Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-22
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Half a century ago the Louisiana
State lottery, which had flourished for
Louisiana a good many years as a
Iotterv ton. was under FIRE IN
campaign that lasted
long time before the great organized
gamble was driven out Of the United
| States. The chief weapon Of the
Government. which was conducting
this warfare against the lottery,
was the law forbidding the use
of the mails for unlawful enterprise.
After much maneuvering a direct move
was made against the lottery in 1879
| in the holding of letters addressed to
it. Thereupon the lottery management
countered with a suit to compel the
| Postmaster General to deliver this mail.
The case was heard before the District
| Supreme Court In The Star of De-
cember IS, 1879, Is q report Of the
| proceedings, in part as follows:
To-day in the Supreme Court Of the
District sitting in general term, Chief
Justice Cartier and Judges James and
Hagner, the case of M. A. Dauphin.
secretary and agent Of the Louisiana
State Lottery, against Key, Postmaster
General, was heard. Senator Carpen-
ter, Judge T. w. BARLEY. Hon. NJ. I.
Southland, w. G. Moulton and Z. b.
Hay, for the petitioner, and Hon. A. A.
Freeman, solicitor of the Post once
Department, and Maj. Ray for the re-
spondent. This Is q bill for an in
junction to enjoin the enforcement of
an order Of the Post once Department
prohibiting the delivery Of letters ad-
dressed TO the petitioner, on the ground
that the party is engaged in an I'M
, lawful calling"
Frhara Nuas nn,1NIinafaA
regarding the legal status of the case,
and finally representatives OF the two
sides presented their respective cases,
Senator Carpenter of Wisconsin max
ing the chief argument. The report
In The Star OF the day following, De-
cember 16, 1879. thus summarizes:
The case before the court was one
IN which evidently the President could
not act The lotteries may be wicked
but they were not always so looked
upon. The very building-City Hall
In which the court sat, was erected
through the aid Of lotteries and he
had been told that other buildings in
this city had been erected in the same
way. This lottery in Louisiana was
not scheme; it was organized and
operated under a contract with the
State and the latter is paid $4,000
for permitting it to continue in opera
ton. The law granting the charter
was voted for by both Republicans and
Democrats in the State Legislature and
there could not be any political sig
nif1cance charged with it's creation. He
argued at some length upon the juris-
dlction OF the court and maintained
that an unconstitutional act was invalid.
II the Postmaster General becomes salts
ned that man Is engaged in an up-
lawful business as matters now stn0N
be could make an order that would
deprive him of the right guaranteed
70 every citizen. Without charge, wt+h-
out trial, without jury. without notice
the Postmaster General could do this and
the first thing the man knew of the
entire transaction was that he was de-
prived OF one Of his righte."
In his argument for the Postmaster
General, Solicitor Freeman questioned
the good taste Of reference TO the fact
that the City Hall had been erected
from the proceeds Of the lottery. He
referred to the Legislatures of New York
and Pennsylvania, which had declared
lotteries tc be nuisances and penalties
were provided, the lotteries being con-
Sidered a species of gambling, and such
a character had been put on them by
the civilized world. In late years they
had secured existence only by paying
tribute to some charitable organization.
The court took the papers and held
the case under advisement for several
days, finally dismiSsing 1t to permit the
counsel for the lottery to file an amend
ed bill. After several years Of litigation
the lottery was finally denied the use
OF the mails and was compelled to
remove from the United States to
Honduras, eventually passing out Of
existence.