The Washington critic., 1890-02-24

Nltgs ny Lut Sllllu lUhCu
10y The CRITIC against the Louisi
ana State Lottery, have redoubled
their efforts to find some way
of escape through the meshes of the
net which the acts of Congress have
formed around them. They have again
and again tried to discover q law under
which the agents of the great gambling
institution might be prosecuted and a
case made. Each time they have been
thwarted by the shrewd and high priced
counsel employed by the company, who
has studied with Just as eager an eye and
as active sense as they have.
The police think that they have at
last found way out of the difficulty,
however, and in looking over the stat
utes they have come upon section 1853,
which reads:
Any one of the justices may hold
special term with the same powers and
jurisdiction possessed aud exercised by the
District Courts of the United States.
This statute held out some hope and
II was pursued further. The discovery
was made that seventeen years later it
was revised so as to read:
Section 763 is amended by striking out
said section and inserting in lieu thereof
the following as section 763: Said courts
shall have cognzance of all crimes and of
fenses committed within said District aud
Of all cases in law and equity between par
ties, both or either Of which shall be resi-
dent or found within said District, and also
Of all actions or suits of n civil nature at
common law or in equity, in which
the United States shall be plaintiffs
or complainants; and of all seizures on
land or water, and all penalties and for
FIXTURES made, arising or accruing under
the laws of the United States: and am one
n boI N ip1i1 nj IfpI
for the trial Of al cranes and otcnSes arising
,cithit the District
This law, the police think, covers
the agents of the lottery company. In
selling tickets of the New Orleans firm
they are guilty of misdemeanor in the
sight of the law. Now the question is
whether or not an "offense" and "mis-
demeanor" are not synonymous. This
question the courts will have to decide.
But just here another obstacle was
thrown in the way of the law being
carried out. In 1871 the Police Court
was organized and given exclusive
jurisdiction over all crimes and offenses
committed within the District within q
certain limit This limit is supposed to
haveincluded the offenses committed by
the agents of the lottery in this city,
and when brought before that court
they simply demanded a jury trial.
This the Police Court, of course, can
not give them, and the cases are sent on
to the grand jury, who never prefer an
indictment
As has been before stated in TIE
CRITIc, they are awaiting the decision
of the case of Edward Green, which
has now been before the Court in Gen
eral Term for several years, and, per-
will nj ot mir hOl nl
for it has been clearly demonstrated
that were a decision made it would
prove conclusively the unconstitution.
ality of the Police Court. This the
higher courts do not want, for it would
stop short the administration of justice
in the District and deluge the higher
courts with a flood of petty trials
The acts organizing the Police Court
came in direct conflict with other and
earlier acts, and the statute quoted is
one of them. Every American has the
right of trial by jury, and no judge
has the right or power to deny this
demand. 1t is just here that the ad-
ministration of justice, so far as lottery
cases is concerned, comes to stand.
still.
Detective Block is the Washington
authority on lottery and policy. He
has studied it and the laws for its sup
preston attentively, and he has them
all at his fingers ends What he
doesn't know about it isn't worth
knowing, and what he says about it
may be taken as true without grain
of allowance.
There are just two ways out of the
trouble" he said to The CRITIC repre-
sentative. Either Congress must give
to the Police Court jury, or section
163 must be brought into requisition.
We have tried the former method, and,
in the closing days of President Cleve-
lands Administration, bill was passed
by Congress, giving the Police Court a
jury of six men for the trial Of any
cases where a jury trial might be de-
manded. This bill was sent to tho
President for his signature, but he
never gave it. On the other hand, il
was vetoed, and two or three days
afterward Congress adjourned and
President Harrison took his seat
haven't heard of the bill since thai
time.
II think there is no reason why a
case should not be made in section 1853
In very plain words 1t gives tue Justice;
right to sit in criminal trials. Why
haven't they right to sit in the lottery
and policy trials as well as any other
The Supreme Court of the United States
has decided a case which think puts
The matter in rather clear light
though it also decides that the Polio
Court is unconstitutional This wa
in the case of the striking theatre or
chestras of the city who were charged
with conspiracy, and the case being
carried to the Supreme Conrt it was de
cided in favor of the defendants on thos
grounds.
This decision was made Just as
had been directed by A. A. Birney, who
was at that time the Prosecuting Attor
ney of the District, TO act. He directed
me to arrest every lottery agent in the
city, and after some difficulty sue
ceeded in getting warrants against owe
thirty of them. 1t was four days befor,
! got the warrants, however, and by
we went to make the arrests we founl
every place closed, and had to serv
them whenever we were able to find tn
men.
AT last we got them all to the Polio,
Court but before we could do anythin!
the decision was made by the Suprem
Court, and Tor some reason the case
were abandoned think there is II,
reason why the cases should not b.
made on section 1853.
The police propose to make an arres
under this section of the law and max
test case. If they succeed in maxim!
the case, the lucrative business of sell
ing lottery tickets in the District will
soon be thing of the past