The Washington critic., 1890-02-09

1T is A POWER HERE AS WELL AS
ELSEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY.
Criminal Lawyers swell Their Fees
by Protecting tho Agents-No
Jurisdiction in the Higher Courts
Gambling Tickets Sold Openly.

den known as the Louisiana state Lot
teiy Is a power here, as IL is in every
little hamlet in the county. II has the
courts, the police and. some say, Con-
gress under its thumb. Its agents ply
their business almost as openly as tho
dry goods merchant or the grocer, and
no one dare Try and prevent.
Now and again during the past year
the detectives have made an arrest and
brought, at rare intervals, a prisoner
into court Then the clever lawyer
who represents the gigantic concern
here gets up in the Police Court and,
with sarcasm in his voice and smile
curling his gray moustache, says
quietly:
''If II please your Honor, we demand
a Jury trial.
Then he sits down again, and Judge
Miller doesn't say anything while the
clerk takes the folded information on
which he has been tried and words 1t,
&c. j." This means that the case has
been sent to the grand jury, but 1t is
simply force of habit with the clerk,
and he pushes the paper in pigeon
hole, the prisoner gets up, is handed
the collateral which he had left after
being arrested and walks out of court.
The Police Court is unconstitu-
tionall'
This rather sweeping assertion was
made by prominent lawyer, whose
office faced the Lincoln statue in front
of the City Hall, and after he had made
the remark he turned round in his arm
chair and looked squarely at the re-
porter, as if he meant what he said.
The higher courts have not the cour-
, age to say this, for they know it would
incito sensation, and higher courts do
not like sensations. Besides, it would
give them trouble, and, likewise, they
don't like trouble"
Yes can tell you why it is that
lottery and policy dealers are not pros
ecuted in this city, if you want to know.
They are not called up for trial in the
higher courts for the simple reason
that the higher courts have no jurisdic-
ton. The matter rests with the Police
Court, which, by the act of of 1872, was
given exclusive jurisdiction over such
cases. For years they were tried and
convicted there, but this can be so no
longer. The Constitution of the United
States gives every man the right of trial
by jury, and we in the District are
amenabIe to this Constitution. The
Police Court has no jury, but still has
the exclusive Jurisdiction; hence it can
not try policy and lottery cases."
What the lawyer said to The Critic
reporter is true in every particular, as
any one on the inside knows. The
Judge himself is well aware of the fact;
he knows that he sits upon most in.
secure perch. which may totter and fall
at any moment. A test case has been
made; he forced it upon the defendants
and they accepted, knowing well what
the issue would be.
The case of Edward Green was test
as to the constitutionality of the law on
lottery and policy cases. Green was
arrested, along with nearly fifty other
agents of the lottery and brought into the
Police Court. The issue was made by
A. B. Williams, his attorney that as an
American citizen he had right to de-
mand jury trial.
The case went to the grand jury, and
last year in the May term he was
promptly indicted by the grand jury
and week after was brought to trial
before Judge Montgomery. For the
purposes of the case it was tried, and
after the verdict for the Government,
went up, on appeal, to the Court in
General Term. 1t is now on the docket
of that court and there it will doubtless
remain until the crack of doom or until
Congress makes law suppressing the
selling of tickets in lottery and policy
in the District.
There was law passed in 1872 but
it is non-operative and is dead letter.
1t was doubtless at the time of its pas
sage intended to suppress the vice in the
District and it did so effectualy for a
time, OF until the representative of the
lottery found flaw in the law.
Here is the law on lotteries and gam
ing in the District of Columbia:
That, If any person shall, within the Dis
trict OF Columbia, keep, set up or pro-
mote or be concerned in, as owner, agent,
clerk or In any other manner, man
aging any policy, lottery or policy shop,
or shall sell or transfer any ticket, eertif-
cate, bill, token or other device purporting
or intended to guarantee or assure to any
person or entitle him to chance of draw
ing or obtaining prize, or share of or in
tcrest In any prize to be drawn in any lot
tery, or In the game or device commonly
known as policy-lottery or policy; or shall
for himself or another, sell or transfer or have
in possession, for the purpose of sale or
transfer, or shall aid in selling, exchanging,
negotiating, or transferring chance or
ticket in, or share of ticket in, any policy
lottery or lottery-policy, or any such bill,
certificate token, or other device, ne shall
be deemed guilty Of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction thereof, shall forfeit and
pay q fine of not more than $500 or be i'm
Wisoned in the District jail not less than
two months or more than one year or both
IN the discretion Of the court.
SEC. 9. That II any person shall know
ingly permit in any house under his control
in the District of Columbia the sale of any
chance or ticket In, or share of ticket in, any
lottery or policy-lottery, or shall knowingly
permit any lottery or policy-lottery, OF
poicy-shop In such house, he shall be
deemed guilty Of misdemeanor; and, upon
than $50 nor more than $500, or be i'm
prisoned In the District jail not less than
two months nor more than one year, OF both
in the discretion of the court.
For eighteen months, or since the
test case went into the highest
court of the District. 1t has lair
in one of the cobwebbed pigeon holes oi
the rooms in the basement of the City
Hall. And there, doubtless, it will for
ever lay, for the justices have shown NJ
disposition to resurrect it. The law il
so explicit that il cannot be mistaken
and the men on the bench of the city
courts have tacitly admitted that thu
case has gone against them. So they
accept the result, if il is result, and
like nearly thousand other importan
cases, it waits its turn on the over
crowded calendar OF the courts.
The police have been informed
and are aware of the state of affairs
They know that nothing can edone. bu
they are doing what they can to stoI