The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-08
THE LAST ANTI-LorrERY LAW.


which became a law before Congress adj
journed must be the finishing blow of
the crusade against lotteries begun dur
ing the Harrison administration. Since
the act of the Fifty-first Congress drove
the lottery out of the mails and the head
quarters out of Louisiaru. the mana
gers have transferred their business to
Honduras and Mexico, from whence
they have imported their lottery matter
to the headquarters at Tampa Bay, Fla.
where it was distributed Its circulars.
advertisements and tickets by the ex-
press companies to agents in various
parts of the country. In substance, the
new law forbids the bringing of any
kind of lottery matter into the United
States and its transportation from
State to State by any means. By lot
terry matter is meant anything con-
nected with the advertisement or draw
ing of a lottery. offers of prizes or any
kind of "a paper, certificate or instru-
ment' which purports to be a lottery
ticket or to entitle the holder to any
prize or reward, the possession of which
is dependent upon chance.
Nor does this new law stop with what
are known as lotteries; gift enterprises
of every sort that sort of lottery known
as the church fair comes under the pen
alties of this law as soon as the adver-
tisenents or tickets or chances IN them
are made the objects of interstate COM
merce or of treatment by being put into
the malls. The penalties are severe.
involving heavy fines and imprison-
ment.
visions could make this old-time method
of swindling the unwary we'll nigh OBJ
solete Still, there are many swin6les
which are quite as mischievous, among
which are the bucket shop, the Roby
race track. all organizations Of the Iron
Hall order. and some phases of option
dealing in the staples OF the country.
X
The provisions of the Constitution rel
alive to the legislative term and the
time when bills may be presented to the
Governor leave room for difference of
opinion as to their construction. The
Constitution says the session shall COM
mence on 1.-The Thursday next after the
first Monday of January and shall
not extend beyond the term of sixty
one days. This year the Thursday
next after the first Monday of January
was the 10th, and the Legislature met
on that day Sixty-one days from and
including that date would end on the
18th of March. The constitutional term,
therefore, includes the whole of that
day. 1t does not end at noon on the
sixty-ffrst day, but with the end of that
day, viz: at midnight on the 18th. The
provisions relative to presenting bills to
the Governor are as follows: IF any
bill shall not be returned by the Cover
nor within three days, Sunday excepted.
after it shall have been presented to
him it shall be law without his sig
nature unless" etc.; .'but no bill shall
be presented to the Governor within
two days next previous to the final adj
journment of the General Assembly
1t is difficult to construe these provisions
in harmony. The first seems to give the
Governor three entire days to consider
bill. while the second seems to imply
that bills may be presented to him up
to within the last two days of the ses-
sion. According to the first construction
he would have all of Friday, Saturday
and Monday in which to consider bills,
and according to the other construction,
which does not exclude Sunday, bills
might be presented to him up to mid
night of Saturday, the 9th inst. There
is strong ground for the contention that
the Governor may take three days for
the consideration of BILL. but on the
other hand, the implication seems to be
clear that the period in which no bill
shall be presented to him only includes
the last two days of the session, and as
every Sunday between Jan. 10 and
March IL is included in the constitutions
al term of sixty-one days, the last two
days of the session are Sunday and
Monday.