Page:Cole v. State (210 Ark. 433).pdf/10

 1. In holding that "a threat is an element of violence" the trial Court allowed too much latitude for the introduction of testimony going solely to other transactions. It follows that the judgments must be reversed and the causes remanded for a new trial or new trials. 

 SMITH, J. (dissenting). Why should the judgments of conviction in this case be reversed? The constitutionality of the act under which they were convicted is not questioned, but is reaffirmed. The right of a person to refuse to work is not questioned. One who does not wish to work and refuses to do so, has the right also to solicit others to join with him in this refusal. But this right of one not to work, and to solicit others to join him in his refusal, is no more sacred than is the right of another who does wish to work to do so. As the purpose of Act 193 of the Acts of 1943 is to protect the right to work, it does not appear to me to be violative of any provisiom of either our own or the Federal Constitution.

Having the power to protect this right to work, it was the province of the General Assembly to determine how that power should be exercised, and to enact such legislation as was thought reasonably necessary to accomplish this lawful purpose, and it does not appear to me to be in excess of this power, or an abuse thereof, to enact that no one shall by force or violence or threats of violence prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation.

Section 1 of this Act defines two offenses. The first is by the use of force or violence preventing any person from engaging in any lawful vocation within this state. The second offense is to prevent any person from engaging in any lawful vocation within this state by the threat of the use of force or violence for that purpose. In other words, it is unlawful to prevent one from engaging in any lawful occupation either by using force or violence or by the mere threat to use force or violence.

Proof of threats of violence was admissible for several different reasons. First, they were of themselves a