The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-03-20
SOME FOOLISH THINGS
. DONE BY LAW

John A. Sleicher in Leslie's: The
man who breaks the law should be
punished That is what everybody
says and most people believe it, Yet
some things done under the sanction
OF the law are foolish, unfair and un-
just.
Not long ago a noutcry was heard
against the English sparrow. Straight
way a law was passed, in one of our
4eadlng states, imposing a fine of S.
on anybody who might feed a sparrow,
Under this law a child who threw
crumbs to the birds in the park might
be arrested and fined if a sparrow
were among them. This under the
Recently several newspaper editors
and a number of merchants in a little
Missouri town were arrested by a fed
eral officer. They were charged with
violating the lottery law, because they
advertised a series of sales of mer-
chandtse with drawings of premiums
IN gold. Not long ago the United
states government openly advertised a
orawing OF public lands by lottery and
the names of the winners of the lucky
prizes were printed in all the papers.
This under the law?
A prominent business concern, DUR
CHASING goods abroad Of a. certain
grade. was suddenly asked to paw the
United States government a large
amount of money for custom dues on
the ground that the goods imported
were of a higher grade than that UNI
der which they had been entered.
The concern made an INVESTIGATION
ard found that the agent employed to
purchase the goods had entered them
at tha custom house as low grade and
tneY mad been sold as such, according
to the books. They were really of
higher grade and the employee had
conspfred with a dealer to purchase
the goods and sell them at a hand
some profit which the dealer divided
with the unfaithful employee. The
concern was not a beneficiary of the
fraud. 1t dismissed, and took imme-
date steps to prosecute him. 1t point
ed out to the government that the
goods a been examined by the Gus
tom house appraisers and passed as
Low grade and that it was unfair,
therefore to impose a penalty. The
government admitted all this. but
wrung a large amount of money out
of the importers on threat Of prose-
cution. This was under the law.
a merchant on the Mexican border
accepted a number of silver dollars in
trade. believing them to be genuine.
They contained as much silver as the
Stdnudru DHIIeu States dollar which is
worth, intrinsically, about half its face
value. 1t was disclosed that they had
been manufactured out of Mexican
dollars by a counterfeiter. The
merchant was an innocent party.
When the government seized the dol,
lars and melted them into silver bull
lion he asked that the bullion be re-
turned to him as he had paid for it.
He was told that this was Impossible.
He had to stand the loss. This was
under the law.
a prominent magazine printed an
advertisement offering watches at a
reduced price. 1t directed the reader
to cut out the advertisement, send It
with the necessary moun and he
would receive the watch. The pub
Usher was notified that the entire edf-
ton of his magazine was held up in
the postoffice and could not be deliv-
because a regulation had been
adopted ~forbidding the cutting gu OF
an advertisement or coupon in such a
manner. After much delay, the post
Office department permitted the mag
azine to be delivered on promise that
the offense would not be repeated.
This was under the law. So obvious
was the injustice that the regulation
was repealed.