Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-17
For the Lottery Octopus to be
Found Among all the Mem
bers of the Senate.
THE MAILS NOW SURELY CLOSED
By the Passage of the Decidedly Radical
Measure Which Originated in
the Lower House.
GRANTS BODY MAY NOT BE REMOVED.
Hardly Possible to Get the Resolution Through This
Session Now.

WASHINGTON, September 16.-In the
Senate to-day the House auti-lottery bill
was, on motion Of Mr.. Sawyer, taken from
the calendar and passed without q word of
discussion; and if there were any members
who dissented from the action they made it
known neither BY voice nor vote.
The bill provides that no letter, postal
card or circular concerning any lottery, So
called gift concerns, or any similar enter
prise, offering prizes dependent upon lot or
chance (or concerning schemes devised for
the purpose of obtaining money or property
under false pretenses). 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 ticker,
tickets or part thereof, or any share or any
chance in any such lottery or gift enter
prise, shall be carried in the mail or deliv-
cred at or through any postofice or branch
thereof or by any letter carrier; nor shall
any newspaper. circular, pamphlet or pub
LEGATION of any kind containing any adver-
tisement Of any lottery or gift 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 or gift enterprise, whether
SAID list is Of any part or of all the drawing,
be carried in the mail or delivered by any
postmaster or letter carrier.
1t is made a misdemeanor, punishable by
not exceeding $500 fine or Imprisonment for
not more than one year, or both, for any
person to knowingly deposit or cause to be
deposited anything to be carried 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.
EThe Postmaster General may, upon evil
dence tisfactory 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 postofice
at which registered letters arrive directed to
any such person or company, or TO any agent
or representative, to return all such regis
tered 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 per-
son to open any letter not addressed to him.
self
PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE.
The public advertisement by such a per-
son or company so conducting such lottery,
gift enterprise, scheme or device, that re-
mittances for the same may be made by
registered letters to any other person, firm,
bank, corporation or association named
therein, shall be held tO.be prima facie evil
dence of the existence of said agency by all
the parties named therein. But the Post
master 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 pro-
hibited concerns or their agents as are con-
ferred upon him by the sections relating to
registered letters.