Alpers

Appellant was convicted on two counts of an information charging him with knowingly depositing with the Railway Express Agency, for carriage in interstate commerce, certain obscene phonograph records. This, according to the Government’s theory, constitutes a violation of certain of the provisions of 18 U.S.C.A. § 396 [now § 1462],

That the phonograph records were deposited for carriage in interstate commerce is admitted; that there was inscribed thereon obscene matter is also admitted.

The question for determination is: Are the provisions of 18 U.S.C.A. § 396 broad enough to include phonograph records ? The statute, insofar as it is material here, reads:, “Whoever shall * * * deposit * * * with any express company * * * for carriage from one State * * * to any other State * * * any obscene, lewd, or lascivious, or any filthy book, *138 pamphlet, picture, motion picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character,- * * *

It is appellant’s contention that by enumerating particular classes of obscene matter, Congress evinced a clear intention of limiting the application of the statute and of thé general words employed therein, relying on the rule…