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and the impression the Chair had of your
answers to those questions was quite the?
converse of what you are now saying.
Let me understand by a further illustra-
tion, if I may. If the legislature were to
repeal the gambling statute so that there
no statutory prohibition against gambling
in Maryland, is it your intention that this
•constitutional provision would be self-op-
erative so as to prohibit the operation of
a lottery either by the State, a political
subdivision, or a private organization or
person?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: The constitu-
tional prohibition would be effective and
self-operating. If the legislature decides as
it has that something like bingo is not
within the definition of lottery, that defini-
tion still holds.
If the legislature decides to change its
decision and say that bingo is prohibited,
they do not need a constitutional prohibi-
tion to prohibit bingo. They may do it
based on whatever they want to do about
the gambling statutes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do I understand
then that the language of Committee Recom-
mendation SF-2, as drawn and using the
words "lotteries shall not he sanctioned''
means as Professor Burdette suggested not
merely that they may not be authorized but
that they not be permitted?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: That's right.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does that answer
your question, Delegate Burdette?
DELEGATE BURDETTE: Yes, Mr.
Chairman, it answers it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hostetter.
DELEGATE HOSTETTER: Chairman
Sherbow, in checking the various sources
for definitions of lottery and so forth, did
you check the United States Post Office
Department?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Those are
definitions that are legal because there we
have some background in that because you
run a lottery, you ought to know, you can-
not send your newspaper through the mails.
That's why an advertisement for a bingo
game in the newspaper would be permitted
to go through the mail. They will let a
newspaper go through with an advertise-
ment about winning an automobile at my
gas station. But say in that ad that you
have to buy five gallons of gas from me
before I give you a chance to win and not
only will the ad be unacceptable, but if
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your paper takes it, you won't be able to
send it through the mails because the post
office will stop you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hostetter.
DELEGATE HOSTETTER: That was
my point because bingo has been declared
illegal in Elkton, Maryland, we received a
notice from the post office that if we men-
tion it again, our mailers will not be mailed
out, but from the federal government's
standpoint, it is considered definitely a
lottery.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I cannot an-
swer for the federal government, I can
only answer for the State of Maryland.
We have in the State of Maryland prohibi-
tion against lottery grants; we have here
in Maryland on the subject of bingo, deci-
sions by the attorneys general and without
question they have been operated. Then we
have the statute which was passed and
under the terms of that statute the manner
and method of operation of bingo has been
set out.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Delegate Sher-
bow, I am a little perplexed. Earlier you
indicated in response to a question that I
put to you that except for the expansion
of the constitutional prohibition to the po-
litical subdivisions, basically the prohibi-
tion proposed by your Committee was the
same as the one now in the present Con-
stitution which would bar grants of a lot-
tery, that is a lottery conducted by the
State or a lottery conducted for the State
under the auspices of a private group.
Then in response to questions put to you
by me and by Delegate Gleason, you indi-
cated that you thought that bingo did not
fall within the definition of a lottery.
Now, I understand that you said in re-
sponse to a question by Professor Burdette
that the language "shall not be sanctioned"
means not permitted at all. Therefore, if a
court should decide that bingo is a lottery,
under the language proposed by your Com-
mittee that would be illegal.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: All I can say
is that up until now all our evidence indi-
cates that bingo is not a lottery. All the
law in Maryland indicates that bingo is not
a lottery. If the Court of Appeals should
change it and add bingo to include it within
the meaning of lottery, much as I believe
such a decision will not take place, then,
of course, you will have to obey the law.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.
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