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To prohibit transportation of gambling devices in interstate and foreign

commerce

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That as used in this Act the term "gambling device" means

(1) any so-called "slot machine" or any other machine or mechanical device an essential part of which is a drum or reel with insignia thereon, and (A) which when operated may deliver, as the result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property, or (B) by the operation of which a person may become entitled to receive, as the result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property; or

(2) any machine or mechanical device designed and manufactured to operate by means of insertion of a coin, token, or similar object and designed and manufactured so that when operated it may deliver, as the result of the application of an element of chance, any money or property; or

(3) any subassembly or essential part intended to be used in connection with any such machine or mechanical device.

SEC. 2. It shall be unlawful knowingly to transport any gambling device to any place in a State, the District of Columbia, or a Territory or possession of the United States from any place outside of such State, the District of Columbia, or a Territory or possession: Provided, That this section shall not apply to transportation of any gambling device to a place in any State which has enacted a law providing for the exemption of such State from the provisions of this section, or to a place in any subdivision of a State if the State in which such subdivision is located has enacted a law providing for the exemption of such subdivision from the provisions of this section.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with or reduce the authority, or the existing interpretations of the authority, of the Federal Trade Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended (15 U. S. C. 41-58).

SEC. 3. Upon first engaging in business, and thereafter on or before the 1st day of July of each year, every manufacturer of and dealer in gambling devices shall register with the Attorney General his name or trade name, the address of his principal place of business, and the addresses of his places of business in such district. On or before the last day of each month every manufacturer of and dealer in gambling devices shall file with the Attorney General an inventory and record of all sales and deliveries of gambling devices as of the close of the preceding calendar month for the place or places of business in the district. The monthly record of sales and deliveries of such gambling devices shall show the mark and number identifying each article together with the name and address of the buyer or consignee thereof and the name and address of the carrier. Duplicate bills or invoices, if complete in the foregoing respects, may be used in filing the record of sales and deliveries. For the purposes of this Act,

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every manufacturer or dealer shall mark and number each gambling device so that it is individually identifiable. In cases of sale, delivery, or shipment of gambling devices in unassembled form, the manufacturer or dealer shall separately mark and number the components of each gambling device with a common mark and number as if it were an assembled gambling device. It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer or dealer to sell, deliver, or ship any gambling device which is not marked and numbered for identification as herein provided; and it shall be unlawful for any manufacturer or dealer to manufacture, recondition, repair, sell, deliver, or ship any gambling device without having registered as required by this section, or without filing monthly the required inventories and records of sales and deliveries.

SEC. 4. All gambling devices, and all packages containing any such, when shipped or transported shall be plainly and clearly labeled or marked so that the name and address of the shipper and of the consignee, and the nature of the article or the contents of the package may be readily ascertained on an inspection of the outside of the article or package.

SEC. 5. It shall be unlawful to manufacture, recondition, repair, sell, transport, possess, or use any gambling device in the District of Columbia, the Territories and possessions of the United States, on any lands reserved or acquired for the use of the United States and under the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof or within Indian country as defined in 18 United States Code 1151.

SEC. 6. Whoever violates any of the provisions of section 2, 3, 4, or 5 of this Act shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

SEC. 7. Any gambling device transported, delivered, shipped, manufactured, reconditioned, repaired, sold, disposed of, received, possessed, or used in violation of the provisions of this Act shall be seized and forfeited to the United States. All provisions of law relating to the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violation of the customs laws; the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from the sale thereof; the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures; and the compromise of claims and the award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this Act, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof: Provided, That such duties as are imposed upon the collector of customs or any other person with respect to the seizure and forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage under the customs laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and forfeitures of gambling devices under this Act by such officers, agents, or other persons as may be authorized or designated for that purpose by the Attorney General.

SEC. 8. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.

Passed the Senate April 19 (legislative day, March 29), 1950.
Attest:
LESLIE L. BIFFLE,

Secretary.

Report of Subcommittee on State Laws

At the meeting of the National Crime Conference, called in Washington, D. C., on February 15, 1950, the following Subcommittee on State Laws was appointed:

Chairman, Alan H. Bible, Attorney General of Nevada.
Price Daniel, Attorney General of Texas.

W. Cooper Green, Mayor of Birmingham, Ala.

Robert D. Morrison, City Attorney, Lynchburg, Va.
Sigurd Anderson, Attorney General of South Dakota.
Richard W. Ervin, Attorney General of Tallahassee, Fla.
C. C. Garner, Chief Inspector, Post Office Department.
Ralph W. Farris, Attorney General of Maine.

Whitfield Y. Mauzy, United States Attorney, Tulsa, Okla.
Roy H. Beeler, Attorney General of Tennessee.

This subcommittee met in Washington, D. C., 1 month later, on March 15, 1950, with the following in attendance:

Ralph W. Farris, Attorney General of Maine, acting as Chairman of Alan Bible, Attorney General of Nevada.

B. T. McElroy, Assistant Attorney General of Texas, representing Price Daniel, Attorney General of Texas.

W. Cooper Green, Mayor of Birmingham, Ala.

Robert D. Morrison, City Attorney, Lynchburg, Va.

Assistant Attorney General Owens, representing Richard W. Ervin, Attorney General of Florida.

C. C. Garner, Chief Inspector, Post Office Department.

Whitfield Mauzy, United States Attorney, Tulsa, Okla.

Sam B. Groner, Assistant Solicitor General, the Department of Justice.

This subcommittee first thoroughly discussed the extent of its field of activity. It was concluded that the subcommittee was primarily interested in sponsoring necessary State legislation in the field of crime prevention. It was felt that in addition to its actual sponsorship in the field of State laws, it should lend its assistance and cooperation in both Federal and municipal fields, to the end that the objectives set forth at the February conference could be better attained.

A careful analysis was made of the need for proposed Federal legislation to prohibit the shipment of gambling devices into or out of any State where possession or use of such devices was illegal. Federal legislation to accomplish this was endorsed in principle. Subsequent to the meeting of the committee comment was received from several of the members to the effect that there was one phase of the bill which apparently had not been sufficiently considered and might in the future great deal of difficulty. Under the terms of the bill drafted

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by the Committee on Federal Legislation to prohibit the transportation of gambling devices in interstate commerce, it was necessary for the Governor to certify that the use of such a machine in his State was legal. This certification would then have to be published by the United States Attorney General in the Federal Register. The use of all gambling devices other than those covered by the publication in the Federal Register would be considered illegal by Federal enforcement officials.

It occurred to the members of the committee that in some States and in many cities there might be a twilight zone between legal and illegal games where the Governor would have a difficult time certifying as to the legal use of such machines. It was pointed out by members of the committee that many States permit the operation of bingo games at beaches and county fairs, or for local fund-raising projects, using various types of wheels, slot machines, etc. It is thought that some clarification could be made so as to solve the difficulty raised by certain members of the present committee. For the purpose of lending further aid to the Senate Committee, a special subcommittee was appointed to furnish additional assistance in drafting adequate legislation to carry out the principle of prohibiting the transmission of certain gambling information in interstate and foreign commerce by communications facilities.

The committee also endorsed in principle Federal legislation which would make the interstate use of telephone, telegraph, or radio facilities for the dissemination of horse-race results for illegal gambling purposes a Federal offense (excepting legitimate sports information, press associations, and newspapers). This particular Federal legislation has, since the meeting of your committee in Washington, D. C., on March 15, 1950, received further study from a number of the attorneys general belonging to the national association, and, although they have continued to endorse in principle such legislation, they felt that the present bill pending before the United States Senate did require certain clarification.

The subcommittee on State legislation has likewise been advised that the midwestern attorneys general at a meeting held in Chicago on May 19, 1950, passed a resolution endorsing in principle the legislation now before the Congress of the United States as set forth in Senate bill 3357 (a bill to prohibit transportation of gambling devices in interstate and foreign commerce) and Senate bill 3358 (a bill to prohibit transmission of certain gambling information in interstate and foreign commerce by communications facilities) and urging the passage of adequate legislation of this character.

Your subcommittee on State legislation, in addition to the endorsement in principle as aforesaid, endorsed the creation of a central

bureau where all serial numbers of firearms shall be recorded for Federal, State, and local law-enforcement officials. This subcommittee felt that this was not primarily a problem of State legislation but one more properly of Federal legislation. It was felt that if there should be complete coverage that it could be accomplished only by some Nation-wide filing system. It was pointed out that registration on any less a scope would give inadequate protection and coverage. The subcommittee had before it the consideration of drafting of Federal legislation which would provide that the Social Security Agency should make available to Federal, State, and local lawenforcement officers all fingerprints and Social Security records. Some members felt that such far-reaching legislation might have unfavorable implications and in order to ascertain the views of the Social Security Administration inquiry was made of the acting commissioner, who furnished a statement of such administration in reference to the problem. The statement follows:

Statement of the Social Security Administration in Reference to the Proposal for Fingerprinting All Applications for Social Security Cards

This proposal has caused the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and the Social Security Administration considerable concern. There are numerous and varying reasons for this concern, among which are the following:

1. From a public relations standpoint the proposal has serious implications. Indications are that the adoption of such a requirement would lead to: (a) Charges of regimentation of workers.

(b) Unpopular public reactions because of the general association of fingerprinting with criminal activities.

(c) Criticisms as a result of the loss of job opportunities because of the requirement. It is important to note also that 50 percent of all applications for account numbers are received by mail, each of which might be delayed pending correspondence required to secure the fingerprints.

(d) Criticisms because it is public knowledge that fingerprinting is not necessary for social-security purposes.

In that connection it should be noted that the plan for fingerprinting is not new to the Administration. During 1936 a similar proposal was given thorough and careful consideration. Discussions were held with employee and employer groups, as well as with governmental agencies. The consensus was that such program should not be adopted. The Administration has not had occasion to regret that decision on the basis of its operations. While recollections are often faulty, belief has been expressed that the Department of Justice was among the Federal agencies informally consulted during that exploratory period.

2. It is safe to predict that numbers of workers will vigorously oppose such a plan. That will result in many refusals to file for numbers, thus raising a serious enforcement problem as well as wage record accounting difficulties in the processing of incompletely reported wage items.

3. Nearly 95,000,000 social security numbers have already been issued. No action could be taken with respect to this group. In this connection it is important to consider that only about 2,500,000 new account numbers are issued

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