The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-09-19

Washington, Sept lS.-Aciing Postmaster
General Hazen to-day issued orders intended
to exclude from the mails all registered let
tiers and letters containing postal money
orders sddres sed TO several firms alleged to
be engaged in conducting fraudulent lotteries
in Louisville, Covington, Kentucky, and
New York City. The order is prefaced with
the following citations from legal decisions
and opinions bearing upon the question, and
also with reasons assigned for issuing IL.
"Whereas, The supreme court of the
United States in deciding the case Of
John b. Stone, OF al. VS.. the state
of Mississippi, declared that the contracts
which the Federal constitution protects are
those which relate to property rights aid not
to government rights. Lotteries belong to
the latter class. They are species OF
gambling and wrong in their influence. They
disturb checks and balances of well ordered
community and almost of necessity bring
forth population of spectators and gam
blers, living in expectation of what chance
might award them from the accumulations
of Others Certainly right TO stop them
Is governmental, and to DO exercised at all
times by those in.power, at this discreet on.
Anyone, therefore, who accepts lottery
charter does 80 with the implied understand
ing that people in their sovereign capacity,
and through their. properly constituted au-
thorities, may take II back at any time when
public good shall require, and this whether it
be paid for or not. lie gets in legal acts
nothing more than license to continue on
the terms.named, for specified time Unless
abrogated by the sovereign power ofthe state
it is permit good against existing law,
subject to future legislation or withdraw,
and whereas a general assembly Of the COM
monwealth of Kentucky, by an act entitled
an act, to repal all laws granting lottery priv
ileges or franchises TO any person or corpo.
ration, approved March 80, 1878, enacted
that all acts and parts of acts of the general
assembly Of this commonwealth, continuing
grants of lottery privileges of franchise DO
and tho same are hereby repealed so far as
they relate to such grants, and
Whereas, Hon. P. w. Hardin, attorney
general of the state Of Kentucky, Is response
to an inquiry from the postotiice inspector,
states in a communication, dated Frankfort,
Ky, August d. 1880, as follows: an
response to the first question
as TO whether the so-called Kentucky lottery
and the Commonwealth Distribution COM
! psny are legally chartered and have legal
standing, Ianswer emphatically, no. Now
therefore, it having been represented to me
that Il. M. Boardmsn, at the Courier.Jour-
nal building Louisville, Kentucky, and at
No. 800 Broadway, New York, and S. J..
Commerford, No. PIP Broadway, New York,
and w. Porter, No. 1927 Broadway, New
York, arc engaged In conducting fraudulent
lottery, ts-wit: The Commonwealth Distri.
button company, and that M. j. Richmond,
Of Covington, Kentucky, and G.. Upington,
No. 500 Broadway, New York, are engaged
in conducting a fraudulent lottery, to-wit:
The Kentucky State lottery, and being salts.
fed from evidence before me that
said parties are so engaged and
that said Commonwealth Distribution
company and the Kentucky State lottery,
each fraudulent lottery for tho distribution
of money, and each scheme or device for
| obtaining money through the mails by false
means and fraudulent pretenses, representa-.
tons and promises, do hereby forbid the
payment by po,tmssters at Louisville and
Covington, Ky, and at New York of any
postal money orders drawn to the order of
sad persons or 10 either Of them or to either
of SAID lottery companies" The order also
instructs postmasters at Louisville, Covington
and New York 10 return I'll registered letters
which shall arrive at their offices directed to
these parties to the postmasters at the offices
from which they originated, with the word
fraudulent plainly stamped on tho outside
Of such letters.