The Philadelphia Times/1879/Lottery Agents Arrested

Lottery Agents Arrested. Anthony Comstock Raid. Held For Unlawfully Using the Mails. New York City, New York; November 11, 1879. Acting on complaints made by Anthony Comstock, agent of the Society for the Suppression of Vice and Special Agent of the Post Office Department, some twenty warrants were issued yesterday, by United States Commissioner Shields, for the arrest of dealers in lottery tickets. The Times says that these warrants charged the dealers named in them with sending lottery tickets and circulars pertaining to lotteries through the mails, in violation of the United States statute on the subject. A simultaneous descent was made upon the various office, from Nassau street to Broadway, at Thirty-first street. The first dealer arrested was B. Nathan, of Nos. 179 and 830 Broadway, who at once gave bail before the Commissioner in the sum of $1,000 to await examination. Soon afterward John Duff of No. 49 Nassau street, and A. Orlando Jackson, of No. 92 Nassau street, were arrested, and in like manner they gave bail for their future appearance. These captures were followed at intervals by the arrest of C. F. Lindauer, W. L. Crayton, E. W. Harriman, C. Defreese, J. Williamson of Williamson & Co., and R. N. Potter, all Broadway dealers, and mostly from little nooks of offices between Twenty-fifth and Thirtieth street. Theodore Zschoch, of No. 17 Park place and No. 861 Broadway; J. Wachsman, of Wachsman & Co., No. 84 Nassau street, and W. A. Martine, of No. 10 Wall street, were also arrested. In the cases where the prisoners had been under arrest previously for the same offense they were held in $1,000 bail, and from these who had not before been charged with the offense only $500 bail was required. Most of them, however, were old offenders and had to give the higher amount.