The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1872-09-15
A Second Letter on Lotteries.
BY A rooR NAN TO rooR MES.

So far as know, the only late attempt to
quote respectable authority in support Of Lot
tories, is made by the New Orleans Republicans
in the following extract from Thos. Jefferson:
If We consider games of chance immoral,
then every pursuit of human industry is i'm
moral, for there is not single one that is not
subject to chance; not one wherein you do not
risk loss for the chance Of some gain"
Whether the quotation is correct or not is an
outside question; let us reduce it to the form
of q demonstration. thus: Assuming that games
of chance are immoral. Every pursuit of hu
man industry is subject to chance therefore,
every pursuit of human industry is immoral.
But this conclusion is absurd; hence, either
games of chance are not immoral or the rea-
soning is false. It is false. The error consists
in this oversight: that between pursuits of
industry and gaming, though both are subject
to chance, there exists q vital difference that
makes one right and the other wrong.
Industries are, of course, subject to chance !;
SO is the weather, and yet we know, and the
whole world lives upon the assumption, that it
will rain again and shine again. The whole
world is this day waiting for the cotton crop
and calculating on it. And whyf because the
chance, to which it is subject, of being entirely
not worthy to be considered. 1t has been
planted and worked, because for thousands of
years the earth has responded to these efforts
with q yield of her bounty. It is plain that all
human industries depend first of all upon the
fruitfulness of the earth. The miller, the
drayman, the steamboat, the elevator, tie n,er-
chant all, owe their livelihood to the certainty
of the ground bringing forth it's treasures in
response to labor. Tho curse in Eden was also
q gracious PROMISE " In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou cat bread" Spots of earth that as
sure no better chance than Lottery are called
deserts and wildernesses, and are given up to
desolation, as would to God the Lottery WERE
The honest avocations of men are based upon
the good faith of the Almighty. drought
may fall here, flood may come there blight
or rust OF worm or locust OF war may be in this
place or in that, but the main result of labor
is certain! Notice also that these mishaps
carry much selfcorrection with them. Has
your yield been small you will likely get the |
better price for what you have. Has it been
great? you can spare it ut less per pound |
Moreover, be the earth barren or fruitful, man |
has no choice. The earth is his mother, aud
when her breast fails he starves. 1t needs but
\ moments thought to see that every cent, and
aifes 30 much yielded by the earth over and
Ibove mans present wants. If, then. some
na gnifcent pauper by false pretences has got
part of it-some man who has done nothing of
cal service to the world-is he not theft
10 is! He is,
Industries are productive-gaming is ALSO {
utely non n-productive. Two gamblers-I will j
name them Poor-Man and Lottery -man-may [
lit and play until their whole stake is con- c
umed by market, grocery, rent, washing, Z
rinking and steam-yschting bills. and the i
implest Ounce knows the community will only f
70 SO much worse of. But why need turn b
gain to prove that the Lottery is gambling. t
bat gambling is totally Improbable and that f
is therefore as immoral as vagrancy9 The v
ian who can ever fail to see the sinful folly of
aiming after having IL once shown him is a 3
rofound fool. L
Yee, Human Industries are founded upon the g
ood faith of Almighty God. Gaming, of which
,e Lottery is one of the worst kinds ignores b
le solemn Law of Labor, and stands, if on a
" good faith, on the good faith of any con-
vial Charlie who starts gambling machine.
! know there are modes of business, clothed J..
the garb of mercantile transactions, that -
Q idle, unproductive aud bad: but this JUS
les no unjust thing. o, that We poor people u
mid turn about. to a man, and slam the door II
the face of the Lottery! o, that those sad y,
es of ruin that are coming up from every
or mans quarter might have au end. e'
man named Howard was lately sent for to see n,
amily in great distress. The wife, beside her OF
ing husbands bed, with her children round tI
:, begged him for bread and medicine. Mis- of
by his name, she had supposed him con- b.
,ted with Lottery. Her money had been IN
landered for tickets little by little until all ht
8 gone. Piece by piece, she had pawned be
] lost her furniture. "And now" she said ii,
on have all We had to give, we have won W. W.
hing and you must feed my hungry children
! bury my husband-he is dying" There is
'oung man of limited means within five
nutes walk of me, who has lost three hun
d dollars within two weeks. I do not know ~
there may be fifty. -
certain verdor has stated through the tio
ss that he is earning-earRing - daily Ca
ad for his family by the sale of tickets. Nc
? ahamai Cn cast vour 0o;ns A. A. f..