Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-25
LOTTERY TICKET DUTY.
A REMARKABLE DECISION FROM THE
TREASURY DEPARTMENT


| Tickets shipped Into the Country by Mex
lean Lottery Company Must BE Assessed
rs Per Cent Ad valorem-Some Fine
Points Involved.
iFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON, April 24-Oue of the
most remarkable decisions that has issued
from the Treasury Department for long
time was that given out to-day in answer to
an inquiry made by Frank Clark, collector
of customs at El Paso, Tex. Ell Paso, on
the Rio Grande, is the chief port for the
entry of goods from Mexico in the United
States. 1t seems that large guam
titles of tickets of the Juarez
Lottery Company, of Mexico, have
been shipped into the United States by e1-
press, or as freight, not being admissible
through the mails. OF course they were
subject to examination by the Custom House
officers. Hitherto they have been admitted
by the collectors, believing they were duti-
able, but the extent Of the business led Mr..
| Clark, who is a very clever and wideawake
| young man, to made the inquiry noted.
| The law clerk of the customs division of
the Secretary's office wrote an opinion,
! which was in substance that there was no
law prohibiting the admission OF them, ex-
cepting through the medium Of the mails
The opinion stopped there, and was in that
shaped submitted to Assistant Secretary
Spaulding, who, after thinking q moment
added sentence that will make swim the
heads of the companies which have been
shipping lottery tickets. 1t was this: DUTY
should be assessed at the rate OF. 25 per cent
ad valorem."
Tax on the Tickets.
The construction intended to be put upon
this by the collector, is that % per cent of
the face value of the tickets shall be
charged, which would, apparently, have
the effect of preventing the lottery COM
panies from sending their tickets through
the Custom House. In other words they
would smuggle them across, and relay of
''coast guards" would be necessary to ap-
prehend the smugglers. But the decision
involves a delicate point at law, that will
probably be taken to the courts. AT the
very least it is probable the Secretary will
be asked for an explanation of the law in
more elaborate form.
The provision of the tariff act that all
printed matter, not otherwise especially pro-
vided for. shall pay duty of 25 per cent ad
valorem, was hardly intended to apply to
lottery tickets. At least such an applica-
tion was never contemplated. The printed
matter known to tine lawmakefs was mere
commercial printing, that could be classed
as ordinary merchandise. While lottery
tickets are in a sense merchandise, they are
certainly not the sort OF merchandise con-
templated by the law.
Value of a Chance.
Intrinsically lottery ticket is only worth
a fraction of a cent and the question is
whether the duty should be imposed on their
value or on fictitious value that it has as a
chance" and a very small chance, in a
lottery. All these things are admitted at
the Treasury Department with a broad
smile of acquiescence, but the Assistant
Secretary says as he smiles: "There are my
instructions to Mr.. Clark; let the lottery
companies get over them as they can. as
sumo that the value of lottery ticket is
what it will sell for, and they have a fixed
price. On that duty of 25 per cent shall
be charged"
The only decision which bears the faintest
relation to this case was one rendered few
years ago by Assistant Secretary Maynard,
in relation to certain Mexican bonds which
were sent into the United States. 1t was
decided they were not merchandise, and
not dutiable. They were promise in GER
Some of the authorities of the department
say that this is exactly what lottery ticket
is. That it is bond promising a certain
sum in certain circumstances, and is no
more merchandise than the Mexican bonds.
Another Phase of 1t.
There is great diversity of opinion about
the matter in the Treasury Department,
but, of course, the Assistant Secretarv's
instructions will stand till they are upset.
Collector Clark was telegraphed to-day,
and, doubtless, something will be heard very
soon from the other end of the line.
Another phase of The case may come MP
under the new copyright law. The lottery
ticket is copyrighted, and, if Mexico ac-
cepts the terms Of the new copyright law in
the matter of reciprocity, the tickets will
probably have to be admitted free of dutv
Nearly all of the stock of the Juarez Com
pany is held in the United States. Colonel
Mosby, of Confederate guerrilla fame, is the
manager, and Russell Harrison has been
said to have an interest in it.
The decision of the department will affect
not only the Mexican companies. Other
foreign companies in Italy and Austria each
send hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of lottery tickets to this country, sold prin-
clpally among Germans and Italians and
vigorous protests will be heard from various
quarters OF Europe.