Whoever shall bring or cause to be brought into the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof from any foreign country or shall therein knowingly deposit or cause to be deposited with any express company or other common carrier for carriage from one State, territory or district of the United States, or in place non-contiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or from any place in or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States through a foreign country to any place in or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, any obscene, lewd or lascivious or any filthy book, pamphlet, picture, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character, of any drug, medicine, article or thing designed, adapted or intended for [preventing conception or] producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use, or any written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement or notice of any kind, giving information directly or indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any of the hereinbefore-mentioned articles, matters, or things may be obtained or made, or whoever shall knowingly take or cause to be taken from such express company or common carrier, any matter or thing, the depositing of which for carriage is herein made unlawful, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years or both. _But no book, pamphlet, paper, letter, writing, circular, advertisement, notice or print is obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy, by reason of the fact that it mentions, discusses or recommends prevention of conception, or gives information concerning methods or means for the prevention of conception: or tells how, where, or in what manner such information or such means can be obtained: and no drug, medicine, article or thing shall be for indecent or immoral use because it is designed, adapted or intended for the prevention of conception._ (Matter in brackets omitted; matter in italics new.) NEW YORK STATUTES PENAL LAW.