Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-05-06
CONN. WEDNESDAY MORNING.

number might as well have been the furthest
| from the prize in all the drawing, and he
was about frantic.
A device adopted to enlist the interest OF
the ignorant and superstitious is that OF
| naming the ticket after some saint. There
are plenty of poor negroes and Cubans who
have enough of thei religious in their nature
| to lead them to place confidence in some par
ticular saint in whom they will pray for good
fortune. 1t is not an uncommon thing for
such ignorant people to walk up to show
case with their hard earned pennies, and ask
for Saint Joseph some other eminent per-
sonage in the Catholic catalogue of worthless
Many tickets have horse, or an elephant
OF unicorn, or some nondescript monster
depicted at their top in order to catch the
fancy of those who believe there's luck in
some special animal
The tickets of the great Madrid lottery are
also to be had in town, but they come higher,
and there is not near much traffic in
them.
The tickets of the Louisiana State lottery
are banned by the government but l have
reason to believe they are sold to some ex-
tent on the sly. Similarly, I suppose that
the ticket of this Havana lottery are to be
had in most or the principal American cities,
If one will hunt long enough for them.
A few years ago, one of the most daring
frauds in the annals of crime was perpetrated
in connection with the Madrid lottery A
cablegram came giving the number Of
the ticket which had drawn the grand
prize of half million dollars
This cablegram was tampered with by the
receiving operator in the interest of parties
here in Havana who held a certain number
IN the Madrid lottery. The successful num-
Der was announced to be the one they held,
and on the strength of the cablegram, which
appeared to be offcial-and was before it had
been altered-a large share of the half mil
hon dollars was handed over by one of the
leading banks here to the parties holding the
fictitious number, and the rest of the sum
was guaranteed in European drafts and
notes.
The defrauding parties did not know
enough to clear ont at this point, but spent
four or five days in town having a high old
time. In the meanwhile the mistake was
discovered in Spain, and cablegrams sent-in
CIPHER, L suppose-which resulted in the ar
rest, conviction and heavy sentence of the
guilty parties.
The method of drawing is, as I have al
ready intimated, apparently fair. A small
ball is provided for each number
in the lottery, and these 5000
OF 10000 balls are placed in
huge globe so swung that it may
be revolved rapidly by means of a crank
Each ball has slender passage through its
center, SO that it may be strung upon wire.
Then another globe is prepared containing
similar balls labelled with the amounts of
the various prizes, one for each prize. Lead
ing from the bottom of these globes is a
spout and i'll convenient place a spring,
which upon being pressed allows a single
ball to escape, and pass down the spout to a
table in the center between the two globes.
At an early hour on the morning of the
drawing, one of the rooms in the large build
ing devoted to the business of this State lot
terry presents an animated spectacle.
First there are the judges and tellers sit
ting gravelS behind the globes. Then there
is negro whose duty it is to give these
globes thorough shaking up by means of
the handle. Beside eaca globe stands a
child from one of the orphan asylums wait
ing for the signal to press the spring previ-
ously mentioned. In front sit half dozen
reporters for daily newspapers, while behind
and extending back through the corridors
and halls is the public, surging seething
crowd of people The signal is given Each
child presses the button assigned to him and
the two balls roll upon the table. Ten
dozen pairs of wires project from this table,
and the balls are strung upon
these by twos, the prize ball
determining the worth of the lottery
bell that chances to be its mate. When the
wires are full, they folded down into a
frame like the Oriental abacus counting
machine for. future reference. AS the balls
roll ont, the result is called off in a loud
voice by crier and posted on bulletin
board in plain sight. The number of the
capital prize is called several times. For
merly it was the custom for the orphan
children to thrust their hands right into the
globe and pull out the bail; but in order to
secure greater show of fairness, that meth
od swas abandoned. The drawing process
consumes several hours, and fresh relays of
orphans are needed several times. Almost as
soon as the drawing is over one
of the city papers has its supplement "Lista
Annunceadora" for sale on the streets at ten
cents per copy The official governmental
list is not published till the following morn
ing.
Then the streets strewn with the tickets
of the disappointed ones for Il day or two,
but the showcases of the agents are at once
cleaned out, and stocked with tickets for the
next lottery.
The Importance universally attached to the
lottery is illustrated by the statement that
one of the principal cigar firms makes
handsome present to the drawer of the capi-
tai prize. Not few negro slaves in the past
have drawn enough to set them free.
F,rITE