The morning times., 1895-10-14

Judged JohnL. Thomas. A ssistant a ttorney
tieneral for the Postoffi.e Department. has
submitted to the PostnIas 81 er Generals "a report
of the operations OF his office for the fiscal
year ending June 80, ls95.
During the year there were zig frand
orders issued; rfty-fivc of which were
against lottery companies operated by so1
called bond Investment" cOinpa nics; {;
twelve against avowcd lottery conlpa nies,
and twent y-onea against miscellaneous games
of chance The remainder We're various
schemes 10 dcfraud.
Judge Thomas says that the bond invest
ment schemes have been aban,t med by all
the companies except very few. In re-
viewing the lottery question, Judge Thomas
says:
1T may be confidently asserted that the
death kneIl of the avowe, lotteries i'll this
country has been sounded ami their busiucss
has been vastly crippled If not ruined, but
lni sorry 10 note the iact that ma ny business
men think they must. III order tU succeed.
resort to Ssiienics II mi ppe.il to the gambling
spirit OF the people and they accordingly
sugar-coat their legitimate enterprises
with lottery attachments and thus create Il
desire for other and more pcrniciuus modes
of obtaining something for nothing by
hazard or chance. These fascinating and
apparently innocent schemes reach the boys
and girls Of the land and tend 10 ma kc them
gamblers, whom the rainbow of hope lures
and lures till the chaser falls over the
perciIrce iNio suicide or the pcnlfeDtlIry.
INCREASE IN ROBBERIES.
The number of claims allowed for losses
by burglary, fine, ETC., during the year was
/, ,3Db, aggregating S13s, ,6s6. Thisamount
does not represent the actual monetary loss
10 the government, as about S23.3lT worth.
OF stamps and other material was destroyed
by fire. \ the end OF the year there were
$50 claims not disposed of.
The report states that there has been 4
steady increase i'll robberies, indicating
that hiIrtel.Ir> fbipysz 81
more disposed tu break into large Offices
and tliat the amount OF postage supplies
and money that posunasters are permitted
to keep on hand is Increased year after
year.
Judge Thomas says that regulation
requiring the transmission of postal funds
oftener than once every three months or
permitting posimasters to use enough Of
these fgnds to cover their salaries prior 10
the end OF quarter, would save the gov
eDmrent thousands or dollars annuall..
Judge Thomas rencws his recommended
tions Ior the passage nf a law making post
masters and their Surctics liable for the
Declarations and acts of their subnrdi-
mates, and submits that ..the failure OF
thegoysnrment TO Ia he surety from su bprd-
mates in postofiiccs. y hu number thuuSa nds
and handle millions Of dollars annually.
or to hold the p.Istmasters liza bile for the
acts OF their suhorIlinates, is not only
anomalous in practice, but dangerous Ia
the. public interest"
DANGEROUS NAIL MATTER.
III tbIS ttnuttttnn ne udS prepared u bHl
To- be introduced in the next Congress to
remedy this defect in the law.
Judge Thomas vs. that his attention
has been several times during the year
called 10 dangerous and Injurious matter
deposited ia the mails. and upon invrsti-
CATION IL was discovered that there IL now
no penalty prescribed for dcpositing such
matter in the mails, and indeed there is
no statute forbiiding its being mailed.
He has accoriingl firI wn mp Il bill which
covers several cldSSi'S OF articles:
First, those which are dangerous Ia the
life, health. comfort, and body of the en-
pioyc or addrcSsce. such as poisons. live.
animals, reptiles VT insects. explosives, etc;
and second, those articles which. though
liable TO injure employees ur damage other
mail matter when loose in the mails. when
properly packed may safely be handled
such as oils, liquids, not poisonous or ex-
piC.sive, sharp Instruments. dye stuffs and
the like, which may be mailed il properly
packed.
No one is by this bill permitted to mail
the articles of the first class under n
penalty of imprisonment OF fine or both.
at the discretion of the court. nor to mail
the articles of the second class il not
packed according to the regulations pre-
scTibed by the Postmaster General.