Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-11-11
WHAT "FRAUD ORDERS" ARE.
Many Swindling Devices stopped by the
Ostmaster- General.


Postmaster General.
Under certain acts of Congress the
postmaster general is empowered to stop
the mail of any person or persons in the
United States, or under its jurisdiction,
against whom evidence has been received
showing that the poStOfice is being used
for the transmission of mail matter in
tended for the commission of a fraud
upon the general public, or for any other
illegal purpose. This stopp2ge of the
mail is done by means Of an order di-
rected to the postmaster of a certain
place or places where the fraud has its
headquarters, or where it may be III OPP
Grafton. 1t is on n regular form with
blanks to be filled in specifying the per-
SONS ana places of the parties whose mail
is to be stopped.
1t was by virtue of this power invested
in him by Congress that the postmaster
general has been enabled to suppress the
Louisiana lottery, which is considered to-
day by the postal authorities to have
been one of the greatest frauds ever per-
petrated on the American public.
1t was also under this power that the
"green goods" frauds have been denied
the use of the mails, and the correspond
ence stopped when its purpOrt was found
out. Other minor frauds have been sup
pressed in the same manner, until 1t has
become Improbable, if not actually dan
gerous, for anyone to attempt the mail
=.
sealed and addressed in the regular way.
The following is the form of the order
as used in the case of the sO-called Will
cox & Co., or A. II. Wilcox. of 529
Broadway, whose mails have been for
hidden transmission through the postof-
fee:
1t having been made to appear to the post
master-general upon evidence satisfactory
to him, that -, at No. ", New York, are
engaged in conducting a scheme or device for
nl,t airil n1nn
means of false and fraudulent pretenses,
representations and promises in violation of
the act of Congress entitled AN act TO
amend certain sections of the revised stat
utes relating to lotteries and for other pur
poses,' approved September 10, 1890.
Now. therefore, by authority vested in him
by said act and by the act of Congress ell
titled can act for the suppression of lot
terry traffic through international and inter
state commerce and the postal service sub
ject to the jurisdiction and laws of the
United States approved March = 1879, the
acknowledgements hereby forblds you to
pay any postal money order drawn to the
order of said parties, and you are hereby
directed to inform the remitter of any such
postal money order that payment thereof
has been forbidden, and that the amount
thereof will be returned upon the preSenta-
ton of q duplicate money order applied for
and obtained under the regulations or the
And you are hereby instructed to return
all letters, whether registered or not, and
other mail matter which shall arrive at your
office, directed to the said parties, to the
pOstmasters at the pOstoffices at which they
were originally mailed, to be delivered to
the senders thereof with the word "fraudu-
lent" plainly written or stamped upon the
outside of such letters or matter. Provided,
however, that where there is nothing to in
dictate who are the senders of letters not
registered, or other matter, you are directed
in that case to send such letters or matter
to the Dead Letter Office, with the word
fraudulent plainly written or stamped
thereon, to be disposed of as other dead mat
ter under the laws and regulations applica-
BILE thereto.
PostmaSfer- General.