Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-11-04

specified in Sec. l. Of Art. /. Of the Con-
stitution of Maine and Article XIV Of
the Amendments to thc CONSTITUTION 81
the United States. declaring that no state
shall deny To amy person the equal pro-
lection uf the laws But 1t was deter
mined by this court in a carefully con.
SCiercd opinion. and in accordance with
the firmly established principle above
stated that the right to use the public
streets is not an absolute and undualificd
right. bat is subject to limitation and
control by the Legislature whenever
necessary t" provide for and promote the
safety, peace. health. morals and general
welfare of tn" people" and that no con-
stitutional guaranty is Violated by such
State" Tn" llth Amendment was not
designed To impair the police powers Of
Il state and has never been so construed
Such laws as tn" act III question have
never been regarded as class legislation
simply because they affect one class and
not another intSmuch us they AFFECT al
members OF the same class allke, ana the
classification involved in the law is found
ed upon a reasonable basis. If these laws
b.. otherwise unobjectionable all that can
be required in these cases is that they be
general in their application to the class
or locality to which they apply. and they
are then public in charactcr, and of their
propricty and "olicy the Legislature
must judge"
In enacting the law in question in the
cas-. at bar. the Legislature must be pre-
sulmed to have had under consideration
not only the facts stated i'll state vs..
Mayo, but all the necessary and pertinent
information respecting the four towns to
be affected by the act, such as the char
actcr and extent of the population ana
the location and condition Of all the
highways and streets. 1t may be pre-
sumed to have taken note of the fact that
these four towns comprise the entire
area of the island of Mount Desert,
which contains l3 mountains and l3 lakes.
and that this bright mosaic of island
lah tod
the surprising beauty and grandeur of
its picturesque scenery. 1t could not for
get that for more than Il quarter OF Il
century it has been famous as one OF the
most attractive and healthful summer re-
sorts on the Atlantic Coast and that its
numerous sumner residents. fatigued and
depressed by their activities and cares
in the crowded cities, annually seek
peaceful secluSion and rest and this
island resort where the air is nViSoratinS
ana their rerose undisturbed. 1t IS pre-
sumed to have considered that ponderouS
and rapidly moving automibles not only
.ndanger all who travel in the high
ways and streets with horses, teams ana
carriages, but increase the expense of
maintaining in condition of safety and
convenience the highways frequentcd by
the permanent residents Of these towns.
These ard similar reasons appear to
have been sufficient 4" induce the legal
voters in three Of the towns, containing
about niua-tenthS OF tn. population OF
the island to vote for the acceptance OF
the act in question. Southwest Harbor
alone with about one-tcnth Of the popula-
sons also cmphatically negative the sug-
gestion that tn" act was not passed to
promote the safety, health. peace, quiet
and general welfare of the people, and
tend to show that it was not Il mani
fest invasion Of the constitutional rights
of the people
1t is provided in section four of the act
that lin such towns as shall accept this
,.l,r x,I,n 1.,t 1nyyE
after it shall have been so accepted 1t
thus appears that the Legislature antici-
pated the contingency that the act might
possibly be rejected by one or more of
the towns, but did not consider that it
would be an unjust discrimination
against the owners of automobiles in
such towns, since they would still enjoy
the same right possessed by the residents
OF the town accepting the act to travel
by every other legitimate means of con-
veyance over the public highways Of all
the towns. Doubtless the further fact
was also taken into consideration that the
navigable waters over which there is a
public right Of travel, and that South
west Iiarbor. as we'll as several other
harb0rS on it's shores, are on Il llnc of
public steamboats, running to Bangor and
prominent points on the coast of Maine.
1t has been seen that the act in ques
ton directly prohibited the use of auto
mobiles on the highways and streets of
the four towns named and left nothing
to the discretion of the people but the
question of its acceptance. The court
would not be warranted in declaring that
the act manifestly has no tendency to
promote the safety. health and welfare
of the people. and hence that it was not
enacted in the exercise of the police
power of the State. The Legislature has
determined that it was reasonable and
"xpcdient and its Judgment must he
deemed conclusive. 1t cannot be review
ed by this court.
The legislation in question does not
appear To be in violation Of any provi-
sion in the constitution either of this
state or of the United States and the
certificate must therefore be,
Judgment for the state.