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Show LOTTERY SCHEMES A R E INCREASING United States Postal Authorities Authori-ties Forced to Be Especially Watchful of All Mails. MANY NEWS STORIES Newspapers Warned Against Cunning Plots of Foreign Government' and Individuals. Washington. January 8. Increase in the number of government lottcr ios abroad as the war drags itselr out is forcing "United States postal authorities author-ities to be especially watchful to pre-eni pre-eni their advertisement-In this country. coun-try. The lotteries are given publicity in the United Stales in two ways, it was said at the postoffice department today. Individual letters aro written to American citizens in an effort to induce them to purchase tickets and news stories are circulated of fabulous fabul-ous sums won. Letters soliciting clients. If they fall Into tho department's hands, never re.'ich their destinations. Some got through the department if on the outside out-side they do not present a suspicious appearance. All the suspected letters are diverted and opened. With news stories the department does not find it so easy to deal. The solicitor's office of the department holds that any news story advertising a lottery must be barred from the malls. Under the department's ruling this means any story giving publicity to a lottery. It does not have to be a paid advertisement. Newspapers Are Warned. Many news stories of European lotteries lot-teries have been printed recently, the department says, which approach closely a violation of the law. A story that mentions the name of a winner or winners of a lottery is held to be a distinct violation. A story, too, that might be expected to attract such attention to a lottery that readers would investigate is held to be a violation. vio-lation. A section of the law quoted by the department reads: ' No newspaper, circular, pamphlet or publication, of any kind containing any advertisement of any lottery, gift erterprlse or scheme of any kind offering of-fering prizes, dependent in whole or In part upon lot or chance, or containing contain-ing any list of the prizes drawn or awarded by means of any such lottery, plft, enterprise or scheme, whether said list contains any part or all of such prizes, shall be deposited In or carried by the mails of the United States or be delivered by any postmaster post-master or letter carrier." Most of the lotteries being carried on in Europe now are for war benefits. bene-fits. Hospitals, tho wounded, soldiers' sol-diers' dependents and other war victims vic-tims are aided. oo |