Samuel Blatchford

“ Any person who shall knowingly deposit or cause to be deposited, or who shall knowingly send or cause to be sent, anything to be conveyed or delivered by mail in violation of this section, or who shall knowingly cause to be delivered by mail anything herein forbidden to be carried by mail, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for each offense. ”

“ Rep. 499, the circuit court of the United States for the northern district of Illinois, held by Judge Blodgett, referring to certain bonds issued by the city of Vienna, in Austria, under a scheme in substance like that embodied in the bonds now before us, decided that circulars concerning the drawings thereunder were within the inhibition of section 3894. ”

“ The inducement for investing in such bonds is offered of getting some 'bonus,' large and small, in the future, soon or late, according to the chances of the wheel's disclosures. The investment may run one year or it may run thirty years, according to the decision of the wheel. ”

“ The first count further alleges that during subsequent periods other provision is made for such larger amounts; that all of the bonds are in the same form, have the same drawing and redemption plan indorsed upon them, and are identical in all respects, except that the series number and the number thereof vary as to each bond ”

“ Virginia, 6 Wheat. 264, 441, it was held that, where an act of congress empowered the corporation of the city of Washington to authorize the drawing of lotteries for certain purposes, it could not force the sale of the tickets in Virginia, where such sale was prohibited by law. ”

“ According to such plan, the smallest amount to be paid for any bond selected for payment during the first year after issue is 135 gulden; during the second year, 140 gulden; during the third year, 145 gulden; and so on, increasing in amount five gulden each year, until the amount reaches 200 gulden, which amount then remains fixed as the minimum sum to be paid for any bond the payment of which shall be determined by such drawings. ”

“ People, 40 Ill. 465, where it was held that the character of the transaction would not be changed by assuming that the ticket represented an article of merchandise intrinsically worth the amount which the holder would be obliged to pay, and that, if every ticket in any ordinary lottery represented a prize of some value, yet, if those prizes were of unequal values, the scheme of distribution would still remain a lottery ”