The Sentinel=record., 1914-04-07
SUPREME COURT SAYS THE CON sTlTUTloN IS NOT ABRIDGED
 BY THE GOING ACT.
ACT IS CONSTITUTIONAL
Petition Is Not an Election, There fore the Amendment to the Con. stituton in the Franchise Subject Is Not Interfered With.
Special to The sentincl-Record.

Special to The SentinelRecord.
 Little Rock, April 7.-The Goins liquor law, in a decision handed down by the slpreme court this morning was held to be constitutional, the verdict of the Pulaski circuit court being reversed and the case of Me Clure vs. Topf X Wright CArgenta saloon easel was remanded to the circuit court for a new trial.
 The Mcclure case was appealed from the decision of County Judge Joe Asher, waich gave Argenta sa- looms, to Judge Hendricks division Of the circuit court By agreement Judge Hendricks dismissed the alr peal and held the Going law uncon stitutional The appeal to the su- preme court was then taken as 6 test of the Going law Liquor men say an appeal to the United States SUI preme court will be taken. In pass ing on the matter relative 10 circu- lating petitions for saloons and the right of the state to make laws IT respective of the United States law iu connection with the liquor trade the decision says:
 IL is not doubted that the legisla- ture has the power to make the writ ten laws of the state ualess 1t is ex- pressly or by necessary implication prohibited from so doing by the con stitution and the act assailed must be plainly at variance with the con- stitution before the courts will de clare it invalid
 The decision goes on to state:
 "ln regard to the objection that the act in question is in conflict with the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution it may be said that 1t has uniformly been held by the supreme court of the United States that the right to engage in selling intoxicating liquors is not one of the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States which the states are forbidden to abridge by the fourteenth amendment to the constitution
 The courts generally treat the liquor traffic as being wholly within the control of the state through the exercise of it's police power and its sale may be regulated or restricted as the state sees fit even to the ex tent of total prohibition.
 "The fifteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States de clares that the right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be abridged by the United States oi by the United States or by any state on account of race or color or pre- yious condition of servitude. The evident purpose and object of tht fifteenth amendment is to secure the right of citizens to vote in elections contemplated by the fourteenth amendment For the reasons hereif given statutory proceedings to obtain license for the sale of intoxicating
  sideration, are not elections and arc not therefore, in conflict with the fifteenth amendment.
 ''But the principal reliance of coun sel for appellees to uphold judgment of the circuit court is that the act 1T question is in violation of Article ? Section IS, of the state constitution which is as follows:
 She equality of all persons be fore the law is recognized and shal ever remain irIiolate, nor shall anl citizen ever be deprived of any right privilege or immunity or exempt iron any duty on account of race, color O previous servitude. The general as semby shall not grant to any citi zen or class of citizens privileges o 1mmunities which, upon the sam terms, shall not equally belong to al classes.
 They insist that proceedings re qui~ed by the acts as a prerequisit k to the granting of license by tn k county court is an election and tha to deny colored people the right t vote would be a violation of tha clause of our constitution just quoI ed Of course, if the position as sumed by counsel is correct the ac H contravenes our constitution becaus M the right to vote is a privilege fror M which a person cannot be exclude # on account of color
 It is plain that the court did nc