Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1897 — WASHINGTON. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON.

Assistant Secretary Day of the State Department has declined to accept the attorney generalship. Senator Cullom of Illinois declares that he will not resign to accept a place on the interstate commerce commission. He is urging David T. L:tt!cr for the position. The Secretary of War at Washington has given a medal of honor to Thomas I. Higgins of Hannibal, Mo., who was colorbearer of an Illinois regiment during the war. At the siege of Vicksburg Higgins literally obeyed orders not to turn back, and alone, pushed clear into the rebel breastworks. The medal was issued on information given by Confederate soldiers who witnessed Higgins’ heroic deed. The Postofflce Department is taking a firm stand against the so-called “missingletter” and “missing-word” contests which are being conducted by a number of publishers to increase the subscriptions to their papers. The lottery law directs that the Postmaster General, upon evidence satisfactory to himself that a concern or person is operating through the mails a lottery or scheme offering prizes dependent upon lot or chance, to prohibit the delivery of all mail matter to it. All newspapers and periodicals containing advertisements of this character are forbidden transmission in the mails. This law, it is now announced at the Postofflce Department in Washington, will be applied to all schemes which are violations of it, if they are continued iu operation or advertisements of them are published. Miss-ing-letter contests are held to be such violations, because many correct answers can be giveu, but only one list is deemed the “correct list” by the promoter of the scheme. The chance consists in guessing what words compose the so-called “correct list.” Such schemes are held to be especially obnoxious, owing to the skillful wording of the advertisements, which makes the chance for obtaining n prize more remote than in the defunct Louisiana lottery.