Hannifin

Hannifin appeals from two judgments and decrees of condemnation entered by the District Court for the District of Montana, Butte Division, ordering the forfeiture to the United States pursuant to Section 1177, Title 15 U.S.C.A., of two electronic pointmaker machines on the ground that said machines were gambling devices within the meaning of Section 1171, Title 15 U.S.C.A., which had been transported in interstate commerce in violation of Section 1172, Title 15 U.S.C.A. Pursuant to a stipulation by the parties, the cases of both machines (a “Joker” machine and a “Bingo” machine) were tried together, and evidence adduced as to one was applicable to the other.

It is agreed by the parties that the machines were the property of appellant and that appellant had caused their transportation in interstate commerce from Chicago, Illinois, to Butte, Montana.

The question here presented is whether the machines are gambling devices within the meaning of Section 1171(a), Title 15 U.S.C.A., which reads as follows:

The face of each machine states it is an “Electric Pointmaker”. Neither machine had a slot or any device for the insertion of money or anything else therein, nor did either deliver…