The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1883-05-28
LOUISIANA STATE LOTTERY AGAIN.

represent 1t:
Whole aggregate gross profits OF
quarterly scheme. .................S 2OOO'OOO
Whole aggregate gross profits OF
monthly scheme. .....,............... 2OOO,UUO
Whole aggregate gross profits of pol
icy scheme. ........... .......... loo. l,OOO,VuO
Total gross profits per annum. .S5,5OO,OOO
Now the internal revenue tax upon this ag-
gregate, at, say per cent, is $4,000 and
not $4,000 and this skinning the State Of
$40 600 is the extent of the munhcent charity
which is the chief reliance of the apologists Of
the Louisiana State Lottery.
1t is peculiarly noticeably with what staid
circumspection the gentlemen interviewed in
New Orleans by the Chicago Times man, all
of whom have characters to lose, guarded
themselves from the suspicion Of any concern
in the jungle. From Jumel to Early all pro-
tested they had never in their lives bought a
lottery ticket, and knew nothing of the lottery
per Sc. OF course Mayor Behan was sought.
Mr.. Behan's head is known not to be So
hard as a hickory nut, but it is not
so soft as to be accessible to the idea
that the enterprise ofsending representative
all the way from Chicago was the Times en-
terprise, and not the lottery's. Mr. Behan,
and every other man who lives in New
Orleans, is aware Of the methods of the ''pe-
culiar institution" They wink at these
wrongs. That is where the mischief comes
in. Yet some do even this blindly. What
chance would the Louisiana lottery have for
existence another day if Mr.. ]. II. Oglesby,
President of the Louisiana National bank, was
posted upon what he ventures to talk about
to the Chicago Times man, and was arbiter
of its destiny He expostulsted 81 do not
wish to be interviewed upon matter know
nothing about. have never bought or ex-
pect to buy, lottery ticket, and every man
who does | deem foolish" But there is a
vast deal, besides, which Mr.. Oglesby does
not know. He does not know, or know any
thing about, those who do buy lottery tickets.
There was one honest shoemaker, neighbor
of Mr.. oglesby's; he struggled long against
his passion for lottery tickets. Every IS
cents he received went into the lottery. His
peculiar fascination was the ''policy" scheme.
He might be seen at 4 p. m. every day gliding
timdly to the board where the drawn num-
bers were posted. Then he would sink
away; this is the manner Of all players
Uniformly his lip fell, he would return ashy
pale, and seemed the ideal Of wretched-
ness. One day he did not 60
he was dead. Desolate and de-
pairing he took the life which he was able
to apply to but one use. There are others
many OF them. There is man who has al
ways lived in affluence, but he took small
coy cottage for his large family some months
ago. Piece by piece his furniture Disappeared
finally there was no table to set for dinner,
then no chairs to sit on and eat, then moth
ing to eat. There were even no mosquito
bars to sleep under in summer, nor blankets
to sleep under in winter. When this had
continued till it seemed there must be an end,
the father of these unfortunates went to
another State to escape from the Louisiana
lottery. We do not know what other, but
perhaps, Illinois. There are more. A wife
whom the lottery had made widow had
tried all things and failed in all. She tried
at last, the charity of the boss Of that nstitu-
or, and failed mCre AMI worse than ever, not
in virtue of any denial. She married, sud
denly, another husband which exigency made
necessary and whom it procured. The new
wife died broken-hearted, but everything was
placii. If Mr.. Oglesby knew that such in
cidents we're daily occurring and recurring
about him he would be less placable, for
Mr. Oglesby is not given to placate,
to Chicago interviewers. Sad enough is the
reflection that men in the position of Mr..
Oglesby can be made available by such a stall
wart infamy as this State lottery. But SO it is
and will be while no other standard is admit
ted of morals or reputation but the money
standard. That denotes Mr.. Oglesby's only
fault, but it is almost venal.
We can not pursue this subject to third
article, but would invoke judgment on the
head of this brazen fraud. Why will not men
think? Think how the funds are got against
which no virtue is proof, that infest all places
and occasions with shame and vice, in the
face Of which legislation has lost its integrity,
the ermine its purity, the press its self-control.