New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-14
TIE LOTTERY BUSINESS.

} Snce tie 1T of Janu,-y, 1858, several scores OF
bogus lottery Establishments have been broken ap,
auG ia some Inst the srinders connected there
with ave be- arrested and pqnished. Most If these
huseyer were concerns that were oui-sn1 out shans
,bs, reyer pretended to draw any prizes, aoi the
-.g.r.of witch were les rsprehen-b.e ,nsn high.
- Nocause they used no thre,t. or
vne,ce in de. polling tbe.r victims. The operations
OF it--e hc'itioas establishments, nsSdg '''H "'0''
th,rongh! exposed in these columns hereto ore, -
r,i 10 the subject # our present consideration for
have 10 spesk only Of the lotteries that cla n
to have 6 lal exlsteLce, AM that are Conducted
openly by p.Ites whose nsues no secret, and who
c!s Il. tho, their bus f., lawful ard legit mate.
Tie ajority Of the lotteries in the United States
cla med to be legal are located in three States only
Deav are. Mary !snd srt Georgia. Schemes are Also
issu from Missouri and Kentucky and drawing. take
place IN those States bat the great bulk of the
lns.ress Is dore in the three Stste. first enumerated
There Ia bat oue ttery ia Georgia that was estab
lsfed by law. ard which has any claim 10 legal
i,y the Sparta Academy" lottery, which was insti-
tuted IL the year 1876 for the purpose of raising 5000
wherewith TO build toe Sparts aesdemy Indeed,
almost s. lotteries are originally established for
sucn purpose "a this-builiing academy, or
brdye or completing some other public wock,
and then the management falls rto the hands
OF designing men who use the original charter
~ csrry on operations by means Of which ~ enrich
Themselves The charters are in fact, usually obtained
by tbs men under preep'e OF cff,cting some public
good and are then perverted from their original in-
tent In toe csse If the Sparta Academy L,ttery tue
original intention Of the Georgia Legislature was
doubt ess good ore-tha, is to say. good end was
eant to be answered by questionable means but the
charter afterwart acquired 10y Samuel Ssan and
BeIienin Wood-whother by purchase or lobby man.
seeueut does not alpear.
BY the ac' of incorporsticn it provided that ID
Per of tie gross receipts should be handed over to
the State for the benefit ot TIE Academy Fund, and
that all the balance Of the receipts after the deduc-
ton Of small margin to meet the fair expenses of an
economicsl management, should be divided in prizes.
Some idea If the 1hoes Ale rauis perpetrated 10 the
management Of of the lotteries that claimed
~ 'egal, msy be formed when state the fact that,
although tie Sparta Academy Charter was granted IN
ls26 only to raise the pary SUN Of 5000, the State
Of Georgia has up t. tits tIne received but $4,000 OF
this sum. while the two managers Of the concern,
Samuel Swan s5d Benjamin Wood, are reported to be
vorh each more than hall million Of dollars, all of
which or at esst tie great bulk Of which, has been
acquired by tie Sparta Academy Lottery sc1eme
Thee two men lately ind cted for Illegal lottery
ceslrg il being cs'med that the charter has expired;
their trial was set down for last month, but they, by
means of their eminent COUNSEL had influence sufficient
to secure n post atpopemeut urtu text year.
Tie Green and Puask Monument" Lottery 10
also in the state of Georg-. It, proprietors were
Gregory Msury, bat there il no doubt as To the
hecalty of Il il entiIe concern and it @t be dcon-
tuned b. action of law.
There were fifteen lotteries 10 Maryland, which are
now rsodated into TIE pin spal ones Of them
were the Paispsco Int tute, the Carroll County,
the "PokomoA. River, Maryland ate, )" ~ Wash
ineton Coufty,' "Bcl-Air,7 SusquehsLna Canal,
and the " Old Havana Plan" All these are owned
by II. France s. Son, and they all expire by special
oct Of Legislature the lst ot April, 1872 This firm
sl,o own TIE Shelby County Lottery in kentucky
which expires in 1862.
Mes-rs. Wood, EDDY 4 Swan also own the Delaware
ana Missouri lotteries, which, it is ssid they recently
purchased from Gregory & Maufy for $4,000. So
II will be seen that the entire lottery business in this
country is ia tie hands of only two firms.
In the Spring Of 1851, Messrs. Benjsmin Wood ard
Samuel Swan called on two legal gentlemen of the C,y
of Augusta with the view of obtaining their opinion
% 10 the legality Of contemplated purchase by tnen
Wood s. Co.. of the Sparta Academy grant OF 1870
from the Trustees. They stated that they desired 70
b.cooe the proprieiors of that chsrter aud 90
ard draw the tttery themselves. Tue case was
ccmp ated onc it beng question whether the act of
1896. grating the Sparta Ac ldemy Lottery privilege
was au2ued or affected by tie subseqaeut act of 1888.
The LAWYERS made careful aud extended examination
othe case and finally gave it their opinion that the
purchase would be Illegal and that, If it should be con-
.umnated by Wood Il Co.. sni if they should go on
4 ut.i i-nv urtpr ~
&c, gs would be Unlawful, AMI they would be liable
to have their business broken up ani to suffer the PEN
sty Of the lsv if ever the authorities chose 10 proceed
aeairst Item. Swan & Wood not coatent with this,
procured OTHER advisers aud a, last determined TO make
the purchase and carry the lottery relying either
on the nonr,erfeencs of the officers Of the Law, or
on the ability OF their learned council to bring them
off clesr of dsnsge in case prosecution shoald be
Instituted. TIE purchase accordingly made, and
the rars cement of the Sparta Academy Lottery psse'i
from tie control OF the S,ate of Gsoga the hands
of Benjamin Wood ard Samuel Swan.
Fer three years their business went on most proc
perously and the propretors became rich men. Ihey
appointed Commissioners to superintent the draw
ires although the al grant calls for seyer II is
said th pay these two men, NJ. Leon r. Duga' and
Frederick c. Barber, $500 year each. IL the cfeu'
lars Of Swan Co a card sppears sigeed by these
two Con nssioners testhyirg TO the taif ani honor
able haracter Of the proprie tors AMI that everything
corrected wih the eItire bu-ness is carried on win
" tie most scrupulous and exact integrity. Appended
n tli. card appears arotler gnet by the Mayor aud
Postmaster OF the City Of Augusts, sni by an ext.
s. Senator, erng testimony 10 the integrity oi the
CoHms iorers; 80 that, the fsce OF the bn'hes1'
everything appears fsir and honestly condue.ed. we
need hardly remark that all this appearance OF far-
ress has great weight with the public IN hdacns