Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-19

printed lottery material, sealed and I'M
sealed. and all sealed packages supposedly
containing writing. insisting that they can
not make inquiry as to the contents
Of parcels They claim that. as common car
riers. they are bound to accept anything ten
dered to them for transportation. Further
more, inasmuch as lottery matter is excluded
from the mails. they assert that it has ceased
to be mail matter and cannot be considered
matter to which common carriers have a
Postmaster General Wanamaker has taken pains
to gather facts on which he proposes to base a
prosecution against these companies, after con-
suiting the Attorney General as to the con-
stituilonal question involved.
DISTRIBUTION OF TICKETS
The plan most recently adopted by the lot
terry 10 an extension of its agency system. As
far as possible the business is thrown into the
hands Of local agents all over the country. who
receive the tickets in bulk by express and are
expected to employ every effort to sell them.
They distribute the tickets among subordinate
vendors. who circulate them cautiously. II one
wants to buy ticket he can usually lind out
where to procure 1t BY consulting a saloon
keeper or his barber, may be. In Washington
the change in this regard since the law was
passed has been especially marked. The paper
coupons are difficult to get here. although
until recently this city was the greatest market
for their sale after New Orleans. Gambling OF
this sort was greatly popular among the thou
| sands of clerks in the departments, nearly all
of whom INDUCED in it more or less With fair
salaries and no hope beyond they liked to in
vest little sums every month In pursuit OF an
always possible fortune. Vendors hawked the
tickets about the government buildings and
they were openly displayed for sale In the Grog
shops and at the cigar stands.
ANOTHER LOTTERY BROKEN UP.
Another famous gambling concern of similar
fba I1rar lntt haa lv hoe ON
nearly ruined by the efforts of the Post Office
Department. The concern is located at Ciudad
Juarez, just across the Mexican border. 1t twas
discovered that great quantities of circulars
were being mailed ut Ell Paso, Tex, on this side
OF the line and only five miles away. This was
done because cents an ounce was thus saved
on sealed matter. The inspector In that district
caught man posting the letters, and he
turned out to be the president Of the
eomp any. Nicolaus Leipheimer. Leiphelmer
had only been president for two
months, having previously been connected
with the Hamburg lottery. The Juarez lottery
was supported by German capital. Five hun
dred and fifty separate indictments have been
found against Leiphemer. and no will be tried
next April. The expectation is that be will be
convicted on one or two of the indie tments and
then plead guilty to the rest. In each case the
maximum penalty is $500. This enterprise de-
pended Tor its business on custom from the
United States. because it could not contend
against the great lottery Of the City of Mexico,
which 10 organized ''for the benefit of public
charities. These schemes are always dIscreetly
Seued Is having charitable objects
WHAT IS PROHIBITED.
The new law not only prohibits the mailing
OF newspapers containing lottery advertise
ments, but also makes the offense of mailing
lottery matter continuous from the place of
mailing to the place of destination. This latter
provision gives the government the privilege Of
trylns cases In other places than New Orleans
and thus makes convictions possible. Both
points are now pending before the Supreme
Court OF the United States OH the question of
their constitusionality. fthe decision is favor
able to the lottery the post Office authorities
Will be compelled to throw up their hands.
TRACKING LOTTERY AGENTS.
If the adventures Of the post office inspectors
in tracking down lottery agents could be gath
cred together they would make most interest
ing book. In one case Inspector Stuart at
Chicago found that a vast amount of literature
was being mailed In that city. He traced ii to
a certain letter box near the Palmer House
BY watching the receptacle he discovered that
the stuff was being dumped into it regularly
by guest Of the hotel. He traced this guest
to suite of rooms on the sixth floor, where
several desks had been put in and a number Of
clerks were hard at work. They were evil
IDENTIFY doing big business. but it was hard to
Connect the suspected person with the prepar-
ing and mailing Of the documents SO as to
carry the case into court with certainty of
conviction. So the inspector took a room
himself upon the sixth floor and complained
that he did not like it. and finally secured an
apartment Just opposite that occupied by the
lottery agent. across the well of the house BY
looking through the window. which opened on
the well, the inspector could see the man he
was after at work. He traced him with the
mail to the letter box and by following mp the
letters posted secured the evidence required.