FACTS:
Accused was sentenced to a fine for violating Act No. 1639 which prohibits a member of a non-Christian tribe “to buy, receive, have in his possession, or drink any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine, or intoxicating liquors of any kind, other than the so-called native wines and liquors which the members of such tribes have been accustomed themselves to make.”
ISSUE(S):
Whether or not Act No. 1639 is unconstitutional for being violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
HELD:
NO. The prohibition is unquestionably designed to insure peace and order in and among the non-Christian tribes. It has been the and experience of the past that the free use of highly intoxicating liquors the non-Christian tribes have often resulted in lawlessness and crimes, thereby hampering the efforts of the government to raise their standard of life and civilization.
Judgment is AFFIRMED.
