The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1916-06-09

imply a scheme involving chance. In
so far as the Act is to protect the
morals and advance the welfare of
the people by prohibiting every
scheme and device Learing any SEM
blance to lottery or gambling, 1t
would undoubtedly be valid exer-
else of power, and the citation Of au-
thorities is not necessary to sustain
a proposition so we'll settled"
1T follows that the Act of 1886,
chap. $50, by reason of it's general
terms, including as it does all gift
enterprises, those involving the ele-
ment of chance, as we'll as those
that do not, is invalid so far as it
relates to gift enterprises not inVOlN-
ing chance"
In State VS.. Hawkins 95 Md. 143,
Justice Boyd, referring to Long VS..
State and quoting as above, said that
the Court therein had decided only
that the statute was invalid only in
so far as it related to gift enterprises
not involving the element of chance.
All gift enterprises involving the ele-
ment of chance come within the
statute, and with relation to such
gift enterprises the statute is valid.
In State VS.. Hawkins, 50 Md. 143,
Justice Boyd said Although the
facts relied on to hold the appellee
guilty are not before us, excepting in
so far as they are to be found in the
indictment, we cannot decline TO con-
slider such things as are common
knowledge to all persons acquainted
with business dealings, and we must
assume that neither merchant nor
trading stamp company would inten-
tionally engage in business by
which loss must necessarily be SuS
tanned. If the merchant only re-
ceiVed the actual value of the goods
sold, he could not very long continue
the practice of having a third party
furnish some other article at his eX-
pense, and unless the third party in
some way gets value for the articles
delivered by him, his business career
would ordinarily be shortlived. And
it would seem to be equally clear
that if purchasers from the mer-
chant always paid full value for the
goods purchased and for the article
obtained from a trading stamp COM
pany there would be but little in
ducement for them to make pur-
chases in that way. But when they
are led to believe that they have a
chance of getting something i'm addi-
ton to their purchases, and especial
~ when they do not know what it is
to be, then ii Is unfortunately true
that they are very many persons who
would be thereby induced to make
purchases. who would not otherwise
do so. The uncertain, undetermined
or unknown is what attracts a large
class of people in every community,
and it is dealing with the uncertain,
undetermined or unknown, that has
ruined many, and the tendency to
thus deal (appealing to the gamb-
ling instincD is one of the evils of
the present day. Lotteries, which
were at one time expressly author
lied by law, are now generally pro-
hibited throughout this country
there are provisions against them in
the Constitution of many States, in
Guiding our own. Numerous statutes
have been passed to prevent trans
actions. which while not technical
lotteries, are so akin to them that
they have some of the same evil re-
suits, and when a statute is before
a Court for construction, which ap-
parently seeks to correct such evils,
| it should not be too ready to declare
it invalid, but on the contrary should
sustain it, unless it clearly violates
some rights guaranteed to those af-
fected by it. If the inducement for
the sale was a stamp which would
enable the holder to get something
which was uncertain, undetermined