Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-18
WILL NULLIFY PRESENT LAW
And Permit All Sorts of Get Rich
Schemes to Flourish.
WHO ARE BACK OF IT
Said to Be Promoter Of Peoples Bank,
Prof. Thos. r. Adkin and Or
ganixer Of Nutriola Co.

senator birmingham. as chairman OF Q
subcommittee. is considering the bill re-
Gently passed by the House OF Representa-
tives to provide for a judicial review in
cases of fraud orders issued by the Post
Office Dep artment. This bill is calling forth
great deal Of criticism. and Is likely to be
discussed at great length In the COMMITTEES
on the judiciary when it is taken up. Sem
ator Dillingham; was recently called to his
home in Vermont. and has been unable to
take up this measure for examination until
within the last day or two.
The subcommittee of which he is chair
man will look into 1t with especial care I'm
view Of the protests that have been made
against It. The charge has been made that
the bill Is in reality intended to nullify the
present fraud order law and to permit all
sorts of get-rich-quick schemes to flourish
while legal proceedings are dragging their
slow course in the courts. That, II is de-
clared. will be the result of the enactment
into law of the so-called Crumpacker bill.
which has already been favorably acted
upon by the House.
Much Opposition.
Many senators have been looking into the
merits of this legislation. and there is little
doubt that 1t will receive much opposition.
The bill in Its present form was passed by
whose mail has been excluded from the
mails by executive action should have q
day In court. The impression has prevailed
in some quarters that such persons have
been unable to secure an appeal to the
courts, but have been obliged to abide
by the decision OF the departmental officers,
no matter how arbitrary such decision
might be. The fact is, an appeal can now
be taken against such orders and a court
proceeding can be secured Such a pro-
CoadinQ he hYOmRht the aUuifV
side Of the court upon an application by
the person claiming to be injured for tenn
porary injunction against the Postmaster
General to prevent him from holding up the
mail OF the appellant
While such an application for a tempo
rary Injunction Is pending the mall OF the
appellant is held by the Post Office De-
partment. II the department is upheld in
it's course the fraud order becomes per-
manent and the mail il returned to the
senders. In these equity cases very wide
range Of testimony is received by the court
The report of the post office inspector who
has worked up the case is taken. and that
report may include statements of hun
dred people concerning the case before the
court.
What Is Sought by the Bill.
What is sought by the Crumpacker bill
which has passed the House is to have tho
case appealed. not In equity. but to the law
side of the court. in which the proceedings
would have to be governed by the strict
rules of evidence. These equity proceed
ings are brought in this CITY, but under
the Crumpacker bill they would be brought
In the home of the appellant, and 1t would
be necessary to have hundreds of witnesses
called In order to determine whether
not the injunction should be made perma-
nent.
1t is this more cumbersome method to
which the department objects. The pro-
ceedings in these cases are brought under
the common law, but, 1t is said, the depart
ment has objection to having such a
bill as that introduced in the House by
Representative Foster of Indiana enacted
into law. The Foster bill merely enacts
into statute law the equity provisions under
which these cases are now reviewed by the
courts.
No Objection to Foster Bill.
If such bill were passed, 1t is said, It
might make more specific the exact course
that would have to be adopted In these
cases without in any way Gripping the
work of the department In suppressng all
sorts of fake schemes that the mails,
either in the form of quack medicine cure
alls, fraudulent turf investment enterprises,
or any other form of fake.
In order to justify the department In its
course toward these fake enterprises II Is
shown by the postmaster general that 2, 400
fraud orders have been issued under au-
thority Of the act of 1880. and the supple
mental act of 1895
In less than thirty of these cases the pro-
priety Of the action has been questioned I'm
court, and N no case has the action been
oyerruled. This record, II is declared, eff
fectuaIly protects the department from the
charge of being autocratic or unjust I'm Its
enforcement of the law.
The Post Office Department asserts that
the influences behind the Crumpacker bill
are E. G. Davis, promoter of the Peoples
United States Bank organized to, do busi-
ness through the mails: Professor" Thos.
F. Adkin, head of the so-caIled New York
Institute Of Physicians and Surgeons" who
made extravagant claims of his ability to
cure disease, and Honorable" E. b. Han
son. who organized the '.Nutriola Com
pany" at Belfast, Me-, and subsequently
moved his patent medicine business to Chi
cago.