Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-02-26
Advertising Stallion Under False
Pedigree.
fC.H.K. I'M the Breeders GnzetteN


"A buys a stallion of B, a regular
dealer He hires C as keeper. He adj
vertises the stallion in the local paper,
publishes his pedigree and gives the
number of the volume in which he is
registered A and G. both show and adj
vertise him as pure-bred, and put him
onto the farmers as SUCH An eXamina-
ton of the records shows no such horse,
or rather one of same name and number
in foreign county, but sire, dam, age
and description are different. If this
pedigree is false and the stallion is not
registered as advertised, what recourse
have the farmers who bred to him? In
what way and to what extent have A
and laid themselves liable? Is A guilty
of fraudulent use of United States mails
and if so whose place is it to take up the
case?"
The pedigree and registration of the
stallion being not what the owner had
advertised, those who had been induced
to enter into any contract with him by
means of these false representations are
entitled to rescind their contracts and
recover such damage as have resulted
directly from their entering into them.
The statute against using the mails to
effect any fraudulent scheme provides
that if any person having devised or in
tending to devise any scheme or artifice
to defraud, to be effected by either open
ing or intending to open correspondence
with any person by means of the post
Office establishment, or by melting such
other person or any person to open COM
munication with him, shall, in executing
such scheme or artifce or in attempting
so to do, place, or cause to be placed,
any letter, packet writing, circular,
pamphlet, or advertisement in the mail,
or shall take or receive any such there =
from. he shall, upon conviction, be pun
ishabe by fine or Imprisonment or by
both, at the discretion of the court.
In commenting on this section, the
"American and English Encyclopedia of
Law" says:
"The purpose of this statue is to pro-
tect the public against all international
efforts to despoil, and to prevent the post
office from being used to carry such
efforts into effect. There are three essen-
tial elements which enter into and con-
stitute the offence. To warrant a con-
viction the person charged must have
devised a scheme or artitice to defraud
he must have intended to effect this
| scheme by opening or intending to open
CORES ondence with some other person
through the postoffice establishment, or
| by melting some other person to open
communication with him; and in carry
ing out some scheme he must have either
deposited a letter or packet in the post
office, or taken or received one there
! from. But it is not essential to warrant
conviction for the offence that the let
! ter or packet be addressed to or received
| from the person intended to be injured.
1t is within the statue if, in aid of the
| scheme to defraud, the mail be used to
open correspondence with any person. or
to incite any person to open communca-
| ton with the designer of the scheme.
| Nor is it essential to a conviction that is
should appear, from the contents of the
letter or packet, that it was part of
fraudulent scheme; nor that the
! letter mailed was of a nature calculated
to be effective in carrying out the frau
avoided by the fact that the act of using
the mails was only one step in series
of acts intended to accomplish the frau
dulent purpose"
In the case submitted A has used the
mails for "A fraudulent purpose. The
newspaper was his agent in disseminate
ing his advertisements, and it had the
same effect as though he had deposited
letter addressed to each one who acted
in response 10 them.
Prosecution should be begun by lay
ing information before the local post
master who will report to his superiors,
and the matter will be taken up by the
head office. JAMES b. DEWITT.