Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-11-24
The Wheel Of Fortune.

Inc Vneel VI rOTUuucs
In the California prize drawing, No.
154,077 drew the prize of 100000 in gold.
The following from the Herald shows the
sensation the result created in New York:
On the receipt of the lucky number
telegram in this city yesterday, considera-
BILE excitement was manifested among
those who held tickets; every man felt in
his pocket and eyed the number of his
ticket to ascertain if il was included in the
number specified. 1t is needless to say
that many were disappointed The sub
ject was the great topic for comment in
Wall street yesterday afternoon, especially
among the German American citizens
San Francisco being great financial cen
tire, most OF the banks OF any Importance
in New York have houses there, which
will readily account for the deep interest
manifested in Wall street in the success of
this lottery, which is to provide San Fran
cisco with fine library. The story is
very simple, and is mainly as follows:
Mr.. Wormser, of the firm of William
Meyer 81 CO., of New York and San Fran
cisco, purchased a hundred tickets from
the Lottery Committee for himself and
German friends, which were duly distrib-
uted. Mr. Hellman, of the New Orleans
branch of the firm of j. 81 w. Seligman d
Co., was to be counted in this arrangement,
but was making tour of the fashionable
watering places when the distribution of
tickets took place by Mr.. Wormser. When
he applied for his tickets he found they
were all gone, but Mr.. Il. H. Biederman
spared him one ticket from his lot. This
ticket won the 100000 prize. Mr.. Bied-
erman originally had twenty tickets, which
cost him 800, but the sale of one ticket
~ I'LL, J,ct IA NnY,ta 4
His nineteen tickets drew prize OF
800. which shows a net profit of five
dollars to Mr. Biedeman. Mr. He'll
mans investment Of five dollars brought a
return of 100000. In banking circles
the affair was looked upon as generous
and handsome token of affection on the
part of Mr.. Biederman toward MIR. He'll
man This view of the case was strength
ened by the fact that MIR. Biederman
picked the successful ticket out of his lot
for Mr.. Hellman II is seldom that testi
monias of affection and friendship take SO
solid and valuable form as the above, and
therefore Mr.. Biederman was showered
with congratulations yesterday equally
with Mr.. Hellman.
Immediately after Mr.. Hellman was adj
vised of his good fortune in drawing this
prize, he went into the gold room and sold
rates, and at sellers option, to be delivered
in fifteen days. He explained this by say
ing that in the present state Of the market
he felt bound to let the gold float, as he
did not care about keeping it on his hands
Speaking of some of the evil conse-
quences of the Mercantile Library Lottery
scheme recently drawn in San Francisco,
the Daily CAL, Of that city, says; Yes
tertlay we chronicled the suicide Of
young man, who, like a hundred thousand
others, had fondly dreamed that he was
bound to win fortune in the Mercantile
Library Lottery, and was disappointed, but
unlike great majority Of the victims, had
not the courage to bear his disappointment
and live. To-day we have TO tell the pub
lie of the arrest of another victim who had
gone insane, and, sadder yet, of an attempt
by young woman known to occupy an
honorable position in the community, to
obtain by forgery what fortune in the turn
ing Of the lottery wheel denied her, a
prize. The ticket on which she attempted
to draw the money had been rather skillful-
ly altered by FASTING one number over
another on each coupon, to make it APP
pear like the ticket which actually drew
the coin, and remarks made by her, before
and after the presentation OF the ticket
left no doubt in the minds ofthose present
as to her having guilty knowledge Of the
fraud These are among the legitimate re-
suits of the fell mania for obtaining sud
den wealth without labor, evoked by the
pestilential lottery scheme. The tree is
bearing it's natural fruits early, and the
crop promises to be large one. The
record will doubtless he continued from
day to day, until the community shall have
become satisfied that a great curse has Wis
tied it," e.a as .g