Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-08-07
The LOTTERY QUESTION.

The President Sends Special Message 70
Congress In Which He Treats OF the Evils
of lotteries.
WASHINGTON, July 3L-Presiden Har-
rison has sent the following message to
Congress:
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
The recent attempt to secure a charter
from the State OF North Dakota for a lottery
company, the pending effort to obtain from
the State of Louisiana q renewal OF the char.
ter of the Louisiana State lottery, and the
establishments of one or more lottery com.
panies at Mexican towns near our border,
have served good purpose of calling pub
lie attention to an evil OF vast proportions.
II the baneful effects of the lotteries were
confined to the States that gave the cOmpan.
les corporate powers and license to con.
duct a business the citizens OF other States,
being powerless to apply legal remedies
might clear themselves of responsibility by
the use of such moral agencies as were with
in their reach. But the case is not 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 Cen
eral 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 the State license. 1t
would be practically impossible for these
companies to exist if the public mails were
once enectualIy clOScQ against their dOVcr-
tisements and remittances. The use OF the
mails by these companies is a prostitution
of agency only intended to serve pur-
poses of legtim mate trade and a decent So
cial intercourse. 1t is not necessary, am
sure, for nae to attempt to portray the rob-
berry of the poor and the widespread cor
ruption cI public and private morals which
are the necessary incidents Of these lottery
schemes.
The Natl nal capital has become a SUBJ
Headquarters of the Louisiana Lottery Com.
pany and its numerous agents and attor-
neys are conducting here a business invOlv-
ing probably a larger use of the mails than
that of any legitimate business enterprise
in the District of Columbia. There seems to
be gOodlreason to believe that the corrupt
ing tOucn of these agents has been felt by
the cierlS in the postal service and by some
of the pJlce officers of the District Severe
and effective gisiation should he promptly
enacted to enable tho Post office Depat t.
ment to purge the IN ais of all letters, news
papers an / circulars re. at;ng to the bust
ness.
which 1 transmit herewith, points out the
inadequlcy of the cx sting statutes and
suggests legislation that would be effective.
1t may also Ue neces ,ary to regulate the
carrying of letters by the express COM
panies as TO prevent the use of those agen-
cies to maintain communication between
the Pottery companies and their agents or
Gu TONERS in other cities. 1t does not seem
possible that there can be any division OF
sentiments to the propIiety CT closing
the III lis against the companies, and
therefore venture to express the hope that
such proper powers ars necessary to that
end will be given to the Post-office Depart
ment.
The letter of the Postmaster-General
referred to by the President calls atten-
ton to the inefficiency of the present
law and recommends the passage of the
Auti-Lottery bill recently reported to
the House.