Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-04-16
LOTTERY sWtMplEs.
Many of our readers will roman

many 0l our feauefS VIII remember
the vigorous assaults we once had to
make upon a SC, called Southern Or
phans Asylum scheme, for which some
parties had obtained a charter from the
Virginia Legislature soon after the
war, and which we exposed as mere
lottery gambling and gift enterprise
swindle. This we did while all the
other journals in this city and south
ward were giving it countenance, and
publishing its advertisements and puff
ing it at length, THE Sun meantime
declining to insert its delusive cards
and portrayal of attractions. The
thing finally collapsed after getting
possession ofa great deal of money
from deluded ticket buyers, and many
were the inquiries which we subsequent
ly received by letter from the victims
at a distance. It appears, however,
that there is yet lottery Of this sort
! carried on under the authority Of a
Virginia charter, entitled 'sThe South
ern Association for the benefit of the
Widows and Orphans of the Southern
States" 1t is in the hands of and con
Quoted by the notorious lottery firm
Of "Simmons & Co.." of New York,
| and it has been lately ventilated in the
Legislature OF Virginia as utterly des-
troying the morals of boys, negroes,
! and unsuspecting fools generally"
Perhaps some OF the wise Legislators
have got bitten themselves, bnt wheth-
er they speak from practical experience
or not, the destruction of the institution
is no doubt good work to perform.
1t gives no ''relief to the South" we
are sure, other than to relieve its dupes
Of their money, while it perpetuates a
vicious practice, to the sdetriment of
the community in every way 1t is
from these charters for lottery gam
bling, basedon false pretenses of charity,
+, DC, given in some States, that the vile
lottery policy dealing is kept up in
this and the cities of other States where
lotteries are prohibited by law. The
drawings of these lotteries are used
to determine the chances for the policy
| peddlers, WHO conduct their business
covertly, in cut, of the way PLACES, do
ing great deal Of mischief among the
| poorer classes iH our cities. There is
nothing more demoralizing than this
seductive form of gambling. It is time
that public opinion required every
| where the enactment of laws against
lotteries, and where they exist already
they should be rigidly enforced The
pretense Of giving aid to ''widows and
orphans or to any but the selfish and
scheming projectors by any Of these
lotteries, is too shallow to deceive any
one Of common sense who will be at
the trouble to look into them. Where
they give enc dollar thus they make a
hundred for themselves The great
Louisville lottery, which has just clos
ed under questionable circumstances
and surroundings, protested to have a
commendable object. The State of
Kentucky authorized certain persons,
acting as trustees for the public library
Of Louisville, to draw five lotteries,
forsooth. The net profits of the first
three Of the series were contemplate as
the result of gambling with three or
four millions dollars of the peoples
money. What the7result Of the fourth
has been is not yet made public.
The expenses and profits to the deal
ers of these things are enormous. Lot
teries are SO essentially dishonest that
the bold gambling Of former times,
which went under the name Of lottery,
has passed away, and it has been found
necessary in reviving them to give peo-
pie an excuse to gamble under the guise
Of subscribing some good and commen-
dable object, thus existing hypocrisy
and self delusion il the work. The
owners of these enterprises, OF the man
ayers, directors, agents, and ticket sell
lers are the real widows and ''or
phans, and divide the proceeds
among themselves as profits, salaries,
commissions and expenses.
Hence we cannot but express. our
regret and surprise that bill, IN the
Virginia Senate to repeal the charter Of
the Southern Association" referred to
above has been indefinitely postponed
by vote Of 20 to Is. Our astonish-
ment at such result is considerably
diminished, however, when we read
that in the same body on Wednesday
resolution was offered to instruct the
finance committee to inquire into the
expediency of providing for paying the
public debt by means of gift enterpris
es under State control. One of its advo-
Gates said that other States had adopted
this policy, many tickets were sold to
the Virginia people, and as it couldn't
be stopped the State ought to have the
benefit of thousands of dollars now ex-
pended on such enterprises. The res
olution was rejected merely by a tie
vote, II to II. 1t is lamentable to
think Of the desperation which could
grasp at such method of paying the
public debt, costly yet futile, and dem
R17t IL,a,