The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-08-23
Anti-LOttery Legislation,

1t will probably interest the Cecil
countians who send a dollar monthly to
New Orleans or Washington and have
thereby one chance in one hundred thou
sand of winning $15, 600, and one chance
in thirty-four of receiving smaller prizes
down to five dollars, to know that one
branch of Congress has passed a law
which will undoubtedly pass the other
and also unquestionably receive the sig
nature of the President making it mis-
demeanor for any person to mail any
letters to lottery company and fixes the
punishment at $500 fine or one years
Imprisonment, or both.
The main provisions of the bill are:
1t provides that no letter, postal card
or circular concerning any lottery, So
called gift concerns or other similar en-
terprises, offering prizes dependent upon
lot or chances Cor concerning schemes de-
vised for the purpose OF obtaining money
or property under false pretences), and
no list of the drawings at any lottery or
similar scheme, and no lottery ticket or
part thereof, and no check, draft, bill,
money, postal note or money order for
the purchase of any ticket, tickets or part
thereof, or of any share or any chance in
any such lottery or gift enterprise. shall
be carried in the mail or devered at or
through any post office or branch thereof
or by any letter carrier; nor shall any
newspaper, circular, pamphlet or publ
cation of any kind containing and adver-
tisement of any lottery or gilt enterprise
of any kind offering prizes dependent
upon lot or chance, or containing any list
of prizes awarded at the drawings of any
such lottery of gift enterprise, whether
said list is of any part or of all the draw
ing, be carried in the mail or delivered
by any postmaster or letter carrier.
1t is made misdemeanor, punishable
by not exceeding $500 fine or imprison-
mept for not more than one year, or both,
for any person to knowingly deposit or
cause to be deposited anything to be car
Rad through the mails in violation of this
preceding section, or that is forbidden to
be carried through the mails by this act.
Violators of the law may be tried and
punished either in the district of mailing
or in the district to which the matter is
mailed or sent. The Postmaster-g general
may, upon evidence satisfactory to him
that any person or company is engaged
in conducting any lottery or business
such as is prohibited by the act, instruct
postmasters at any post-office at which
registered letters arrive directed to
any such person or company, OF to an
agent or representative, to return all
such registered letters to the postmaster
at the office at which they were originally
mailed, with the word fraudulent"
plainly indicated on the outside thereof,
and returned to the writers. Nothing in
this section, however, shall authorize any
postmaster or other person to open any
letter not addressed to himself.
The public advertisement by such per-
son or company so conducting such lot
terry, gift enterprise, scheme or device,
that remittances for the same may be
made by registered letters to any other
person, firm bank, corporation or associ-
alton named therein, shall be held to be
prima facie evidence OF the existence of
said agency by all the parties named
therein. But the Postmaster General
shall not be precluded from ascertaining
the existence of such agency in any other
legal way satisfactory to himself. The
Postmaster General is also given the same
powers and authority with regard to
postal notes and orders directed to the
prohibited concerns or their agents as are
conferred upon him by the sections re-
lating to registered letters.
Few children can be induced to take
physic without struggle, and no wonder
most drugs are extremely nauseating.
Ayers Pills, on the contrary, being sugar
coated, are easily swallowed by the little
ones, and are, therefore, the favorite family
medicine.