May 28, before Judge Toussaint snd MAL. de Goth and Lion, Asressors, the hearing of the action took place in which the International Sa Society is sued ty an employee named Rudolph yer the sum of $50,000, claimeyl ae "torts."
Through Wh lawyer, auxion de Rum plaintive claims that the society is Megat as coming under the Gambling Act of 1895 which declares lotteries illegal and that the 18.8, has become a lottery since the date it started the special prize denominated the "progressive and cumulative xeimbursement."
At the opening of the ease, Barraud who appeared for the LS.S, asked the Court to let him put forward a demurrex on the ground that Rudolph had no standing or inter" rest in the case, According to M, Barraud, there are quite a number of French laws which cannot be applied in Shange hai, For instance, Article 199, which obliges all marriages to be contracted first before the civil authorities and not the' Church; Article 411, dealing with the loan on merchandize; punishment for using foreign measures in comme: cial dealings, (Art, 424); the in terest law which' according-to. the Code is fixed at 5 ner cent, to when, here, in Shanghai, French people fare under the juriedietion of the Saigon Court "of appeal which admits avery much higher xate of legal interest, aid M, Barvaud, was, ry. In a lottery people rest a certain sum of money to prize or to loose it. Here, pital is reimbursed "with a The investor may loss some of the interest, tut be runs the chance to have his bend reimbursed before the contracted time of 16 years Times had charged and now, people recognize that transactions legal when a ¢matl element of chance is thrown into them. What the Champion lotteries Shanghai? The thing to look for is the honesty of the people who are yunning that kind of business and the contra worked in the most henest and' open way and eve complainant recognized this The only thing he objected to was the creas tion of the cumulative and progressive reimbursement, But it was absolutely legal, and the most. prominent actuaries in France had declared that the way of calculating them was quite sane and correct, M, Barraud concluded in asking the Court to say tht the action of the complainant, did not lie as the Gambling Act of 1836 did not apply'
the case and therefore that the complainant has no case.
The Progressive Reimbursements @Auxion de Ruffé in reply. ting said that the society, in work. ing as it did at the beginning, was Jeven so working against the Inw of 1836, but since it had started the progressive and cumulative ro-imbursements, it was conducting, a real lottery and nothing else. Of course, it was honestly' conducted, but anyhow it was a lottery.
Rudolph was a bondholder and had. the right to claim damages for torts Jdone to him by the creation of such fa kind of reimbursement. But it [was not $60,000 which he was ask
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.