Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-12-28
The Gambling Mania in France.
[Paris CORRESPONDENT n. Y. Tribune.l

~ l..
PARIS, Nov. ia great piece OF news has
reached me through a member of the Bud ret
Committee. He tells me that to ease the ccfI9;
uutleS when weigh upon the City OF Paris and
10 create In the Champs de Mars a permanent
exhibition OF industrial and decorative art. a
universal lottery will be created Of which the
SIoTn Jewels will be the prizes. The scheme
has been seriously discussed at the sjffinrrS nj
the budget committee When il was 1rSt
Drought forward 1t was proposed to issue tickets
at I'VE francs apiece. Should the project be
cafrieo out, ana do not see why it should not
a!ter Inc precedent OF the great National EXhi-
Ditloh iottefy the price OF tickets will be xed
at nigh f1gure-perhapS at 10, Is OF 30 francs.
III IS llnpoSsple TO forecast all the millions which
Hundreds Of Millions are spoken of. When I
heard the words just quoted proceed from the
Re mont al or the news bearing deputy, thought
explained to me on what his hopes were based
l admitted their accomplishment was within
the reach OF possibility. 1t is very short time
since lichets were issued for the national lot
terry. Nearly $4,000 900 of them are already sold
and $780, 600 by anticipation. for the issue could
not keep pace with the demand. Far from
apatlng, the fever caused by the appeal of the
which is strong in the human breast ali the
world over, but strongest in the French.
mas gone on steadily increasing. What
Wa, Was DOL not suspected ip before the middle of
laSt month, foreign countries have got bitten
with the mania. The applications from abroad
I0r tickets are far too numerous to be anything
IKE 81, satisfied A SPECTATOR In New York wants
million of them. In London they sold at a
premium Of % per cent, and in Vienna of 40 Der
cent. Depressed as are the finances of the
Kusslan Empire there seems to be plenty OF
tickets for the Great Exhibition Lottery. If the
crown jewels are disposed Of in the manner CON
templated, the drawing for them will not take
place Tor eighteen months or two years after the
issue or numbers. Should the price Of ticket
be 10 francs and 100 900 900 of them be sold. the
sum total received would amount TO one fifth OF
what the Russians exacted in 1870 of the French
TO indemnify them for their war expenses IN
calculating on twice and a half more it does not
appear now to me that the members OF tie Bud.
get committee who promote this scheme. are
over sahgulne But for 1t to succeed 60 the full
extent OF their hopes ] think they Ougnt to
graduate the prices Of tickets according to cate
gorieS or lots. ltWOuld be q pity for the Gown
when was Tor centuries the symbol OF the
highest dignity, to fall, say, into the hands nj q
N1llette-street sweeper, which tC might do were
one franc subscribers admitted TO ganlb' for il.
Wishing well to the republic, am sorry that
republicans are putting themselves forward as
the promoters OF lotteries. They are very IN
genlous and ready In adducing arguments 70
snow That the vice OF gambling was never keD d
under by Louis Philippe'S legislation. Il on:v
was diverted into new channels. The game
sters who used to stake single francs on rnli re
ct nolr or on the roulette tables in The P.ialS
Royal, emisrated on the suppression of the
hellS there to the BOurSe, where they rfSEed
hundreds and thousands Of francs Him 50
ciety went to the German Spas, which causal Z.
steady drain OF wealth from France Snau
shop keepers and clerks made b)OnS at Long
champs. Private lotteries went on az a bis
rate during the is years OF Louis NaDlfcpn :
reign, and public ones at the Hotel de Vile \
financial scheme unconneclef with a !o5J3"y
was not likely to succeed, no matter nov sound
the principles on which it was based wncre4-
an unsound one, provided It held ont a bait &,
gamblers, went up like an inflated balloon
witness the Turkish railways, by means -
which Baron HirSch cleared out F:eacl
pockets something approxImating TO so
DOC, 900.