Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-11
THE LOTTERY CASE.
Judge Ross Overrules a Demurrer.
The Points.

AC OlAtSs
Yesterday Judge Ross filed an opinion
overruling a demurrer in the case of the
United States against Joseph D. Lynch
and j. ]. Ayers, charged with violating
the anti-lottery laws.
The court holds that the statute on
which the indictment in this case is
based declares, among other things,
that "no letter, postal card or circular
concerning any lottery and no
list of the drawings at any lottery .
shall be carried in the mail, or delivered
at, or through, any postofice, or branch
thereof, or by any letter carrier; nor
shall any newspaper contain
ing any advertisement of any lottery
or containing any list of prizes
awarded at the drawings of any such
lottery whether said list is of
any part or of all the drawings, be car
ried in the mail or delivered by any
postmaster or letter carrier. Any per-
son who shall knowingly deposit or
cause to be deposited anything
to be conveyed or delivered by mail in
violation of this section shall
be deemed guilty of misdemeanor,
etc."
1t is quite obvious from the language
that any person who shall knowingly
deposit or cause to be deposited in a
United States postoffice, to be conveyed
or delivered by mail, any newspaper
containing any list of prizes awarded at
the drawing of any such lottery, wheth-
er the list is of any part or OF all of the
drawing, is guilty of the offense de-
nounced by the statute. The words of
the statute themselves, fully, directly
and expressly, Without any uncertainty
or ambiguity, set forth all the elements
necessary to constitute the offense in
tended to be punished; and that being
so, an indictment that charges the Of
tense in the language of the statute is
sufficient. Gu. S. vs. CARL. los u. S.,
611.)
Turning to the indictment it is seen
that it charges that the defendants, at
a certain designated time, did willfully,
unlawfully, wrongfully and knowingly
deposit and cause to be deposited in the
United States postofice, at the city of
Los Angeles, to be conveyed and de-
livered by United States mail, certain
newspaper, describing IT'D which said
newspaper then and there contained a
list of prizes awarded at the drawing of
certain lottery, describing it,)-the
defendants then and there we'll
knowing that the said newspaper, then
and there by them deposited and caused
to be deposited, to be conveyed and de-
livered by the said mail, contained such
list of prizes awarded at the drawing of
such lottery, and then ana there con-
cerned lottery, and then and there to
be unavailable matter. The newspaper
described in the first count of the in
dictment and alleged to have been so
deposited and caused to be deposited, to
be 80 conveyed and delivered, is therein
alleged to have been addressed to John
Wolfskill, Santa Monica"
Similar offienses are alleged in the
second, third and fourth counts of the
indictment, except that in the second
the newspaper therein charged to have
been by the defendants deposited and
caused to be deposited, to be conveyed
and delivered by the United States mail
is alleged to have been addressed "Out-
look X" and the third to have been ad-
dressed "F. r. Ellis" and the fourth
"Santa Monica"
The address goes only to the point of
the Identification of the paper alleged
to have been deposited and caused to
be deposited and to indicate to whom or
where it is to be conveyed or delivered.
The gist of the offense consists in the
depositing or causing to be deposited,
to be conveyed or delivered by the mail,
any newspaper containing or relating to
the prohibited matter. Nor is it good
ground of objection to the Indictment
that it does not allege the payment of
postage upon the papers in question.
The statute does not make prepayment
of postage an element of the offense de-
fined.
The indictment is, in my opinion,
sufficient and the demurrer is therefore
overruled. Ross, District Judge.
A plea OF not guilty was entered fo1
the defendants and the case set for trial
on March Goth.