Louis Brandeis

“ Every one holding a wholesaler's license who is lawfully possessed of any beer may sell it. The fee exacted for the privilege of selling, and the conditions under which a sale may be made, are the same whether the beer to be sold is imported or domestic, or is both. The difference in position charged as a discrimination is not in the terms under which beer may be sold. It arises from the fact that no one may import beer without securing a license therefor. What the plaintiffs complain of is the refusal to let them import beer without paying for the privilege of importation. ”

“ The exaction of a fee for the privilege of importation would not, before the Twenty-First Amendment, have been permissible even if the state had exacted an equal fee for the privilege of transporting domestic beer from its place of manufacture to the wholesaler's place of business. ”

“ The plaintiffs are domestic corporations and individual citizens of California who sue on behalf of themselves and of others similarly situated. Each is engaged in selling at wholesale at one or more places of business within the state beer imported from Missouri or Wisconsin; and has a wholesaler's license which entitles the holder to sell there to licensed dealers beer lawfully possessed, whether it be imported or is of domestic make. For that license the fee is $50. ”