The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-04-08
ST. LOUIS NEWS.
THE SUPREME COURT or MIssOUug
sUsTAINs THE MISSOURI
STATE LOTTERY
The Social Evil Law In st. Louisa Tele-
phone COmpany-Representa at
the Paris Exposition Temperance
Movement.

Il Movement.
II Especial Correspondence of the Democratl
i ST, LOUIS, April S, 1875
i The Supreme Court of this State has re-
versed the decision OF the Circuit Court and
the Court of Appeals of st. Louis In the quo
Wnrasto proceeding brought by the Attorney
+ General OF the State against
| TTrE MISSOURI STATE LOTTERY,
and tho city Is again filled with lottery
eflices. Tho history OF the Missouri State
lottery forms po incensiderable portion OF
tho history OF the city OF st. Louis. When
the town OF New Franklin, Missouri. was in
eorporated in 1885, the Leglslature OF the
State authorized the Board Of Trustees of
New Franklin to raise $4,000 by lottery for
building Esslroad from the town to the
Missouri river, distance OF some twen-
ty miles. The trustees were also given
authority to sell the lottery franchise
| to o,stside parties; and In 1880 an act was
passed by the General Assembly granting
them the privilege Of applying the proceeds
Of the lottery to the construction OF o turnpike
road instead Of railroad. In 1919 the board
Of trustees sold their lottery franchise to WAL
ter Gregory, the contract being that Gregory
should pay the town Of New Franklin $3.50
every sig months until the sum OF $4,000 had
| been paid, the first payment to be made in
January, tsA3 Six years later new contract
was made, in which Gregory was released
| from all payments till June Is. 1851, when he q
was to resume his semi ann9,l payments OF
$3.50 each, and continue them until he had
paid s13,5oo. Some time afterwards Gregory
died and his widow sold the lottery franchise.
and few years later the purchasers OF 1t sold
out to George g. Miller, one of the present
owners and managers of the lottery.
LAWS PROHIBITING THE sALs OF LOTTERY
TICKETS
in the State had been passed at different
times-iD 1895, l842 and 1S45-but no one
claimed that the Missouri State Lottery the
name given TO the Gregory lottery was
affeeted by any Of them, A question being
raised some years later as to the validity OF
the modified contract OF 1s49, the friends Of
the lottery obtained the passage OF an act de-
claring the modified contract to be legal and
binding. The Missouri State Lottery con-
tinued to enjoy the exclusive right and privi-
lege of selling lottery tickets In the State of
Missouri without competition or moestatim
until 1872, when the validity OF the modi-
were any number Of lawyers to be found who
believed that the modified contract was invalid
at the time it was made, and that the legisla-
tive act OF 1866 did not legalize 1t. The lottery
franchise expired, they claimed, thirty years
after the contract OF 1912 was made The OPP
ponents OF the lottery increased daily In num-
Der, and some OF the lottery men were ar
rested and their tickets and wheels eonfs-
criminal, always decided against the lot
tory, but appeals were always taken,
and and the e. men sa,nsl released again t2 con-
the most bitter enemies OF the lottery man
was the gambling house keepers, for the lat
ters patronage came from the same class OF
ness. Both lottery offices and gambling
houses were looked upon by the people az
large as unlawful institutions and demoral-
izers of society, and their suppression was de-
n unr nuf fnr
however, to suppress them. The profits OF
the lottery men and the gamblers were large
enough, after deducting all the money spent
in fighting each other and the law to make
their respective businesses profitable Rings
| were formed
A LOTTERY RING,
and gambling house ring. Corrupt politi-
clans were taken into them, and both rings
were made to serve political purposes The
police continued to raid the gambling houses
and lottery Offices, but the way in which the
raids were conducted showed plainly enough
that the Police Commissioners were inffu-
eneed by something more than the public de
mand for the suppression Of the evils. 1t is
now claimed and generally believed that both
rings have been broken up, and that their in
Of the city government. The gambling
houses have never ceased TO exist, however,
and are , more ,e , numerous to-day than
close their doors until the decision Of the Cir
cult Court was sustained by the Court Of Ap-
peals some eighteen months ago, and since
the reversal Of these two decisions by the Su-
preme Court the lottery men have all opened
out again, notwithstanding the fact that by
the terms Of the contract Of 1s49 their lottery
franchise expired in the year 1877-the e1pira-
tion OF the time given them for making the
last payment under that contract. They are
running their lotteries now, they say, to make
up for the eighteen months they lost by the
decision Of the Court Of Appeals, and although
puted they will probably not be molested.
The st. Louis Court Of Appeals rendered a
decision yesterday affecting another social
evil, that Of baWdy house keeping. The keep
ing Of bawdy- houses in st. Louis was pro-
) hibted by statute until 1872, when
THE SOCIAL EVIL" LAW,
as it was called, was passed. This law pro-
! vded for the licensing of all bawdy-houses,
restricting them to certain parts Of the city,
, and the registration OF their inmates, and
made other provisions for the regulation Of
the evil After the law was in operation a.
couple Of years it was repealed, but no law OF
!, prohibition was enacted in It's place, and the
, "Social Evil" law did not revive
the law Of prohibition previously In
force. For four years the city has had
almost no control at all over bawdy- houses.
T Instead Of being confined to few blocks,
: they are now scattered throughout the city.
, Keepers OF such houses pay the best rents,
and the owners Of the houses do not seruple
central portion Of the city-bounded ON the
,, east by Fifth street, on the west by Twentieth
street, on the north by Franklin Avenue
, and on the south by Chouteau Avenue-con-
! tains one or more houses OF ill-repute. The
newspapers write about 1T, and people talk
about it on the streets, but nothing prac-
, tical has yet been done to stop the spread
\ Of the evil. The decision OF Che Court OF
:. Appeals, yesterday, was on a case In which
7 real estate agent was prosecuted for renting
house to professional bawdy- house keeper.
The court decided that the repeal of the reg
ulatiDg act-the social evil law-brought the
: common law into operation, and that where
e and renting of bawdy-houses are prohibited