New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-26
PLYING At CROSSPURpOsES.

If the matter were not 30 serious we sn0uIu
/ be disposed to speak of the war on the lot
| terry and policy shops, now being conducted
| by the police, as essentially ridiculous. 1t is
certainly without apparent effect for
good 1t is doubtless annoying to
| the dealers and vexatious to the police, but
no one appears to be benefited. The Police
| make arrests of men who are at once dis
| charged or held only in nominal bail by
| the justices, and then the charges are
| ignored by the District Attorney. We
do not doubt the earnestness of Governor
Cornell in ordering the enforcement of the
| laws we hope the Police Commissioners have
| an honest desire to eradicate the evil; under
fear of losing their places even those captains
who have long been suspected of profiting
| by shutting their eyes to the abuse appear ac-
tive in carrying out their orders and some of
| the justices and District-Att0rney Phelps
unquestIonably desire to punish the guilty
persons arrested. But there is such con-
| fict of authority, such playing at
| cross-purposes by the police, and the justices
acting under confusing laws variously con-
strued, that little real good is accomplished.
And this little is nnllifed by the failure of
the Gener, Government to close the mails
to this class of frauds. Although IN extern
sive traffic in lottery tickets is carried on in
this city, the local receipts are a small pro-
portion of the total received by mail
from all parts of the country. For the
collection and transmission of these sums from
all parts of the Union the United States Post
Office Department is the only agent of the lot
terry companies They could not con-
duct their general business prOftably
without the help of such an agency. And
since the police have interfered with the
direct sale of tickets in this city the local
mails have been employed to carry on the
illegal business in the city. Thus we have
the General Government giving to the
violators of its own regulations against
fraud practical assistance in crcumventng
all the powers of the State Government in
enforcing its laws against a peculiarly OBJ
noxiOus class of swinders.
Postmaster General Maynard urges, in his
recent report, that Congress shall amend
the law prohibiting the mails to
" fraudulent lotteries" so as to apply
it to all. He has already excluded all
lotteries except the Louisiana State Company,
evidently considering that to be not
- IIdluultUL DttdUSt once authorized
by the Legislature of the State 1t
is only within few weeks past
that Mr. Anthony COmstock who Is a sort of
general agent and adviser of the authorities
on this subject, brcame aware that on January
4, $780, the Louisiana Legislature re-
pealed the charter it had granted
this lottery concern. Has he since
advised the law officers of the Post Office De-
partment of the existence of such an act of
reputation If he has not. they will find
that in consequence of it the lottery company
came to this city. Here it came into opposition
with other lotteries, and sharp fight
for the privilege of local robbery has
been the consequence. Both parties could be
wiped out and the city relieved of the worst
and most demOralizing form of gambling, if
the Post Office Department should refuse any
longer to make itself the collecting agent of
these concerns.