The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-08
A WORD TO OUR REPRESENTATIVES,
In CONGRESS-.

| WASHINGTON, May C Tho Postmaster
General is not full satisfied with the Attor-
| ney Generals opinion, and Will hear argu.
ment on Monday. the twentieth, on The
| transmission of lottery circulars through the
| mails.
| The decision or opinion. given by the Attor
ney General relative to the law forbidding
the circulation Of lottery and indecent matter
| through the mails was evasive and unsatis
factory it seems and the Postmaster General
requires more light on the subject.
This is matter which deeply concerns the
people Of this city and State, and much anx
iety is felt about the ultimate decision. Peti
tons signed by multitude Of our citizens
have been forwarded to Postmaster General
Key, begging that the law be enforced: but
Mr.. Howard seems to have SO thoroughly
natioDalized his gambling monopoly that
the members Of the Cabinet are afraid tc
enforce any law, however salutary, which
threatens to interfere with it. The Post
master General awaits the opinion of the At
torney General before ordering the Federal
statute to be carried out The Attorney Gen
eral having "been seen by Mr.. Howard on
his recent visit To Washington, gives an evasve
and disingenuous decision on the subject
and Mr. Key being q mild and gentle soul,
is not satisfied, and proposes to hear little
argument himself on the propriety Of pre-
venting The mails from being flooded with in
decent and gambling circulars and letters.
There is something quite disgraceful in
this hesitation of the officials of the Federal
government to enforce q just and salutary
law against o gigantic gambling monopoly,
which. from its stronghold in one State in
violation Of the Federal law and the laws Of
all the other States. floods the country with
onticing invitations TO tho ignorant and guilt
bic to invest in its swindling schemes
This is O matter OF very great interest to
the good people Of Louisiana. The issue is to
be tried in Washington, it is not a private
quarrel, 1t is a quarrel in which every
good citzen of the State, especially every
Democrat is deeply Interested. the par
ties to determine the case are great
Cabinet officials, and the lottery monopoly
has spent thousands Of dollars to employ
tho ablest lawyers in the country to represent
it. The issue is between the Louisiana Lottery
Company and the people of Louisiana. The
issue is to be, according to the dispatches OF
our contemporaries, discussed before the
Postmaster General on the twentieth instant
Wha Is 10 represent the people Of this State?
Who is to furnish fifteen or twenty Thousand
dollars to employ attorneys to sustain the
honor and decency OF this State in this trial?
There is no one to organize and represent the
case Of our people. unless or Representatives.
I'm Congress do SO. and this they should do
fully and fcarlessy. Indeed, we know Of no
higher service Senator Eustis and our Repre-
sentatves in the lower House. especially
Messrs. Gibson and Ellis, could do this State.
The people ask and expect this ser
vice of them their constituents ask and ex-
to go before the Attorney General
and the Postmaster General and
report the real character of the
Louisiana State Lottery; how it has de-
bauched our politics; how 1t has beguied and
is still beguiling thousands Of poor people out
of their little earnings and teaching them to
swindle their employers, how, by the vlest
rascality, it bought its charter through rot
ten Legislatures; how, under an infamous law,
bought from another rotten Legislature. it
has imprisoned American citizens without the
EbHcllb vi IlIbl Wy Iul loW ~ dlidytb JIG
late Legislature against the interests of the
public, and how. in combination with other
arbitrary and insolcnt monopoles and rings
ii has outraged the people until it has created
the germ Of a reputation party in Louisi-
ana how it is now organizing for the purpose
Of controlling the coming elections in this
city in its own interests and by its hcnchmen
and pmps in the next Legislature to perpe-
tuate its perncous power and extend its de-
basing influences.
If Messrs Eustis, Ellis and Gibson, and we
may add Robertson, Elam and Acklen, shall
take up this case and represent the people of
this State before the Attorney General and
the Postmaster General on the twentieth in
slant, there is not the least doubt that the
law will be enforced, and gigantic evil,
corrupting our political aud social life, which
the Legislature was afraid to touch, will be
virtually destroyed.
Since our Senator and Representatives. were
amongst US the people have become aroused to
the necessity of breaking up this lottery con
Germ, and the most popular step they or any
one Of them could take would be to as
sumo the championship of this people
in this issue. Nine-tenths of the odium
which has fallen upon the late Legis.
Iature is due to its cowardice or corrup-
ton in refusing to repeal the lottery charter
The most popular thing our representatives in
Washington can do is to gobefore the Attorney
General and the Postmaster General and re-
quest the enforcement of the Federal law
prohibiting the circulation of lottery matter
through the mails,
The school statistics OF South Carolina
ought TO be read by the rampant Northern
KadiCals These statistics show that IS al