The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-08-08
DOWN WITH THE LOTTERY.
President HarriSOn'S Message to the
Senate.

President Harrison on Tuesday last
sent the following message to Con-
gress:
40 the Senate and House of Rep
TesentdtiUeS: The recent attempt 10
secure a charter from the State OF
North Dakota for lottery company,
the pending effort to obtain from the
State of Louisiana renewal of the
charter of the Louisiana State lottery,
and the establishment Of one or more
lottery companies at Mexican towns
near our border. have served a good
purpose of calling public attention to
an evil of vast proportions. If the
banefuI effects of the lotteries were
confined to the States that gave the
companies corporate powers and
license to conduct a business the citi-
zens of other States, being powerless
to apply legal remedies, might clear
themselves of responsibility by the
use of such moral agencies as were
within their reach. But the case is
not so. The people of all the States
are debauched and defrauded. The
vast sums of money offered to the
States for charters are drawn from
the people of the United States, and
the general government, through its
mail system. is made the effective
and profitable medium of intercourse
between the lottery company and its
victims. The use of the mails is
quite as essential to the companies
as the State license. 1t would be
practically impossible for these COM
panies to exist if the public mails
were once effectually closed against
their advertisements and remit
tances. The use of the mails by
these companies is a prostitution of
an agency only intended to serve
purposes of legitimate trade and a
decent social intercourse. 1t is not
necessary, am sure. for me to at
tempt to portray the robbery OF the
poor, and the widespread corruption
of public and private morals which
are the necessary incidents of these
lottery schemes.
The national capital has become
a carbohydrates of the Louisiana
lottery Company, and its numerous
agents aud attorneys are conducting
here a business involving probably a
larger use of the mails than that of
any legitimate business enterprise in
the District of Columbia. There
seems to be good reasons to believe
that the corrupting touch of these
agents has been felt by the clerks in
the postal service and by some of the
police officers of the District. Severe
and effective legislation should be
promptly enacted to enable the Post
Office Department to purge the mails
of all letters, newspapers and cirru.
lars relating to the business. The
letter of the Postmaster General,
which | transmit herewith, points out
the inadequaey of the existing stat
utes and suggests legislation that
would be effective. 1t may also he
necessary to 80 regulate the carrying
OF letters by express companies as 10
prevent the use Ct these agencies to
maintain communication between
the lottery companies and Their
agents or customers in other cities.
1t does not seem possible that there
can be any division Of sentiment as
to- the propriety of closing the mails
against these companies, and | there
fore venture to express The hope that
such proper powers rs are necessary
to that end will he given to the Post
Office Department.
(Signed,) BENZ. HARRISON.
Executive Mansion, July 26, 1890. "
In the accompanying letter of the
Postmaster General, Mr.. Wanna
maker says he feels compelled, in
view of the urgent necessities of the
case, to anticipate the annual report
in regard to use of the mails by the
Louisiana State Lottery Company.
He. says that Notwithstanding the
declaration that no letters and circu.
lars concerning lotteries shall be car
ried in the mails, and that public
sentiment condemns the use of the
postoffice for lottery purposes, every
railway postal car, star route, money
order and registry Office is in active
daily use by the Louisiana Lottery
Company; that the foothold of the
business seems to be firmer, its oper-
ations wider and its enterprises
holder than ever before. This vast
business is terribly demoralizing to
the postal service. The postal en-
ploye readily assumes that letter
directed the Lottery Company con-
tains money-that it is in the mails
in violation of the spirit of the law
that an attempt to punish the Of
fender who shall abstract it will more
likely fail than prosecutions of an
ordinary character. Hence the temp.
tation to purloin it is exceptionally
great. The Postmaster General says
further that with all the admitted
evils, within and without the postal
department, resulting from this ne
farious traffic, as the head of the de-
partment he is poWerless to act. 1t
is a humiliating position, and even
more humiliating to contemplate
that the entire postoffice is in point
of fact the principal agent of the