National Republican., 1883-11-10
THE COMMISSIONERS.
Current Transactions at the Various Dis
trict Omces.

trict Omces.
The following letter, signed by all the COM
missioners, has been transmitted to Postmaster
General Gresham: Sir: The commissioners
desire to call your attention to the statute of
congress, approved April %, 1876, to prevent
the sale of lottery tickets in the District of
Columbia also to the complaint of Maj. Dye,
chief of police, that among the serious obsta-
cles to executing the law are:
First-Nearly all the daily and weekly
newspapers published in this district con-
tnually display extensive advertisements for
the lottery companies, tempting people into
that species of gambling.
In the absence of any law prohibiting such
advertising, or excluding such newspapers
| from the mails, these publications will proba-
| bly, continue, as according to report they de-
| rive each profit thereby from $500 to $1,000
| per annum, and so taCtly lend their powerful
influence against the execution of law, and
Sccond-ln the absence Of n law to prevent
| it by the device of clubs, large numbers of
tickets are purchased by n common agent, who
serves professionally without profit to him
SELF and thus, in the opinion of the police
court successfully ovndos thee law. The
practice prevails more especially among the
government clerks and employees in the same
| department.
we forward herewith copies of two notes
addressed to us by Maj. Dye on these sub
jects, to one of which we have called the at
| tention of tho honorable secretary of the
| treasury, as it relates to an employe in his
department as shown by the copy of the let
ter herewith inclosed.
| The object of this communication is to say
that, in the opinion of the commissioners,
further legislation is desirable to enable them
to enforce the present law of congress, and to
ask you to consider the propriety of legisa-
ton excluding from the mails in the District
of Columbia all newspapers that publish lot
terry drawings, and forbidding, upon pain of
dismissal, the purchase Of lottery tickets by
government employees.
The extraordinary profits gained by lottery
companies are mostly from poor people, who,
discouraged financially, are tempted to invest
their small gains in the vain hope of II great
prize or from the ignorant who do not under
stand if the lottery companies honestly full
fill what they promise they would still retain
as profit half OF all they receive
1t is reported that of the first class there
are several thousand clerks or employees OF the
government, but confined mostly to those
who receive small salaries and the more easily
yield to the temptation and that the aggre-
gate of the remittances for lottery tickets
from this district amounts to many thousand
dollars monthly.
The anxiety and hope of drawing prize
seldom or never realized, aud the consequent
mental decentralization of the ticket holders
do not promote good service by them, ant
doubtless constitutes one of the evils sought
to be romedied by tho act in question and add:
a further inducement for submitting the ques
ton for your consideration
The following order was yesterday issued
by the commissioners THAT each official or
clerk who makes the examination for data
upon which certificates of unpaid taxes are
issued by the collector of taxes under the ac
of Feb. 6, 1879, will be held responsible; tina
he exercises the utmost care i'll making thu
IL. th, Nl.. st.iNt Ntp1a anFh
name upon the margin of such certificates, il
order to identify the statement of the partic
ular tax reported by him as due"
The following liquor licenses have beer
approved; Alberto Campbell John Adlung
George Eglon, William Hcrfurth, George Hall
Patrick Kilroy, John d. Manion, Rober
ONcill, John A. Richardson, and John Wan
derrick, and disapproved that of John Casey
Mrs. Catherine Miller wants to hold relig
ious meetings at Kings hall, corner Tent
and streets northwest northwest, and ask
permission.
: DIR. Gallaudet, president Of the deaf an
dumb asylum, calls attention to the bad con
0 dition of the approaches to that institutio
+; and to tho condition Of the water pipes.
0 Barton & Logan, propretOrs of the Dim
museum, have been notified by Detective Ra
to appear before the police court on mex
, Wednesday to answer the charge of runnin
: a variety theater without license. Th
license for running such theater costs $500
f Mr.. Raft states that he proposed taking ou
: warrants for the propretors of the Nationi
(; theater and the opera house, "because," h
(; states "they are running variety show
Q there-minstrels, &C." A similar charge wa
brought against Col. Snelbaker, of tn
Comique, some time ago. and when he wa
convinced that he was subject to the Law
which had not been enforced for years, Il
took out the $500 license.
/