Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 November 1905 — A LOTTERY? GUESS NOT. [ARTICLE]

A LOTTERY? GUESS NOT.

At Least Uncle Sam Says It Isn’t, And His Word Goes.' A SLIGHT TECHNICAL MISUNDERSTANDING, THAT WAS ALL,

And Our Piano Contest Is Still Booming, While “Clarkey” and ills Man Friday Are Weeping Tears Of Blood and Rubbing Their Bruised Shins. Readers of the various newspapers of Jasper county are familiar with the attempt of the editor of the Rensselaer Journal, through his man Bowie, to kill The Democrat’s piano contest by having the postoffice department declare it a lottery and therefore exclude from the mails any advertising regarding the same. This was done, they claim, because of The Democrat’s legitimate move to confine the Kankakee Valley Review, printed in Rensselaer —and for most part a reprint copy of the Rensselaer Journal, and edited by both Clark and Bowie—to one particular county, instead of mailing a few copies of the same paper at different postoffices in different counties and gathering up legal notices, etc. that really should be published in the bonafide newspapers of each of such counties. Such publications could be legal, in the opinion of good lawyers, in but one county, and the justice of our contention in this line must he apparent to every news, paper in the country and to every man of ordinary intelligence. The Review, however, is a creature of Clark’s invention, to aid him job printing and legal publications in morthern Jasper and Newton counties that could not nor would not be published in his own paper, the Journal. This perfectly proper move of ours —which was also a protection to people who might have legal publications made in that paper that might in later years cause them considerable vexation, expense and litigation if the publication was declared illegalcaused both Clark and Bowie to whet their knives for The Democrat. They say that the move to shut off The Democrat’s piano contest was in revenge for our move to confine the Review to its proper territory, but we have some good evidence to show that the move was hatched up and started before we done anything to confine the Review to its proper field. However, they finally got a letter from the postoffice department (so they say) to the effect that the contest conflicted with the regulations of the department regarding lotteries, and any advertising pertaining thereto was not admisable to the mails. This gave them lots of enjoyment, and the way they fell into each others arms And wept tears of joy for having “spiked” The Democrat’s piano contest and stopped its rapidly growing circulation was a scene for the gods. The trouble with Clark and Bowie, however, is that they tried to kill big game with too small a gun, and their “spiking” process wouldn’t stay spiked. The Democrat bad, through the postmaster here, gotten an opinion from the postoffice department before entering into this piano contest, as heretofore stated, knowing full well that complaint would be made by our competitors, who have cold chills at the way The Democrat is growing, and we felt secure in that opinion. However, the opinion of the Assistant Attorney General of the Postoffice Department which we had caused to be Secured, was mislaid by the postmaster here, and when he searched for it he was unable to find it. We. never saw said opinion, but as near as Postmaster Myers could remember the language thereof, it stated that the contest was not’ regarded as a lottery at all Hoy the department,but suggested that we make some provision in case of a tie vote, so

that each tying contest would share equally in the piano—copies of the proposition in full having been sent in with the request for the ruling. ... This was done by us so far as we could grasp the meaning of the attorney general, and we stated that in case of a tie, the tying contestants could settle the matter between themselves. After Clark and Bowie had shutoff the contest effectually (?) we wrote the department—as did the postmaster here—asking why, in view of the fact that we had been granted permission to carry on the contest, it should be stopped now? To this letter each received a reply substantially the same, and quoted the ruling of July 20 last, which was that we should include a provision “in event of a tie for the prize offered, the value thereof will be equally divided between the persons tying, or each of such persons will receive a prize of that character and value,” and that on complying with said ruling the contest might proceed. For the benefit of Messrs. Clark and Bowie and the newspaper publishers of the surrounding territory who may have been misled in this matter by the erroneous and jealous statements that have appeared in our local contemporaries, we copy below the ruling of Assistant Attorney General R. P. Goodwin in this matter on July 20 last, in response to inquiry made at our request and which he has just reiterated in the letter to us of recent date: "The voting contest set forth in the circulars issued by the Jasper County Democrat, of which copies are submitted with your letter, is not regarded as a lottery; but such circulars should include a provision that in the event of a tie for the prize offered, the value thereof will be equally divided between the persons tying, or each of such persons will receive a prize of that character and value." It will thus be seen that the whole difficulty was only a technical one, and that Clark, Bowie, et al have only bad their fun for nothing, and instead of “spiking” the contest they have only given it a boost by advertising it to the limited extent of their circulation. It is a most complete and sweeping victory for The Democrat, and shoula be a lesson to its envious competitors not to monkey with The Democrat’s buzz-saw. The advertising again appears in The Democrat, and if you want the best and newsiest paper printed in northwestern Indiana a full year for a dollar, and at the same time help out some church or lodge orgaization to recure a valuable instrument, we shall be pleased to 'add your name to our big list and record your votes as desire to have them recorded. But the ground was awfully bard where Clark and Bowie lit, and it may be necessary for them to stay in there beds for awhile until they recuperate from their injuries.