Kirmeyer v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 568 (1915)

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Kirmeyer v. Kansas

No. 145

Argued and submitted January 22, 1915
236 U.S. 568

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT

OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

Syllabus

Beer is a recognized article of commerce, and the right to send it from one state to another, and the act of doing so, are interstate commerce, the regulation whereof has been committed to Congress, and a state law interfering with or handling the same conflicts with the federal Constitution.

Transportation is not complete until delivery to the consignee or the expiration of a reasonable time therefor and prior thereto the provisions of the Wilson Act of August 8, 1890, do not apply.

Whether commerce is interstate or intrastate must be tested by the actual transaction; it does not depend upon the methods employed, distance between the points, or the domicil or character of the parties engaged therein.

The packages in which goods involved in this case were transported in interstate commerce were those customarily used for transportation of such articles, and not a mere plan or device to defeat the policy of the state, and the rulings in that respect in Austin v. Tennessee, 179 U.S. 343, and Cook v. Marshall County, 196 U.S. 261, do not apply.

88 Kan. 589 reversed.

The facts, which involve the construction and application of the Commerce Clause of the federal Constitution, are stated in the opinion.