Show MISSING WORD CONTESTS Plan of Trashy Newspapers to Be Nipped by Government Washington Dec 2The postoflice department is taking a firm stand against the socalled missing letter and missing word contests which are being conducted by a number of publishers pub-lishers to increase the subscriptions to their papers The lottery law directs that the postmaster general upon evidence evi-dence satisfactory to himself that a concern or person is operating through the mails a lottery or scheme of regular regu-lar prizes dependent upon lot or chance to prohibit the delivery of all mail matter mat-ter to it All newspapers and periodicals periodi-cals containing advertisements of this character are forbidden transmission in the mails This law it is now announced an-nounced at the postoflice department will be applied to all schemes which are violations of it if they are continued contin-ued in operation or advertisements of them are published Missing letter contests con-tests are held to be such violations because be-cause many correct answdrs can be given but only one list is deemed the correct list by the promoter of the scheme The chance consists in guessing guess-ing what words compose the socalled j correct list Such schemes are held to be especially obnoxious owing to the skillful wording of the advertisements which make the chance for obtaining a prize more remote than in the defunct Louisiana lottery |