
 the habit and occupations of people in other 
 States, nor permit other States to interfere 
 with the habits and occupations of her people; 
 and, 
 
 "Whereas, New Jersey regards llu- Iransier 
 of any police power from the States to the 
 general Government as a radical departure 
 from one of the essential principles upon 
 which this Republic wa.>* founiled: now. tliere- 
 fore, 
 
 "Be it resolved. That the General Assem- 
 bly of the State of New Jersey dots lirreby 
 reject the resolution submitted by the Con- 
 gress to the several States for their ratification 
 as the Eighteenth Amendment to the (Constitu- 
 tion of the United States."' 
 
 In many States tlic people an- [vtitioning 
 llieir respective Legislatures to revoke the 
 ratifications. 
 
 The people in the States of California, 
 Ce] )rado, l(lali(», Maine. Miclii^zan. Missouri.
 
 26 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Ore- 
 gon, Utah and Washington are circulating 
 official petitions for a referendum under the 
 Constitutions of those States made and pro- 
 vided. 
 
 In some of the States, like Ohio, the peti- 
 tions have been completed by the electoral 
 and filed of record with the proper authorities. 
 
 All This Is a Waste of Energy. 
 For the people are constitutionally vested and in 
 
 THEM reposes THIS VERY RATIFICATION PREROGATIVE, RE- 
 GARDLESS OF THE REFERENDUM. No amendment to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States becomes valid, nor attains 
 any force, nor power, nor effect without the popular vote 
 OF ratification by the people first had thereon in 
 accordance with, and in conformity to. Amendment X to 
 the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 No portion of the existing Constitution can become 
 repealed by incident, implication, or "codicil" of an 
 amendment. If the latter conflicts with the Constitution it 
 is ipso jure void, unless the conflicted portion is first re- 
 pealed by a duly proposed amendment with that end in 
 view and then properly ratified by the Legislatures in con- 
 formity with Article V as well as by the People in con- 
 formity to Article X of the First Amendments to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States. 
 
 This enormously important organic prob- 
 lem appears more fully in Chapter X of this 
 book.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Violation of Clause 5, Section IX of 
 Article One 
 
 The first part of Clause 5, Section IX, Ar- 
 ticle I of the Constitution of the United States 
 provides, "No tax or duty shall be laid on 
 articles exported from any state." 
 
 Tax is an impost levied for the support of 
 the government. Duty is a burden or obliga- 
 tion to perform or refrain from performing. 
 "Duty" and "right" are correlative terms. 
 
 It plainly means that nrillicr shall an im- 
 post be levied nor an obligation laid on ar- 
 ticles exported. In other words, articles for 
 exportation have been vested witli a Constitu- 
 tional Kight of Way for dieir free and unbur- 
 dened exit from any State. 
 
 Yet the National Prohibition Amendment 
 prohibits tlie exportation of licjuors from any 
 and all of th(* States. Tiiis is as distinctly 
 contrary to the form of CI. 5, Sec. IX of Art. I, 
 first above cjuoted as is "right" distinct from 
 "wrong" and seems unconstitutional per sc. 
 
 27
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Prohibition Amendment Proposal 
 
 Defeated in Congress by a Majority. 
 
 Violation of Article V 
 
 The first portion of Article V of the Con- 
 stitution of the United States provides, "Con- 
 gress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
 shall deem it necessary, shall propose amend- 
 ments to this Constitution." 
 
 But the Ayes on the passage of the Prohi- 
 bition Amendment Proposal were fewer than 
 the numher prescribed for this specific pur- 
 pose. The two-thirds af fimative-quonun of 
 both Houses fell sliort of 17 Senators' and 7 
 Representatives' votes. Consequently tlie pro-i 
 posal was, in fact, constitutionally de-| 
 FEATED by a joint majority of 21 negative 
 votes in addition to an cnlirc one-third mcni- 
 
 29
 
 30 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 bership of both Houses voting unanimously 
 against it. 
 
 In trials of impeachments a conviction may 
 be had by the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
 members present. 
 
 — Clause 6, Section III, Article One. 
 
 A majority of each House constitutes a 
 quorum to do business, a smaller number may 
 adjourn, but to expel a member from either 
 House the concurrence of two-thirds of that 
 House is required. — §§ 1 and 2, Sec. V., Art. 
 One. 
 
 To pass a bill over the President's veto 
 two-thirds of each House are required, but 
 all vetoed orders or resolutions where concur- 
 rence of both Houses is required may repass 
 by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
 Representatives according to rules in the case 
 of a bill.— §§2 and 3, Sec. VII, Art. One. 
 
 Two-thirds of the Senators present are re- 
 quired to concur in the ratification of a treaty, 
 but to confirm the appointment of an ambas- 
 sador, Judges of the Supreme Court and other
 
 DEFEATLD IN CONGRESS 31 
 
 officers a majority of the Senate suffice. — §2, 
 Sec. II, Art. Two. 
 
 The scope of jurisdiction will readily be 
 comprehended in the difTcrent numerical 
 strengths essential as a (jualification to form 
 a session of Congress for the exercise of prop- 
 er authority in the transaction ol j)ulilic busi- 
 ness. ■ 
 
 1. Fewer than a quorum may adjourn, etc. 
 
 2. A majority of rach House mak»* a 
 (juorum. 
 
 3. Enactment by a majority of a (piorum 
 present prevails. 
 
 4. An officer is conrirnKMl bv a niajorilv 
 of the Senate. 
 
 5. A treaty is ratified by two-thirds of the 
 Senators present. 
 
 6. In trials of iin|tra(limrnl. twD-thirds of 
 the nK'mlx'rs present sulliee. 
 
 7. A member is exp<-lled bv two-thirds of 
 a House. 
 
 H. \ l)ill is passed over the veto by two- 
 thirds of each House.
 
 32 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 9. A concurrent order, if vetoed, may 
 be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate 
 and House of Representatives. 
 10. But to propose a constitutional amend 
 ment two-thirds of both Houses mus 
 deem it necessary, which is plain and 
 which failed to take place on the sub 
 mission of the amendment in question 
 
 Nothing is said nor is mention made any 
 where in the Resolution or the Amendmen 
 that Congress "deems it necessary" to so pro 
 pose the amendment in question, and by rea 
 son of this omission too it seems devoid of con 
 stitutional qualities. 
 
 A direct violation of Article V of the Con- 
 stitution of the United States is evident in 
 postponing the giving of force to the Prohibi- 
 tion Amendment until one year after ratifica- 
 tion. — Sec. 1. 
 
 A further violation is evident in limiting 
 the time for ratification to seven years after 
 submission; that is to say, the measure is not 
 necessary for seven years to come and there-
 
 DEFEATED IN CONGRESS 33 
 
 after, if imratificd, it becomes outlawred. — I 
 Sec. 3. 
 
 Section 2 appears iiu^atorN and rej)Ui;nanl 
 to American jurisprudence and opens the 
 doors for a jxTiiiancnl ((pnllicl ol authority. 
 It would establish friction between tlie Fed- 
 eral and State tribunals. It would give the 
 village Constable the status of a L . S. Marshal 
 and confer on the latter authority to exercise 
 local police powers with or willutul tin- imi- 
 tation of a Sheriff. The most natural conse- 
 quence of the new conditions would be that 
 an army of spies and iiKjuisitorial barrators 
 would cause the sovereignty of tlu- people to 
 decay.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Constitution in Relation to 
 
 Religion and Prohibition 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 
 
 "Truth springeth out of the earth; 
 
 And righteousness hath hK)kc(J down from heaven. 
 
 Yea, the Lord will give that which is good; 
 
 And our land shall yield her produce." 
 
 —Pp. LXXXV. 12 and 13. 
 
 The best features of tlie eommon law, espe- 
 cially those which regard the family and so- 
 cial relations, if not derived from, liave at 
 least been improved by, religion and the 
 teaching of the Sacred Book. But the law 
 does not attempt to enforce its precepts on the 
 ground of their sacred character. Those pre- 
 cepts affect the heart, and achlress themselves 
 to the conscience wliile tlie laws of the land 
 can regard the outward ronthirf onlv. 
 
 ;^5
 
 36 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 "But no religious test shall ever be required 
 as a qualification to any office or public tnist 
 under the United States." To add the sanc- 
 tion of religious obligation to the supremacy 
 of the general government, however, the Sen- 
 ators and Representatives of the Union, and 
 the members of the several State Legislatures, 
 and all executive and judicial officers, both of 
 the United States and the several States, are 
 bound by oath or affirmation to support (and 
 the President swears to faithfully execute 
 the duties of his office and to the best of his 
 ability, preserve, protect and defend) the 
 Constitution of the United States. The Sen- 
 ate, when sitting as a Tribunal of Impeach- 
 ment, "shall be on oath or affirmation." 
 
 Ten years prior to the ratification of the 
 Constitution of the United States the sanctity 
 of religion was recognized by the passage in 
 the Articles of Confederation : 
 
 "And whereas it hath pleased the great 
 Governor of the world to incline the legis- 
 latures we respectively represent in Congress,
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 37 
 
 to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify 
 the said articles of confrchM-ation and jx-rpot- 
 ual Union." 
 
 Two years prior lliereto, on tlie Fourth 
 day of July, 1776, the sanctimony of religion 
 was professed in the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. That bravest of all instruments, in the 
 first paragrapii speaks of "'Equal station to 
 which the Laws of Nature and Nature's God 
 entitle them" and concludes: "And for the 
 support of this Declaration, with a firm reli- 
 ance on the Protection of Divine Providence 
 we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, 
 our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." 
 
 But such was the solicitude of tlif people 
 on religion and their deleniiinalion to |)re- 
 serve the utmost freedom of conscience lliat it 
 was deemed proper to dej)rive Congress of all 
 pretence to ever legislate on the subject. Thus 
 tlie fust portion ol \lliele I ol ihe first 
 Amendment to the ( lonslilution of the Iriited 
 States provides, "Congress siiall «nake no law 
 
 \
 
 38 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 respecting the establishment of religion, or 
 prohibit the free exercise thereof." 
 
 The Prohibition Amendment Repeals This. 
 
 Fermented wines and brandies, free from 
 adulterations, are essentials, and are so used 
 at home and at the Synagogue for the sancti- 
 fication of the Sabbath, during the passover 
 festivals and holidays, at the Covenant of Con- 
 version and at marriage solemnizations to the 
 end of making the Acts binding in the eyes of 
 the Jewish religion. 
 
 The liquor so used in the performance and 
 in the exercise of those religious functions is 
 not used as a mere imagination, nor as an al- 
 leged symbol, but as a necessary food for the 
 preservation of health and prolongation of 
 life, and in praising the Master for the creat- 
 ing of it. 
 
 ". . . That man doth not live by bread only." 
 
 "Therefore choose life, that thou mayest live." 
 
 "And thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever 
 
 thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or 
 
 for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asketh 
 
 of thee."— Deut. VIII :3, XIV :26, XXX :19. 
 
 "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy 
 vats shall overflow with new wine." — Prov. 111:10.
 
 THE UiNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 39 
 
 "Commune wih your own heart." 
 
 "And forget not all his benefits." 
 
 "And wine that makcth glad the heart of man." 
 —Psalms IV :5, CIII:2, CIV:15. 
 
 "Corn shall meke the young men flourish and new 
 wine the maids." — Zech. IX:17. 
 
 "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, broupht forth 
 bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most 
 High."— Gen. XIV: 18. 
 
 In compliance with these precepts the Catli- 
 olic, Episcopal and Protestant churches util- 
 ize wine in the Service of Communion and in 
 the Acts of Confirmation. 
 
 Now comes the Prohibition Amendment 
 and prohibits the free exercise of religion by 
 prohibiting the manufacture, etc., of liquors. 
 
 The contention of crime prevailing in sa- 
 loons is neither true nor fair. The culprits 
 and scoundrels are to be looked for elsewhere, 
 in other vocations, and no powerful search- 
 light is required to discover them. One de- 
 faulting banker will at once cause thousands 
 of families to become destitute, depriving 
 them of their savings of a life time, and fre- 
 quently leading to llu-ir suicide
 
 40 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 A tenement house lessee, wholesale scalper 
 in human habitation, charges in summer for 
 heat to be furnished in winter but when winter 
 comes — no heat. Any demonstration with 
 him results in summary proceeding for evic- 
 tion and process issues free of costs. He holds 
 a lease on the entire tenement house for sev- 
 eral years' tenure but he would give no sub- 
 lease to the tenant in writing, although at the 
 time of sub-leasing he would promise the ten- 
 ant peaceful posession for a year. The Legis- 
 lature, however, in its wisdom saw fit to or- 
 dain in the New York Statutes that such prom- 
 ise is not valid. The tenant is thus subjected 
 to a continuous state of nervousness at any 
 given month at the prospect of providing shel- 
 ter for himself and family during the month 
 rapidly approaching. The lessee would dis- 
 possess a family for its inability to meet the 
 raise in rent, the result of his profiteering. 
 
 Such a scalper controls the dwelling des- 
 tinies of a hundred or more families. As a 
 rule, he is an alien, sometimes illiterate and
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 41 
 
 always a detriment to the legitimate real es- 
 tate agency. In all other respects he is an 
 obscure individual, pays no income tax and is 
 not required to obtain a municipal license al- 
 though theatre-ticket scalpers are required to 
 obtain such license and R. R. ticket scalpers 
 ha\e been abolished. 
 
 In many instances the lessee-scalper is in 
 collusion with an unscrupulous owner of the 
 tenement or apartment house and thus both 
 avoid paying their proper share of income tax. 
 
 There are other evil-doers — embezzlers, 
 forgers, smugglers, procurers, blackmailers, 
 bank and post office robbers; the states prisons 
 are full of them; some are at large and much 
 sought for by the Sheriff. 
 
 The retail saloon, as an institution, often 
 serves as a life-saving station or as a tem- 
 porary shelter in the rcntlilion of first aid in 
 cases of accident on an equality with the drug 
 store. The proprietors, as a rule, arc nicn of 
 families, members of respectable fraternal 
 and benevolent societies and lodjres and are
 
 42 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 never slow with their contributions for the 
 needy. The average saloonkeeper is a public-' 
 spirited and law-abiding citizen and is rarely 
 below this standard. He is absolutely the 
 equable of the average groceryman, butcher, 
 clothier, or dry goods merchant. The late 
 Frank Lawler, native of Buffalo, was a 
 saloonkeeper in Chicago at the time of his 
 election to Congress and that gentleman from 
 Illinois was re-elected to Congress thrice. 
 
 It is argued with much bugaboo and many 
 hallucinations that liquor is injurious if used 
 to excess. True. So is every ingredient, the 
 purest of food, or any commodity, if indulged 
 in to excess. A dozen boiled eggs, if eaten by 
 the same person at one meal, will at once 
 produce indigestion and perhaps gypsumize 
 the stomach permanently. Diabetes results 
 from excessive use of tea, coffee or soda 
 water. Even the excessive use of the innocent 
 lemonade would bulge up the system; fatal 
 results have been recorded. Of coruse, it will 
 not affect every system alike.
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 4;^ 
 
 A gallon of milk will not cure the bite of a 
 rattle-snake, whereas a reasonable quantity 
 of whiskey will, if taken timely. It stands to 
 reason that whiskey would expel the germs 
 and poisons from stale or unsterilized milk or 
 milk which frequently comes from diseased 
 cattle and which is the origin of much illness. 
 At any rate alcohol, if used in moderation, is 
 a preserver rather than a destroyer. 
 
 Inebriety, on the whole, in the United States 
 amounts to little. That which prevails exists 
 rather in the communities and States tyran- 
 nized by prohibition law. These communities 
 are infested by the leg-pulling pest whose 
 stock in trade is the preaching of falsehood 
 and the prophesying of calamities. 
 
 Since the enactments, by many Legisla- 
 tures, of parole and probation laws, this busi- 
 ness has gotten to be dull. But the greed for 
 money and lucrative income from leg-pulling, 
 often a liberal contribution from a candidate 
 for a public office, afforded the calumny- 
 heelers the opportunity for the invasion of
 
 44 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 Legislatures and Congressional Halls and in 
 the name of "religion," to foster on the entire 
 country the most successful "hocus pocus" 
 ever invented. 
 
 But the era of devastation has actually ar- 
 rived and there is an organized crusade of de- 
 struction. The American Wine Growers' As- 
 sociation shows that properties and the fruits 
 of a life time of honest toil (consisting of 
 230,000 acres of vineyards in California, 
 60,000 acres in New York, 10,000 acres in 
 Ohio, 3,000 acres in New Jersey and thou- 
 sands of acres in other States) are to be wiped 
 out with no means of redress. 
 
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: 
 
 Lamentation shall be in all the broad places, 
 
 And they shall say in all the thoroughfares: 'Alas, alas!' 
 
 And they shall call the husbandman to mourning. 
 
 And proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing, 
 
 And in all vineyards shall be lamentation; 
 
 For I will pass through the midst of thee, 
 
 Saith the Lord."— Amos V, 16-17. 
 
 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your good. 
 And he shall not destroy the fruits of your land, 
 Saith the Lord of hosts." — Malachi III, 11. 
 
 But would they not kindly allow a flask of 
 brandy to be tied on a Bernard dog in search
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 45 
 
 of an explorer lost in the snows of Alaska? 
 
 But they graciously prescribe for us Colic- 
 ache, Near-dare, and concoctions to be adul- 
 terated with one-half of one per cent alcohol. 
 Of this Moses the Lawgiver sang: 
 
 "For their rock is not as our Rock, 
 Even our enemies themselves being judges. 
 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom. 
 And the fields of Gemorrah; 
 Their grapes are grapes of gall, 
 Their clusters are bitter; 
 Their wine is the venom of serpents, 
 And the cruel poison of asps. 
 
 — Deut. XXXII, 31-33. 
 
 Public opinion voiced by the press all over 
 the country, including the liberal papers in 
 the prohibition States, seems against the 
 amendment. The following from an editorial 
 in the New York World of March 15, 1919: 
 
 "How Prohibition, war-time and by consti- 
 tutional amendment, has been 'put over,' as 
 the soldiers returning from France express it, 
 is explained to some extent by the veracious 
 report from Washington showing by official 
 records that large numbers of members of 
 Congress who voted for these measures have
 
 46 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 been prudently stocking up as against the 
 days to come. 
 
 "Prohibition has progressed and is soon to 
 become a fact chiefly for the reason that those 
 who have given their support to it in response 
 to sectarian intimidation have generally seen 
 some means of escape for themselves. All the 
 early methods of evasion having been penal- 
 ized one by one by a persistent lobby, and the 
 intolerance having been extended to Nation- 
 wide outlawry of liquor, wine and beer, the 
 pious recourse of the very men responsible 
 for these laws is found in the purchase of 
 quantities of intoxicants to be privately held 
 and used, in the belief that before the exhaus- 
 tion of the supply there will be a change of 
 some kind in the laws which they have enacted 
 for the government of others. 
 
 "With nothing to go upon but this and the 
 faithful dependence that many of our South- 
 em Prohibitionists place upon the moonshin- 
 ers, it is readily to be seen that the issue is ap- 
 proaching a crisis. Organized hypocrisy,
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 47 
 
 piously voting for Prohibition under tlic lash 
 of the lobby but drinking whiskey all the time 
 and making expensive arrangements for fu- 
 ture needs, is nearing its last ditch. In due 
 time it will be confronted by its own enact- 
 ments. 
 
 "Prohibition has been decreed for the 
 United States by men who have never ac- 
 cepted and do not now accept the doctrine for 
 themselves. How long can such phariseeism 
 last?" 
 
 In the state of New York, and the same is 
 true in many other States, two Senators, whose 
 votes were necessary to make up a ratification- 
 quorum publicly avowed that their "con- 
 science" and the interests of their respective 
 constituents are against ratification. Yet they 
 voted for the measure against their will and 
 convictions and bragged at their impunity be- 
 cause it was a "party" measure. 
 
 "These are the tliirins that ye sliall do: Speak ye 
 every man the truth with his neiphhor; execute the 
 judfinK-nt of truth and peace in your gates; and let 
 none of you devise evil apainst his neiphl)our; and 
 love no false oath; for all these are things that I hale, 
 saith the I>ord.'*— Zech. VIII, 16-17.
 
 48 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 According to a dispatch from Albany, re- 
 ported in the public press February 21, 1919, 
 the prohibition conspirators expect to enroll 
 500,000 spies necessary, in addition to regu- 
 lar official employees, to enforce Prohibition 
 legislation. Their business would, naturally, 
 consist of invading synagogues, cathedrals, 
 temples and consecrated edifices as well as the 
 home, with or without search warrants to dis- 
 cover the "contraband." 
 
 "For ask now of the days past, which were before 
 thee, since the day that God created man upon the 
 earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the 
 other, whether there hath been any such thing as 
 this great [evil] thing is, or hath been heard like 
 it!"— Deut. IV, 32. 
 
 On the day after the Proclamation of the al- 
 leged ratification of the Prohibition Amend- 
 ment, an Octogenarian teacher and American 
 prince of the Catholic Church was openly 
 abused and insulted for his, to be sure, sound 
 opinion, by the Prohibition charlatans. 
 
 "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and 
 honour the face of the old man, and thou shalt 
 fear thy God: I am the Lord." — Levit. XIX, 32.
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 49 
 
 It is hardly called for to resort to the good 
 Book for the substantial benefits of wines, 
 brandies and malt liquors. Yet it is neces- 
 sary to expose, in self defence, the hypocrisy 
 of certain "church" workers who under the 
 mantle of "religion" successfully humbugged 
 their innocent adherents, resulting in disturb- 
 ing the peace, upsetting commerce and revo- 
 Jutionizing the system of Federal and State 
 and Municipal revenue. 
 
 To term it, as some perhaps do, a Bolshevik 
 measure is a serious insult to the Bolsheviki. 
 The latter are but the direct evolution and the 
 fruit of the late Czar's Prohibition Ukase 
 cunningly perpetrated by his Kaiser cousin. 
 It was the voice of Czarism but the hand of 
 Kaiserism, and resulted in making the very 
 largest and one of the strongest dynasties, es- 
 tablished upwards of a thousand years, im- 
 potent and "caput"! This treacherous cun- 
 ningncss reacted and devoured also the perpe- 
 trator. Bolli dug iheir own graves. The pro- 
 hibition propagandists, distinguished from ad-
 
 50 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 vocates of temperance, make up an American 
 Bolshevism of which the average Russian Bol- 
 shevik would be much ashamed. Whatever 
 the latter do, they do not falsify the Bible. 
 
 No sooner was the price of liquor advanced 
 owing to war conditions, affording the people 
 the lesser use thereof, the influenza epidemic 
 spread and left many vacant chairs in homes 
 throughout the United States. The physicians 
 freely prescribed whiskey as a cure and the 
 plague reasonably abated. 
 
 The same condition prevailed in England. 
 Thereupon the British government, in the in- 
 terest of the public health, released 50 per 
 cent of all the liquor which had been, as a war 
 measure, withheld from the market, and it 
 too restored the people to their health. 
 
 The Scotchmen use perhaps more liquor 
 per person than any other people and they 
 are one of the healthiest types of the human 
 race. Tuberculosis is almost unknown to the 
 Scot. But the Scotchmen must be particularly 
 admired for their soberness.
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 51 
 
 At family reunions, weddings, alumni re- 
 pasts and many other social affairs, short of 
 the Cognac appetizer and the chill-expelling 
 Cordial, matters around the pop bottle would 
 have a melancholic appearance. 
 
 Wines and invigorating cordials have 
 adorned the dining tables and been used as a 
 beverage in the exchange of New Year greet- 
 ing and inaugural receptions tendered to or 
 given by an array of Presidents at the White 
 House and Governors in the respective State 
 Mansions. 
 
 At the time of the ploclamation of the al- 
 leged ratification of the Prohibition Amend- 
 ment, duly recognized representatives-in-chief 
 of many, if not all, civilized nations, laboring 
 for universal peace and perpetual amity, in 
 tlie presence of our Mr. President, offered 
 truly sincere toasts for the prosperity, and in 
 honor, of the Government and to the glory of 
 the people of the United States on a cup of 
 wine.
 
 52 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 The grand patriotic (in name) National 
 Security League, incorporated, in which a 
 Congressional investigation disclosed some 
 dangerous blackmailing schemes who drew in 
 their net highly honest and respectable per- 
 sonages in the nation and gained the confi- 
 dence of the Government. Might not the pro- 
 hibition propaganda, considering the time, 
 condition, circumstances surrounding and 
 connected with them, their lobbying and the 
 very large amount of money which facilitates 
 this and the maintaining of secretaries and 
 high salaried officials throughout the land 
 without "pecuniary" motives. Might not this 
 propaganda have its origin in a public enemy! 
 
 A silent partner of the prohibition movers, 
 ^vho turned out to be one of the champions-in- 
 chief, once did his utmost to foster a Mexican 
 currency system on the United States. There- 
 with he quadrennially disorganized a major 
 political party at least thrice. 
 
 Next he made himself the charitable discre- 
 tionary executor of a "friend's" will involving
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIOiNAL ERA 53 
 
 a very large estate situated more than one 
 and one-half thousand miles east of his domi- 
 cile. After a hot contest the Supreme Tri- 
 bunal of the State wherein the estate was situ- 
 ated declared the will a buhle and as much of 
 a legal trash as the Prohibition Amendment 
 ever was or is going to turn out to be eventu- 
 ally. 
 
 At the most critical and inopportune mom- 
 ent in the annals of the United States he re- 
 signs the Secretaryship of State, the piratical 
 sinking of the Lusilania and a thousaml and 
 one other outrages of kultur notwithstanding. 
 
 The statistic factory at Westerville claims 
 that drunkenness is the cause for many di- 
 vorces. Since in the State of New York 
 drunkenness is no cause for divorce the ques- 
 tion is, "Where does the Westerville factory 
 get the raw material essential for th<> bain- 
 boozl i n g bom ba rd ment ? " 
 
 The Reno divorces were granted at one time 
 to all those who could afford to go there. The 
 grounds were invariably desertion. In most 
 cases [\\crr was no lime to i^ct drunk.
 
 54 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 In some States, for instance Illinois, habit- 
 ual drunkenness for the space of two years, of 
 which the defendant must be guilty is a 
 ground for divorce. 
 
 Some printed bills for divorce are filed in 
 Courts setting forth all the grounds mentioned 
 in the statute; it there becomes a matter for 
 evidence upon which of the grounds a decree 
 shall enter if the complainant is so entitled. 
 A divorce on the ground of habitual drunken- 
 ness for the space of two years is as rare as 
 is an actual death from delirium tremens, the 
 ratio of which is less than one in a hundred. 
 
 Official data from the U. S. Census Bureau 
 concerning the number of divorces covering 
 the calender year 1916, shows: 
 
 Entire number of divorces granted, 112,036. Of 
 eyery 100,000 population 112 divorces were had. 
 To husbands were granted 31,1 percent. To wives 
 the numerical per cent, v/as 68,9. The causes were 
 as follows: Desertion, 36,8; Cruelty, 28,3; Infi- 
 delity, 11,5; Non-support, 4,7; Drunkenness, 3,4; 
 Combination of preceding causes, 8,6 and other 
 causes 6,7 per cent.
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 55 
 
 The claim that thirty per cent of the people 
 are prohibitionists is unfounded. Opining 
 from the votes at Presidential elections, five! 
 per cent is perhaps the very highest figure.' 
 The honest prohibitionist would hardly tres- 
 pass on the liberty of the liberal neighbor. 
 
 But anything from the Westerville Soviet is 
 as sacred as that from Sinai. The following 
 transpired in a Chicago Court March 7, 1919, 
 at a regular session before Justice Gemmill: 
 
 The respondent — "I don't chew, drink or smoke, 
 and ouside of beating my wife twice a day I am the 
 best husband in the world." 
 
 The Judge — "I don't think so much of you. Stay 
 away from your wife; pay her S15 a week and fine 
 of one hundred dollars and costs." 
 
 In the meantime war prohibition is at the 
 threshold. The enactment must be searched 
 in a bill the title of which implies not its ob- 
 ject. Congress was never given any such pow- 
 ers. Tlie President, in his capacity of Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy might 
 make such order as a war measure. But the 
 facts are, although the United States was at
 
 56 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 war yet there was never war in the United 
 States. All the war there was in the United 
 States consisted of maneuvers for fat Govern- 
 ment contracts, and battles in gabbing, schem- 
 ing, profiteering, electioneering, slackeering 
 and conscientious objectioneering added to the 
 raising in price of onions, sugar, milk, eggs, 
 shoes, shirts, rent and railroad fare. There 
 was not even as much as martial law in any 
 part of the United States. The only calamity 
 about to befall us was the attempt to destroy 
 our Central Park which was frustrated, thanks 
 to the vigorous efforts of The New York 
 Times. Upon the call of the trumpet response 
 was had with men, money, and material, and 
 every loyal citizen should congratulate him- 
 self upon the greatness of this our Republic. 
 
 "For the stuff they had was sufiGcient for all the 
 work to make it, and too much." — Ex. XXXVI, 7. 
 
 Under a title foreign to the subject the Pro- 
 hibition provision was carried in Congress un- 
 der the pretenses of it being a war emergency 
 matter although at that time an armistice had 
 been arranged, upon our own terms, and hos-
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 57 
 
 lilities ceased. The provision was known as a 
 "rider," or "joker," When exposed, the au- 
 thors of the scheme boasted of their cunning 
 in overreaching the people. 
 
 Four hundred union delegates, represent- 
 ing 150,000 laboring men from all parts of 
 the State of New Jersey, met at the City of 
 Newark, March 16, 1919, and adopted reso- 
 lutions protesting against the Prohibition 
 Act. The Mayor and City Commissioners of 
 Newark joined in the protest. The resolution 
 attacked those responsible for the Prohibition 
 Amendment as having brought about an era 
 of intolerance. 
 
 Prohibition (radicalism) versus Soundness 
 and Freedom (conservatism) is to form the is- 
 sue at the 1920 Presidential election. Owing 
 to votes of women the former expects to lure 
 the ladies into the net of their holy hollowness. 
 But the WOMANLY WOMAN, like the manly 
 MAN, is not going to be a party to the destruc- 
 tion and mischief of kultur. The woman 
 voter, as well as the man voter, knows what 
 is good for her and best for the majority.
 
 58 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 None are going to help boycott the Constitu- 
 tion and assist the leg-pullers into office to tax 
 their shoes and their shawls, their bread and 
 their salt instead of liquor which no one is 
 bound to use if he does not wish to. 
 
 Let the Prohibition Kleptomaniacs answer 
 this: Because many a vessel sinks and trains 
 sometimes collide resulting in considerable 
 loss of life, are we to prohibit shipbuilding 
 and railroad construction? Because someone 
 falls from a roof, or selects a roof to jump 
 from in order to commit suicide, are we to 
 build and reside in roofless houses? At any 
 rate Andersonian kleptomania is about on the 
 level with Oslerian viciousness. 
 
 In the "Annals of the American Revolu- 
 tion," compiled by Rev. Jedediah Morse, D. 
 D., published in Hartford, 1824, the follow- 
 ing is made an integral part of American 
 History: 
 
 "April 18, 1783 — The Commander in Chief 
 [General George Washington] thus addressed 
 the army on the cessation of hostilities: 
 
 ". . .The glorious task for which we first
 
 THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ERA 59 
 
 flew to arms, being thus accomplished, , . . 
 nothing now remains but for the actors of this 
 mighty scene to preserve a perfect, unvarying 
 consistency of character through the very last 
 act; to close the drama with applause, and to 
 retire from the military theatre with the same 
 approbation of angels and men, which have 
 crowned all their former virtuous actions. . . . 
 "The Adjutant-General will have such work- 
 ing parties detailed to assist in making the 
 preparation for a general rejoicing as the chief 
 engineer of the army shall call for, and the 
 Quartermaster-General will also furnish such 
 materials as he may want. . . . 
 
 "an extra ration of liquor to be issued 
 to every man tomorrow to drink perpet- 
 ual peace, independencr-: and happiness to 
 THE United States of America." 
 The Prohibition Amendment is not an 
 amendment lo The Atlanta Constitution, nor 
 to the Constitution of the Lime-Kiln Club, nor 
 to the By-Laws of the National Security 
 League, incorporated. It is most certainly in- 
 tended for an Amendment to The Constitution 
 of the United States which is by itself a sacred 
 instiiulion. Other Governments are copying
 
 60 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 our Constitution as a model for their own. It 
 must not be mutilated, it must be lasting and 
 everlasting. The amendment seems consti- 
 tutionally unconstitutional. 
 *What is Just and Right Is the Law of Laws.^' 
 At common law, traffic in intoxicating liq- 
 uors was a lawful business. It was first taxed 
 by Congress to provide a revenue for the pros- 
 ecution of the Civil War. When our immor- 
 tal President Lincoln reluctantly approved the 
 bill he thus said, in substance: "Whiskey is 
 the poor man's drink; I sign this bill with the 
 understanding that it is a temperary measure 
 and that the tax will come off after the war." 
 
 "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy. 
 And drink thy wine with a merry heart; 
 For God hath already accepted thy words." 
 
 — Eccl. IX, 7.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Ratification 
 
 Must be Had by 
 
 Legislature and Also by the People 
 
 Regardless of Referendum 
 
 The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution 
 of the United Stales provides: "The powers 
 not delegated to the United States by the Con- 
 stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are 
 reserved to the States respectively or to the 
 
 PEOPLE." 
 
 That Article does not reserve anything to 
 the Legislatures of the States but reserves ev- 
 erything to the STATES or to the people, 
 meaning the States and the people thereof. 
 This is in complete harmony with the Pream- 
 ble, "we, the people . . . do ordain," 
 etc. 
 
 61
 
 62 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 Article V of the Constitution of the United 
 States in conjunction with the Amendment X 
 thereof expressly requires ratification by both 
 the legislatures and the people of the States to 
 give validity and virtue to a new amendment. 
 
 The modes required for ratification of 
 Amendments must not be confused. By Ar- 
 ticle V, ratification by the Legislatures was at 
 one time, perhaps sufficient. But since the pas- 
 sage of the IXth and Xth Amendments, an ad- 
 ditional requirement has been expressly or- 
 dained — ratification by the people _also. 
 Since that time a properly proposed amend- 
 ment must be ratified by the legislatures and 
 the PEOPLE of the several States in order to 
 give it constitutional validity. 
 
 States having referendum provisions in 
 their respective Constitutions have still an- 
 other condition on constitutional questions to 
 fulfill, i. e., the requirement of ratification by 
 the people by more than a mere majority of 
 votes depending on, or in accordance with the 
 various numerical strengths of majorities 
 called for by the laws of those States.
 
 REGARDLESS OF REFERENDUM 63 
 
 "It must be borne in mind the Constitution 
 of the United States is not a compact of States, 
 but a frame of government, made by the peo- 
 ple of the United States. The States as such, 
 are no parties to it; they were expressly ex- 
 cluded. Their continued existence is, indeed, 
 contemplated; and their action is, in some 
 cases, essential to the proper and complete op- 
 eration of the general government. But in 
 such cases the people have made it their duty 
 to act, and have not given them control over 
 the federal government. Nor are the States 
 in any danger from this construction. The 
 right of the people, to overturn an oppressive 
 government, or refuse submission to it, lies at 
 the foundation of our political existence; and 
 can never be taken away by any form of gov- 
 ernment. But anything short of this will not 
 justify resistance to constitutional authority." 
 — James Bayard, Philadelphia, 1834. 
 
 A ministerial duty, the performance of 
 which may be required of the head of a de- 
 partment of government, by judicial pro- 
 cess, is one in respect to which nothing is left
 
 64 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 to discretion. It is a simple, definite duty, 
 arising under conditions admitted or proved 
 to exist, and imposed by law. A failure to 
 execute the process would put the official in 
 contempt of Court. 
 
 But failure to comply with a non- judicial 
 process would subject the official to be made 
 a respondent in mandamus. In the latter 
 event a valid explanation for the non-compli- 
 ance would result in quashing the writ of man- 
 damus. 
 
 In the matter of the Prohibition Amend- 
 ment credit must be accorded our Acting Sec- 
 retary of State for his prompt compliance in 
 the issuing of the certificate announcing that 
 the Constitution of the United States has been 
 "amended" by Article XVIII. 
 
 Now that defects have been pointed out 
 that the Amendment is wholly irregular, that 
 it cannot stand the test of a mere demurrer it 
 would justify the Secretary to rescind the 
 certificate and withdraw the- proclamation. 
 
 There is no precedent to the contrary. If 
 the Amendment is contrary to the Constitu-
 
 REGARDLESS OF REFERENDUM 65 
 
 tion all must legally assist in annulling it and 
 the first duty falls on the Department of State. 
 The Amendment is not in effect as yet, it 
 will not be until next year, therefore the De- 
 partment still retains jurisdiction. 
 
 Because the interest involved are so vast 
 and are coupled with disturbances in com- 
 merce, industry, and peace and would result 
 in injuries irreparable. 
 
 Moreover, if this Amendment stands other 
 sections and articles in the Constitution of the 
 United States referred to in this treatise ap- 
 pear to stand repealed by implication. That 
 is to say the Prohibition Amendment super- 
 sedeases all the articles, sections and clauses 
 in the Constitution of the United States cited 
 in this book and which is as revolutionary as 
 it is all wrong. 
 
 Why foster strife and contention in the in- 
 ternal affairs of the States and the People 
 forming the Union of the United States! 
 
 "This Union," in the language of Washing- 
 ton's farewell address, "is a main pillar in 
 the edifice of our real independence," the sup-
 
 66 QUO WARRANTO 
 
 port of our tranquillity at home; our peace 
 abroad, of our safety; of our prosperity; of 
 that very liberty which we so highly prize. It 
 is of infinite moment that we should properly 
 estimate the immense value of our national 
 union to our collective and individual hap- 
 piness; that we should cherish a cordial, hab- 
 itual and immovable attachment to it; accus- 
 toming ourselves to think and speak of it, as 
 of the palladium of our political safety and 
 prosperity; watching for its preservation with 
 jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever 
 may suggests even a suspicion that it can, in 
 any event, be abandoned; and indignantly 
 frowning upon the first dawning of every at- 
 tempt to alienate any portion of our country 
 from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties 
 which now link together the various parts." 
 
 "And all the People shall Answer and Say: Amen." 
 
 "In (Bab We JUruat." 
 
 AMEN.
 
 MO 4 419
 
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