Evening star., 1898-12-16
ANTl-GAMBLlN Bill L
A Hearing Before the House Judiciary Com
mittee This Morning.
Anthony COmstOck Gives Reasons
Why the Proposed Measure Should
Re Adopted.

The House COMMITTEES on judiciary gave
a hearing today the Gillett antl-gam-
bling bill. Those present in behalf OF the
bill were Mrs. Margaret Dye Ellis of New
ark n j.: Mrs T. w. Graham, Lockport,
y Y; Mrs. Z. A. Thacher, Florence, n. j.;
Mrs NJ. E. Catlin, Washington, d. c.; Mrs.
W. f. Renwick, Summit, N j.; Mr.. An
thony COmstock, Summit, n. j.; Rev a. H.
Plumb, d D., Boston, Mass; Rev. McAlis-
ter. DID, Pittsburg Pa; Rev. NJ. Davidson
of Wisconsin, Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts.
The bill Oh. r. 117W provides that any
person who. with intent to execute, con-
duct promote. or carry on in any manner
whatever any lottery. pool selling, book
making, or gambling on horse races; or
who, with intent to aid, assist, or abet in
the executing, conducting, promoting, or
carrying on of any such lottery, pool SELL
ing, hookmakiug, or gambling, shall de-
pOsit with, send, or transmit by, or cause
to be deposited with, sent, or transmitted
by, any telegraph company or telephone
company any dispatch or message from
one state or territory into another state or
territory, or from or into the District OF
Columbia shall be guilty of a misdcmean-
or. and shall be punished for the first of
fense by Imprisonment of not more than
two years, by a fine of not more than
one thousand dollars, or both, and for the
second and Zach after OffenSe punished by
such Imprisonment only
No common carrier or corporation, or enl-
ploye thereof, shall receive for transmits
sion, or transmit or send from one state or
territory into another state or territory, or
from into the District of Columbia, any
dispatch or message prohibited by section
one of this act; and every person who snail
wilfuly violate any of the provisions OF
this section shall be deemed guilty of Il
misdemeanor, and shall be liable to the
same penalty 3s is provided in section one.
Rev. Wilbur +. Crafts addressed the COM
mittee. explaining the bill. He said this
bill would also deal the finishing blow to
the Louisiana Lottery Company, which had
already been driven from the mails and the
express.
Mr.. Anthony ComstOck then addressed the
committee. He said that in his experience
of twenty-five years he had seen immoral
literature and schemes driven first from the
mails, then from the common carriers. The
telegraph was the final resort of fraudulent
schemes thus diSbarred.
Mr.. COmstock wanted the bill amended so
its prohibition would include any scheme
or artifice to defraud or to obtain money
or other article of value by false pretenses,
and what are commonly called green goods
or sawduSt swindles. The bill should also
exclude the racing returns from the ex-
press companies. Mr.. COmStock explained
to the committee the workings of the
greer goods game, and said that one firm
of swindlers in Jersey City had obtained
siJ,nno from victims in one year. He said
the operations were conducted on the scale
of an extensive business. He said this
swindling scheme now depends almost en-
tireiy upon the telegraph company. and
this bill would check it.
Mr.. COmstOck said the neanest form of
mean gambling was the lottery policy, and
this bill would affect that form of gam
bling. Mr.. COmstock explained the work
Ings of the policy lottery, in which the
drawing occurs in Kentucky and the draw
ines telegraphed twice a day.
ELc SAID hat this scheme robs the poor,
because the results are manipulated so that
when person does win large sum he is
not allowed to get the benefit of il. Only
small sums are permitted to be won. Mr..
| COmstock said that in list of 10 persons
arrested for embezzlement growing out of
gambling the sums involved We're s.. 900, 900,
and fourteen of the men committed suicide.
The telegraph company stands today as
an insurmOuntable barrier" declared Mr..
Comstock, Ito connecting the green goods
| swindler with his crime. If this bill passes
we can make the connection and bring the
guilty to punishment"
This closed the hearing. Chairman Hen
| dersOn said the bill would be referred 10 a
| subcommittee for action.