The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-04


nonce divided his attention with his gambling. OPP
erations His boast that there not man
in the State of Louisiana that he could not buy"
has indeed become matter of record
When it comes to tho matter of money the lot
terry company is always there" 1t controls
more ready money than any institution in the
State, not even excepting the State treasury. 1t
makes no report to anyone of its funds or its
standing and the wisdom of theserpent is shown
peculiarly in the circumstance that it makes no
report to its disbursements or the purposes for
which they are made. Its net income nearly
as be ciphered out, 81 $50 600 and 81, 500 900
per year. Beginning, in 1869, with an entirely
nominal and Hypothetical capital of 800, 600, the
corporators have been able not only to spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars in political and
other bribery, but to donate to themselves and
friends $500 600 of extra stock, and to pay regu-
lary 40 per cent. dividends on $780, 900 of alleged
capital, besides buying much valuable real es-
tate and making large presents of cash, in block,
to the stockholders from time to time. Their
watered stock is quoted at 81, 600 for every 500
share The money behind this comes from the
greedy dupes who have been mised by the hope
OF becoming suddenly wealthy through turn OF
the wheel
The demoralizing and corruptng influence of
the lottery does not stop with the Legislature
and the holders of public Offices 1t taints every
thing here, from business measures to domestic
happiness Its most baleful effects are seen in
the suspicion and distrust which it creates be-
| tween employers and employees between masters
and servants, between husbands and wives, and
even between parents and children in the sun
dering of social relations and in its Indictment
to crimes like embezzlement and other breaches
of trust which are becoming alarmngly frequent.
The temptations to indulge in this form of gam
bling are numerous here and generel1y through
out the State. There is no hamlet, however
SMALL which has not its shops for the sale of tick
cts and which is not placarded over with the spe
ciOus announcements of the company. In this
city, if one were to judge solely from appear
ances, he would come to the conclusion that the
of1 Of
dustries.
TEMPTATION EVERYWHERE.
Every business thoroughfare and many which
can in no sense be considered such has its fire.
quent displays of the tempting little slips of
paper of divers colors with cabalistic devices
printed on them The slips are hung in show
windows on rods OF strings so as to catch the
eye of the wayfarer, and the arrays at distance
look like miniature clothes-lines full of garments
There is no escaping these displays. They deck
the gorgeous gin palaces, the cigar shops, the
haberdasher's the butchers and bakers and
candlestiek makers places, the hotels, and even
the millinery dry goods, and candy stores On
the principal streets there is hardly a block
which has not one of the displays, and on some
blocks there are a half dozen more places
where the tickets be procured All classes
are appealed to. The lottery company wants the
pennies of the poor as well as the dollars of
those better provided with worldly goods, and it
makes preparations to receive tribute from those
in every station in life. 1t has scheme of daily
drawings, paPt-tickets for which can be obtained
us low as two bits, 25 cents, each
The range is from this amount to the $40
needed for a ticket for the most pretentious Of
the drawings There is no class of persons, not
even the clergy, which is not to some extent adj
dicted to this form of gambling Boys are quite
numerous in the list. Young lads at school club
together their few pennies and buy tickets.
Office boys and bootblacks patronize the same in
dustry. Young clerks in offices and counting
rooms stake money constantly on the chances of
the wheel Workmen deny themselves and
pinch and stint therfamies and give their hard
carp cd wages to the sharks who grow rich on the
weakness of their fellows. And business men,
without stint, draw from their stores to add to
the overlooking Golfers of the gamblers. The
passion extends to blacks well as whites The
poor roustabouts and laborers who earn at best
but a scanty and precaTious livelihood by most
arduous labor, the plantation negroes from the
cane and cotton fields, the walters at the hotels,
and the still poorer classes who exc out a very
meager subsistence by the doing OF odd jobs, all
help to the extent of their means to the same
end. With the women of all ages and divers
colors the passion at times amounts almost to
| mania. COlored cooks and servants vie with
their white mistresses in giving way to the
abominable vice, and young girls without num-
Der have been corrupted by this agency.
The condition of society to which indulgence
IN The DernlClOuS laDH mas gwen rise Is some
thing extraordinary. Enbezzlement has become
so frequent in consequence as to excite hardly
| comment, and the Governor of the State is con
1 stantly appealed to to pardon the victims of the
| lottery gamblers Worllmen steal from their EN-
ployers and cashiers from the funds intfusted to
| their care. Husbands are apprehensiye about in
| trusting money into the hands of their wives,
and not without reason. typical case was told
the writer few days ago gentleman in quite
comfortable circumstances was in the habit of al
| lowing his wife certain fixed amount for the
expenses of the household The sum was suf-
| fciently large to provide most generous fare
! and to meet demands of u most eX-
| pensive kind. The supplies for the house
| hold, however, gradually kept declining in guam
| tity and quality. At the beginning the circum-
! stance was not especially noted. But after
! while the suspicious of the husband were
aroused, and he made inquiry with a view to
finding out why he and his family Jared so badly.
| He learned, to his establishment, that his wife
had been smitten with the passion for gambling
| in lottery tickets. After reasoning with her to
no purpose he was obliged to stop supplying her
with money. This did not, however, daunt her.
| The poor, deluded woman went to tradesmen
with whom the family were i'll the habit of deal
ing and obtained money, the amounts being set
down as the prices of specified articles supposed
| to have been bought by her. With the money
thus derived lottery tickets were purchased. BY
and by the knowledge of this conduct came also
| to the husbands attention, and a stormy scene
followed. The wife's mania ended in the separa-
ton of the two and the breaking up of their
home. This case is only one of many.
It has come to such pass in this city that no
prudent housekeeper win trust her cook or ser
| want with money for marketing other do
nestle purchases, knowing that the temptation
to buy lottery tickets is usually too strong to be
resisted. Household servants, admirable in all
other respects, have been corrupted by the pas
sion for the vice to such an extent as to go out
of their way to steal money for the purpose
And even children have robbed the pockets of
their parents to indulge in the fascinating but
delusiye habit whose outcome here can be traced
in poverty, crime and Indebtedness.
There was some talk recenty-it was anti
convention talk-to make a fair square fight
against the corruption. A lawyer in this city,
known to be opposed to the lottery, was APP
preached by man who offered to give him