The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-15
The wheeling InIeIIlgencer and the Lot.
terry Question.

tIhtlIsilt Vi AlNN Ulk VI lOL uHu OtllSl
goods, which will take place at olathe,
Kansas, on Monday next, and the pro-
cecdso Of which are to be used for the cree.
ton Of a church ut that place.
The Wheeling ISrELLloESCER finds fault
with this advertisement. Its first objeC.
ton Is, that "Nasses for the dead" arc
"otIered for money US an inducelnent to
take u chance in the turn oil the wheel"
There are two inaccuracies Of statement
in this Objectionable Masses are not 'ior
the dead" but for the benefit Of the living,
and they are not "OtIGred for money" The
tickets in the drawing arc offered for
money, and the rector promises, in nd.
dition, to say at least twenty-five Masses
for the benefit Of the purchasers. Surely
the lNTELLIGESCER can find nothing wrong
in this, that the priest offered to pray for
those who should help TO build q church!
It's second objection Is, that lotteries are
immoral. This is news for us. We know
the laws OF God and the laws OF His
Church, but We have not met in them the
commandment: Thou shalt not take u
chance in II lottery" We have read in the
reports Ofthe prOCeedingsat Conferences Of
Protestant ministers that 1t had been de-
cided that nc man can be a Christian who
uses tobacco, drinks whisky or goes TO the
theatre. Possibly the same legislators sup
piled the omission on the tablets OF Moses
concerning drawings.
Lotteries arc prohibited in some States.
But this does not make them immoral.
Things that are evil in themselves, as MUIR
der, are sinful, whether or not the laws OF
the State forbid them. But things that are
only mdiG prOhibttd, as, for instance, the
catching OF oysters in Maryland in the sum.
mer, mas be done without sin. Sometimes
man is bound, under pain OF sin, to vic.
late the law, as the first Christians were
when they were commanded TO burn in.
Cense before idols. SO that the fact that
lotteries are prohibited by Some govern.
ments is not proof that they are immoral.
The Israelites divided the promised land
by lot. The Apostles chose Matthias by
lot. Other instances are in the Bible in
which the lottery was used by the people
Of God. II it were immoral, He would not
have permitted them to make use oft.
Now, lotteries may be dishonesty con-
public ones are; And persons may use, to
buy tickets in them, money they should
apply to the support OF their families or
for some other obligation. In those cases,
the managers and the purchasers sin, not
because they have somethingto do with a
lottery, but because they cheat, swindle,
misappropriate funds-violate the seventh
commandment.
But where q lottery is sQuarely managed,
and Tor agOod purpose, and where persons
have the means TO contribute to that OBJ
jcCt, know full well the number OF prizes
and blanks, and buy a ticket more to help
on the good work than in u desire OF gain
we see nothing immoral, but something
highly ~Commendable in their purchasing
tickets.
The road to Heaven is a narrow one.
There are some Pharisees in this world
who are SO sure Of their " ability to
traverse it, that they want to see it less
broad than God made it.
We publish above the Mirrors article in
full, which is more than it does for us. We
almost feel rs the lawyers do when they
sometimes submit their cases without ar.
gument to the jury, believing that the case
is so strong in itself rs to need no argu.
ment. Not that the case is fully stated by
the Mirror, for it is not, but that notwith-
standing all the twisting which It receives
at its hands its inherent force is no de-
stroyed, nor indeed seriously impaired.
With all respect for our contemporary, if
what it offers is the best that can DO said
tor the OIathe lottery project, then does it
rest upon llimsy foundations indeed for
support. Our main objection 10 the lot
terry was that it is a violaE ion OF the law OF
the land unless indeed the law OF Kansas
differs from that OF nearly every State in
the union) and that said law Of the land
has suppressed lotteries as a species of
gambling that has been found to be highly
dcmorOlizing in its effects. The law Of
West Virginia is very stringent against
such practices-so much SO that we re.
marked that the morality of the law in
this case seemed to rise above the morality
of the religion involved.
The Mirror falls back on the parcellinc
out of the Promised land by lot, and also
the choosing Of Matthias as IN Apostle
by such m ordeal. We are surprised at
the Mirror for such IN irreverent blending
o FITTINGS clean and unclean. II it will
turn to the LIST chapter OF the Acts Of the
Apostles it will see how solemn was the
ordeal there instituted. As between the
two candidates they tthe Apostles) pray
ed and said, thou Lord, which knowest
the hearts OF all men, show whether of
these two thou has chosen" We IRE.
sumo that the man who CANDLES for mon.
ey, or for n town lot in 0lathe, does not as.
sociatc the language in the case o fMatthias
with the merits Of his case, nor tho mo-.
tive involved in the one instance with that
OF the other.
There are many cases in which the lot is
resorted to, rightfully and lawfully, as in
the case Of drawing jurors, but it ali rests
upon the idea that the end in view is not
unworthy OF the ordeal, and it is an m.
peal, derived from the English law, for
Hc'P toS"rrlNe ~ Co~rreCtdecision in favor
ofright between man and man.
We object to the Mirror mixing up re-
ligion in this matter by talking about
prayers for those who thus help build a
church. The primary motive addressed
is cupidity-a chance in the wheel
for the town lot. The next in.
ducemcnt is a promise to say so
many masses for the man who will
risk his dollar. lie is thus furnished with
two strings to his bow. lie is afforded a
lot, possibly, and prayers, certainly, in re.
turn for the Investment in the wheel.
Both the morality and theology oil such an
appealseem open to serious objections.