Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1890-1895, 1895-03-06
TreasY t>Gold Reserve Not Yet at
,he Standard Notch.
JH IN THE SYNDICATE
TeW Lottery Law Defined, as Is
a Law of Importance to
Newspaper Subscribers.

WASHINGTON, March 5.-The treasury
gold reserve stood today at the close of bus
iness at se1, 635, 600, a loss since yesterday
OF ISL ZOO. The slowness with which the
syndicate is paying in the gold is causing
some comment. While 1t would be untrue
10 say that a hitch has occurred between
the government and syndicate as to gold
being paid in it is strictly correct to say
that the treasury officials are vexed at the
exactions which are being made by the
bond purchasers.
1t is estimated that the treasury situation
had some connection with Secretary Car
lisle's determination at the last moment
not 10 accompany the president TO North
Carolina.
THE NEW LOTTERY LAW.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas for
the postofiice department today gave out
the following statement regarding the new
lottery law just passed, which prevents ex-
press companies from carrying lottery mat
ter:
BY virtue of this act it is made punish.
able by imprisonment for a term of not
more than two years or fine OF not more
than $1,000, or both, to cause to be brought
to this country from abroad or cause to be
United States any paper, certificate, ticket
or advertisement concerning lottery,
This of course will effectually prevent the
conveyance OF such matter between states
or bringing IL into this country from other
nations by express companies or common
carriers between the states.
But the most important provisions OF the
bill in the opinion of the postal authorities
is the last section thereof, which reads as
follows:
"That the powers conferred upon the
postmaster general by the statute OF 1890,
chapter 908, section 2, are hereby extended
and made applicable to all letters or other
matters sent by mail.'
The second section of the act of Septem-
Der 10, 1890, here referred to, provides that
the postmaster general may, upon evidence
satisfactory to him that any one is con-
Quoting q lottery or similar enterprise or
a scheme to defraud through the mails,
forbid the payment Of money orders or the
delivery of registered letters to him. Here
the authority given euded aud under the
act as 1t then stood the department could
not and did not interfere with ordinary
matter under seal, though directed 90 a
person known TO be conducting lottery or
fraud. Hence the parties who have here.
tofore been forbidden the money order and
registery SYSTEMS OF the postoftice depart
ment have corresponded with their patrons
or with their would be patrons under seal
through the mails, inclosing all their lit
erature and giving instructions to procure
express money orders Instead oil postal
money orders and send them in sealed let
ters by mail, all OF which matter, thus un-
der seal, the department was compelled to
deliver to the addresses, though they
were known to be violating the law. In
this way the department has been trans
porting lottery and fraudulent matter and
express money orders for investment in
them and yet has been deprived of the rev.
enues 1T would have derived from the pos
tai money orders that 1t would otherwise
have issued.
The section above quoted from the act of
March 2, 1895, clothes the postmaster gem
eral with power to meet and eradicate this
evil. 1t authorizes him to refuse to deliver
to party who he finds, upon evidence sat
isfactory to him, is conducting lottery or
fraud through the mails any letter or other
mail matter, whether Registered or not,
and to have it returned to the senders
where known or to the dead letter office il
unknown, marked "Fraudplent.'
1t is confidently predicted that this new
power conferred upon the postmaster gen.
eraI will greatly tend to suppress the lot
terry traffic in our country, which up 10
this time has been scosched, but not killed.
IMPORTANT NEWSPAPER LAW.
The assistant attorney general for the
postoffice department has made an impor-
tant ruling in regard to what is known as
"newspaper laws.o These so-called laws
provide that subscribers to newspapers are
liable for the price thereof unless they give
express notice to discontinue, or when they
give notices to discontinue without paying
arrearages, or refuse TO take papers from
the offices, and that the publisher OF q
newspaper can have any one arrested for
fraud who takes paper and refuses to pay
for it, and 1t is a dangerous trick to allow
subscription to run on for six months or
year and half and then tell the postmaster
to mark 1t strefused' or send the editor
notice to discontinue the paper.
The department has time and agoin in
formed parties making inquiries and the
public generally that there are no such
laws. The ruling now made, however,
goes beyond this. 1t was to the effect that
a publisher who makes demand for pay
ment OF the subscription price of his paper
through the mails, accompanied by
threat of enforcing such pretended laws in
case the demand is not complied
with. may be prosecuted for attempting to
obtain money under false pretenses, pro.
vided he knows that such so-ealled laws
have no existence as laws or decisions Of
the courts.
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