The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1895-03-15
THE NEW LOTTERY LAW.
Its Provisions Explained BY . Legai
OffieIaI.

Assistant Attorney General Thorn
as, for the postotlice department, gave
out his statement on March 5th, in
Washington City, regarding the new
lottery law, just passed which pre-
vents express companies from carry
ing lottery matter:
"By virtue OF this act it Is made
punishable by imprisonment for a
term not more than two years or Il
fine Of not more than 81 900 or both,
to cause to be brought to this coun-
try from abroad or cause to be carried
from one State to another in the Uni
ted States any paper, certificates,
tickets or advertisements concerning
a lottery. This, of course, will effect
ually prevent the conveyance of such
matter between States or bringing It
into this country from other nations
by express companies or common car
riers between the States. But the
most important provision Qf the bill,
in the opinion Of the postal authOri-
ties, 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"
"Thc second section of the act of
September 10, 1880, here referred to,
provides that the postmaster general
may, upon evidence satisfactory to
him, that any one is conducting a
lottery or similar enterprise, or a
scheme to defraud through the mails,
m ny forbid the payment Of money Or
ders or the delivery of registered let
ters to him. Here the authority given
ended and, under the act, as it then
stood, the department could not and
did not interfere with ordinary mat
ter under seal, though directed to a
person known to be conducting a lot
terry or fraud. Hence, the parties
who have heretofore been forbidden
the money order and registry system
of the postotfice department have cor
responded with their patrons or with
their would-be patrons under seal
through the mails, inclosing all their
literature and giving instructions to
procure express money orders, stead
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
addresses, though they were known
to be violating the law. Tn this way
the department has been transporting
lottery and fraudulent matter and cx-
press money orders for investment in
them and yet has been deprived H
the revenues 1t would have derived
from the postal money ord rs that it
would have otherwise issued.
"The section above quoted from the
act of March 2, 1895, clothes the post
master general with power to meet
and eradicate this evil. 1t author.
ICES him to refuse to deliver to a party
who he finds, upon evidence to him,
Is conducting a lottery or fraud
through the mails, any letter or other
mail matter, whether registered or
not, and to have " returned to the
senders, where known, or to the dead
letter Office, II unknown, marked
"Fraudulsnt."
1t is confidently predicted that this
new power conferred upon the post
master general will greatly tend to
suppress the lottery traffic In our
country, which up to this time, has
been sc0tched, but not killed..