The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-06
LAYING OUT THE LOTTERIES.
THE NEW LAW LOOKS LIKE A HARD
ONE TO CIRCUMVENT.

The Transportation Of Lottery Lit
eraturc By Mail or Express AbsO-
IuteIy Prohibited Under "A Heavy
PenaIty-The PoStomee Authorities
Given Power to stop the Delivery
OF All Mail Matter For Persons fn
the Lottery business.
Washington. March assistant Attor-
ney General Thomas for the postofIlce de-
partmcnt to-day gave out the following
statement regarding the new lottery law
just passed. which prevents express COM
panies from carrying lottery matter: By
virtue Of this act Il Is made punishable
by imprisonment for a term OF 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 ba
carried from one state to another in ths
United States. any paper, certificate. tick
ct or advertisement concerning a lottery.
This OF course. viii effectually prevent
the conveyance OF such matter between
the states or bringing 1t into this country
from other nations by express companies
or common carriers between the states.
But the most important provision Of tho
bill, in the opinion Of the postal authori.
ties is the last section thereof, which
reads as follows: THAT the power con-
ferred upon the Postmaster General by
the statute of 1880. chapter 9OS. section ?.
are hereby extended and made applicable
TO all letters or other matter sent by
mail"
The second section Of the act Of Sept. 10.
1890. here referred to, provides that tho
Postmaster General may upon evidence
satisfactory to him that any one is con-
Quoting a 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 ended, and
under the act as It then stood the depart
meRt could not and did not interfere with
ordinary matters under seal, though di-
rected to a person known to be conduct
ing a lottery or fraud. Hence the parties
who have heretofore been forbidden the
money order and registry sys-
tens OF the pOstoffice department
have corresponded with their pat
rons. or with their would-be pa
irons, under seal through the mails, in
closing all their literature and giving in
structlons to procure express money or
ders instead of postal money orders and
send them In sealed letters by mail, all OF
which matter, thus under seal, the depart-
ment was compelled to deliver to the ad-
dresses, though they we're known to be
violating the law. In this way the de-
partment has been transporting lottery
and fraudulent matter and express money
orders for investment In them, and yet
has been deprived of the revenues Il would
have derived from the postal money or
ders that 1t would otherwise have issued.
The section above quoted from the act
OF March 2, 1896 clothes the Postmaster
General with power to meet and eradicate
this evil. IL authorizes him to refuse to
deliver to that party who he finds upon
evidence satisfactory to him. is conduct
ing a lottery or fraud through the mails.
any letter or other mail matter, whether
registered or not, and to have Il returned
to the senders where known, or to the dead
letter office IL unknown, marked "fraudu-
lent"
1t Is confidently predicted thar this new
power conferred upon the Postmaster Gem
eral will greatly tend to suppress the
lottery traffic in this country. which up
TO this time has been scotched but not
killed,