Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-12-06

7
Postmaster General Key issued an order
bearing date sDecember 10, lsp. which set
forth tha; I; appeared from the evidence sub
mitted 10 kiin that N. A. Dnuphin, OF New
Orleans. was then engaged in conducting
scheme or device for obtaining money through
the mails By means Of false and fraudulent
practices. representations and promises" :"
Tue Postmaster General. in the exercise of
+Oil OF the Revised Statutes, forbade the
payment OF any money order to Dauphin
BY the postmaster OF that city, and required
him 70 return TO the postmasters OF the places
NJ which they were originally mailed all regis
tered letters received at his Office directed TO
Dauphin. The order was suspended during
the period Dauphin was prosecuting I'm the
Supreme Court of the United States an appeal
from the decree dismisslnR his bill OF COM
plant, whereby he sought TO enioin the exc
cution Of the order. The appeal was subse-
quently dismissed. and Il then. In my opinion,
became the duty OF the department to enforce
the order according 20 its tenor and effect
The Postmaster General is invested with au-
thority TO issue such an order upon evidence
satisfactory to him that case within those
sections has occurred. His decision upon
the question Of fact is final and conclu-
sive, and the matter being one which involves
the exercise OF his Judgment and discretion,
his action thereon within the limits of the
power conferred Is not subject to judicial re-
view. "All registered letters may be with
held from the party, whether a corporation or
natural person, whom the evidence, in the
opinion of the Postmaster General, duplicates
as being engaged in conducting any fraudulent
lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme Of the char
acter mentioned in those sections. The power
of Congress to enact them cannot be doubted
In view of the opinion of the Supreme Court
affirming the constitutionality of section
1894, which, as amended by an act ap-
proved July II, 1875, provides that
mo letter or circular concerning lot
teries, so-called gift concerts, or other sim
liar enterprises Offering prizes, or concerning
schemes devised and intended to deceive and
defraud the public, for the purpose of obtain
ing money under false pretenses, shall be
carried in the mail. Any person who shall
knowingly deposit or send anything to be
conveyed by mail in violation of this section
shall be punished by fine of not more than
500, nor less than Sl00, with costs of prosecu-
tion. In ex parte Jackson, 70 U. s., TT, that
court holds that this amended section is con-
stitutional, and that under the power to es-
may designate what shah be carried in the
mails and what excluded. There can be no
doubt, therefore, that the order in question is
or binding force
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.
Ia concluding his report the Postmaster
General considers at length the several propo-
sltions Mat have been from time to time ad-
vocated in favor of telegraphy in connection
with our postal system, most of which have
been discussed in Congress and by the press,
and are therefore thoroughly understood. In
the presentation of this topic Judge Gresham
takes occasion to express his views, in one
paragraph, AS follows:
THE establishment and operation of a
postal telegraph as monopoly, or in compe-
tition with private Companies, would, it is
insisted. reduce rates whSS are now exorbi-
tant and protect the public against the abuses
and evils deemed to be inseparable from the
service as 1T now exists. In either event an
enormous expense must be incurred. But
without dwelling upon that consideration it
is clear that an efficient execution of either
plan will necessarily involve the employment
of multitude of operators, messengers me-
chanics and laborers, and thus largely add to
the patronage of the Government. An in
crease of that patronage beyond what is in
dispensible to the public service is to be
deprecated and avoided, and it is one of
the dangers which threaten the purity
and duration of our institutions In
Europe the telegraph is under the control
of the public authorities With us, the ad-
ministration is the Government in action, and
may, for the time being and for all practical
purposes, be considered the Government
itself. In seasons of political excitement, and
to some extent at other times is there not
ground for serious apprehension that TIE
telegraph, under the exclusive control of the
dominant party, might be abused to promote
partisan purposes and perpetuate the power
OF the administration? But if it could be kept
entirely free from such influence, l should
hesitate to sanction measure providing that
the United States shall become the proprietor
OF telegraph lines, and operate them by its
officers and