The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-28
THE LOTTERY SORE.
NOW TT TAKES THE MONEY or THE
POOR AND THE BRAINS
FROM THE WEAK.
where This Corporations Dividends
Come From.

DEMOCRAT concerning the organization OF tDe
Louisiana State Lottery Company, through
fraud and by the purchase Of the votes OF the
members of a Radical Legislature, bad as it
was, was but a shadow of what It's creation
has since wrought on our community. The
vile and corrupt influences that brought into
existence this ponderous machine of iniauity
were the results of the inroad here of the car
pet-bag hierarchy, but those influences, in
stead of losing their effect when the day OF
their progenitors had ended. as was to be
supposed, have continued to go on waxing In
strength with the passage of time. until now
what was formerly mere monopoly to serve
The ends OF private gain has become such u
powerful motor that its pulsatons are felt In
our government. central and State orr Judi
ciary, local and Federal.
A reporter of the DEMOCRAT has made in
quiries In almost every grade of society con
-cerning this Lottery Company, and the re-
suits OF his labor show that no corporation
heretofore existing within the limits of our
State has approached it in
THE vENAL EFFECTS RESULTING
from Its workings.
The scheme. as Is we'll known Is simply a
gambling one without the risk attending it
that belongs to the ordinary banking game
In 1t the company hold the certainty whilst
the player has only bare chance. which, I'M
der the well established laws governing such
events, amounts to a little more than on an
fmpossibiity. Not only is this one of the
baneful effects of the system but inquiry
shows that since the organization OF the com
pany large portion of the cases that have
been before our criminal and police courts,
not To, -.,F
missed between parties. are entirely due to
this institution. The reporter. In the course
of his peregrinations. happened to meet Aid
Frank 7. Minor. of our detective force. who.
in answer to Inquiries readily gave all the
information on the subject he possessed
Reporter Minor, | have been anxious
TO see you, and now that you are here, if you |
have time, perhaps you can tell me what |
want to know.
Aid Minor-And what is it you want?
Rep.-What desire to know is about
THE WORKINGS OF THE LOTTERY HERE.
DO you know much about it?
Aid M-les; | ought to. know consider
able about 1t since it has been established. I
know that it is an outrage on this commune
~, or rather that 1T brings great and serious
harm to our people
Rep.-Since you have been connected with
the police what have been the results of your
experience concerning the Lottery Company
80 Ter as regards crime2
Aid M.-Even before | was connected with
the police had some experience about that
IL was some years ago when | first saw it's
workings and the influences 1t was operating
ON poor people. You yourself must have seen
1t too. Around markets of mornings II needs
only passing glance to perceive how it oper.
ates with the poorest of our people You will
ST III one or Two small shops a crowd o.
Women, generally servants waiting their turn
~ purchase t. thelr twenty-five cent tickets of
servants daily deduct from the money given I
Lnem by their employers sum sufficient to
guy Ticket, and it is curious to see
HOW THE PASSION GAINS
on them, and how they increase their bets if
there is any possible chance of deceiving their c
employers.
Rep.-Is this confined entirely to servants
Aid M,-Not at all. You can see the poor wife
of the lahoring man take from her little mar
ket money enough to get a ticket
Rep. Does not this occasion thieving on a G
Aid M-Of course It must. ine,.e have N
been numbers of larcenies attributable to the
lottery, but this is not the hardest part OF It,
l could tell YOU of a number of young ron +,
who were gradually led to embezzle large
sums by tho hope Of winning heavy prizes.
There is one case that occurred right over
iidcntial clerk of that house went in heavily,
sometimes betting as much as two or three
hundred dollars a day AS time passed on he
found that he was stuck In for thousands Of
dollars of his employers money. He took to
drinking friends settled the loss and nothing [
more was heard of it, There are any uustn-
tity of cases like this There's -. -, g
grnteel young man, who began by buying
ticket or so day; soon he became infatuated 8
with playing, and soon +
INVOLVED HIS FAMILY v
heavily, to make good what Charley Howard a a
won.
Rep-This isn't confined to young men, is
Aid M.-No, sir. One of the saddest cases ,
is that of well-to-do married man, who
owned fine piece of property back in the
Second District. He owned his house and
kept garden and was enjoying considerable d
ease. He was asked to invest Ia policy num- G
beers, and it was not long before his property =
was sold over his head and he was lett with I
a family without a roof to his head. j
Rep.-But why does this affect them more h
than ordinary gambling? Would not the Ha- =
vana Lottery Company have the same bad :
influences? t
Aid MI don't think so. You see, the Ha-
yana tickets cost SO much more than the
policy that, as a rule, only those who can .
afford 1t purchase. You will always find that g
the better people only buy the Havana, but t
when on every corner, at least on every '
square in the city, the lottery placards an +
nounce big prizes for two-bit ticket the r
poor will bite at the bait. II we could know +
everything we would find that children had !
stolen from parents, wives from the purses of 9
their husbands, to enjoy this excitement in /
the hope of large returns. In a number of t
neighborhoods in this city r
THE LADIES ARE THE HEAVIEST BUYERS
but they do it generally through messengers. c
Rep.-Does not this thirst lead them on to {
insanity? .... T
Aid Mn one case that heard of it did.
A lady became so infatuated with it that she =
lost her senses, and left here for Europe. (
From there she wrote back to this city, ask |,
ing the lottery company to send her cable L
gram, that her ticket, of an imaginary num- {
Der, was worth $4,000. Of course no answer L
was sent, as no such ticket had been drawn.
This lady has been made an incurabe by the a
lottery and there are other well known cases