The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-12-08

Postmaster Gcnrrd Key issued an order
bearing letc December 10, 1879, which set
tprth that H. appeared from the evidence sub
mittcd to him that VI. n. Dauphin, of Now
Orleans, was then "CnEuEcd in cCnductinE
tho mails BY means OF fll5c and fraudulent
practices, representations and promises"
Tho POStmuSJ0r General, in the exercise OF
the power conferred by sections Hr2D and
4otl of the Revised Statutes, forbade the
payment OF any money order to Duuphin
by the postmaster of that city, and required
MIN to return to the pOStmastcrs of the places
at 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 in the
supreme Court of the United States an appeal
from the decree dismissing his bin OF com
plunt, whereby he sought TO enjOin the exc
cutOn of the order Tho appeai was subsc-
quently dismissed, and it then, in my opinion,
became the duty of the department to enforce
the order according to its tenor and effect.
The Postmaster General ia invested with au-
thority to issue such an order upon evidence
satisfactory to him that case within those
the question of fact is final and cOnclu-
siye, and tho matter being one which involves
tho exercise of his Judgment and discretion,
ms action thereon within the limits OF the
power conferred is not subject to judicial re-
view; Al registered letters may pc with
hclu from the party, whether corporation or
natural person, whom the evidence, in the
opinion of the Postmaster General, impicates
as Delng cngagcd1n 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 tho constitutionulity of section
3s9i, which, as amended by an act APP
mo letter or circular concerning lot
tcries, so-called gift concerts, or other sim
schemes devised and intended to deceive and
dctraud the public, for the purpose OF obtain
carried in the mail. Amy person who shall
knowingly deposit or send anything to be
conveyed by mail in violation of this section
snail be punished by hne of not more than
$500 nor less than 500, with costs of prOsecu-
tiOn.' In ex parte Jackson, 96 L. s., ~ that
court holds that this amended section is con
stitutonal, and that under the power to es-
tablish post-offces and post-rOads Congress
mails and what excluded. There can be no
doubt, therefore, that the order in question is
of binding force.
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.
In concluding his report the Postmaster
General considers at length the several propo-
sitions that have been from time to time ad-
vocated in favor of telcgraphy 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 II monopoly, or in COmpc-
tition with private cot-panics would, it is
insisted, reduce rates wh-eAs are now eXOrbi-
tant and protect the public against the abuses
and evils deemed to be iuseparablc 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 ud-
mintStratiOn is the Government in action, and
may for the time being and for ali 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 pcrpetuatc the power
OF the administrations But il it could be kept
entirely free from such influence, l should
hesitate to sanction a measure providing that
the United States shall become the proprietor
of telegraph lines, and operate them by its
OiiiCers and NgCnts.