The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-08-25
4 DREADFUL PASSION.
HOW "PoLICY" DESTROYS DAILY IT'S LONG
LINE OF VICTIMS. WARNING FROM ONE
WHO HAS sUFFKRED.

|
WHO HAS sUFFKRKD.
| The following remarkable letter ha
been addressed to the New York Tribune
Which, after investigation, fnds that it /
| true In every essential particular, and tn
horrible experience described is that O
| thousands in this city alone"
The policy Offices are, most of them
open as early as a. M, and close abou
7:3O p. m. The books which contain tb,
plays for the morning lotteries close abou
1915, and those for the evening lotteries
close about Sis p. m. The unsold combi
nation tickets leave the venders' Offices
about 11:3O Q. m and 4:3O p. ~, 90 as tc
be in the bands of the managers before the
drawing Is announced. Should any of the
venders be delayed Ave or ten minutes
beyond the specified time, their books and
tickets will not be received by the manag
era, bat they will have to run the risks
Themselves. The drawings for the morn
ing and evening lotteries reach the vendeTs'
offices about p. M, and p. m respec-
lively.
All the books from the down town Offices
are delivered to Mr. Gallery in Benjamin
Nsthan's office, on Broadway, at the time
specified The books from the uptown
eff ces are delivered to Joseph Burr, at the
Gotham, and to Mr.. shipssy, both in the
Bowery, before p. m. You will see, that
the managers have fully two hours in which
to look over the tIckets, and about an
ho1r TO look over the books, before they
send out the numbers or drawings. You
may be sure that they do not waste this
time, but use it for their own special ben
eft. You will also see that every arrange
ment as to the time is made to entice even
the poor workman, who tolls ten hours 8
day for living, and who has to be at his
workshop at a. M, to spend his few hard
earned cents.
This nefarious traffic is carried on in
broad daylight, and not secretly. If any
body will take the trouble, by keeping
watch for q single day, upon any one Office,
he can zee almost a constant stream of de-
luded men, and even women, pass in and
out, until the Office is closed. Each of
the N leaves from one cent to hundreds of
dollars. l have seen men spend over 900
a drawing, for weeks in succession. This
game has been the ruin of hundreds, yes,
as many old ones. And it will still be the
ruin of many unless it is completely broken
up.
When you begin to play policy, DO mat
ter how smart you may be, IT will take you
at least three months to understand it
thoroughly. After having played for q
year, or even six months, you suspect that
there must be something wrong, as you
always put down more money than you
take up, Notwithstanding pricea paid for
'hits." You begin to conpute and see
the overwhelming chances that are against
you, and you now find out that you have
been a complete dupe and fool and pro
pably conclude not to play any more, and
consider the money you have thus far lost
as about equal to the amount of experience
goa have gained. You may stick to your
resolution for about three or four Eaonths,
until you have, probably, forgotten ali
Aboat policy, or until you have been missed
. h<, A<. ,H, H.. l.
lookout for you. Before long be will espy
you, and Immediately accost you and ask
kindly after your welfare. Toa tell him
you have concluded not to play any more.
He then offers you cigar or aeks you to
have drink, and yos, too polite to refdse,
go with him. He now tells you al about
. dream he had last night, and which he,
by some my sterions calculations, inte7prets
to mean such and such numbers. He asks |
you to take "piecc" of them that is, to
buy them for little something, ard before |
you know it, he has talked you into buying |
q "piece," au3 you go off minuSa couple of
dollars, but p!us an excited Imagination.
Of course you visit bis Office to see the !
drawings, but you look in vain for your
'sure thing" In the Office you meet a |
half a dozen or more players, each OF whom |
tells you about his "sure thiDg,n and how
be came by It. One tells you he saw a row
of cars block AIDED on his way down town,
iEoh WHICH no SoV LIS numbers. Another
saw pilot boat, while crossing the river,
which had a big figure on it's spread out
sail another got his numb from q coal
cart or charcoal wagon another relates |
q dream, the inter probation of which means
such and such numbers. Thus you get |
80 many "sure things" that you do not
know what to play, and probably have not |
money enough to play all of them, 30 to
facilitate your ideas you seize the vender's
rafting bottle or box, which contains |
seventy eight numbers, from which you
draw as many mum bers as you wish to play
possibly you draw some of the numbers |
which were mentioned by some of the
other players, and then you think you
have q dead certainty, which you immedi-
Ately play. And thus again you are led to
play regularly, until you have once more
become infatuated. You keep on playing |
aud playing, although you know that ali |
the chances are in favor of the managers,
always with the hope that some day you |
may get big "hit," and thus retrieve all |
your losses at once.
You have spent all the money which you
had in the bank, upon which you used to
Dri0o VOuraalf. and which accOunt vou,