Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-11-10
The following letter, received yesterday
by DR.. H. Latham, explains itself;
The Little Louisiana " Lottery.

Several Sacramentans have recently re-
ceived circulars from individuals in San
Francisco, offering to furnish them with
Louisiana lottery tickets, and in number
Of instances the offer was accepted, when
by return mail would come tickets some
what resembling those issued at New Or
leans, but bearing the words Little
Louisiana Lottery" They were charged
for at the rate of 81 each, and the pur
chasers naturally deemed themselves
swindled. One gentleman forwarded a
copy of the circular received to Chief of
Police Crowley, of San francisco, that the
swindlers might be looked after. The San
Francisco Chronicle of yesterday had the
following reference to the scheme, which
will doubtless prove remarkably comfort
ing to those who have been taken in and
done for:
"The Little Louisiana Lottery enter
prise has come to an inglorious end. 1t
was, however, a rather successful, if short
lived affair. 1t was copied after the Little
Havana scheme, which sells tickets at a
less price than the large Havana and scales
the prizes proportionately. The Little
louisiana scheme was coGcocted in this
city by three or four fellows who live on
their wits and the credulity of the public
Their tickets were printed in blue, on white
paper, and were very dissimilar to the
genuine ticket Instead of 81, the coupons
here sold at % cents, a sacrifice the schemers
could well afford to make, since they had
no capital invested and no prizes to pay.
While the tickets were in no wise fac
SMILES of the genuine, they were well cal
cuated to deceive the uninitiated, and as
the price demanded was so small, were
readily disposed of, especially among the
poorer classes. 1t is estimated that last
month 90 900 of these tickets were sold in
San Francisco and Oakland before the
fraud was discovered. The regular dealers
came across them, and on inquiry by tele-
gram, the New Orleans office promptly
stamped them as spurious, and utterly re-
| pudiated them. A few of the tickets were
| subsequently redeemed, but the managers,
! it is estimated, got away with fully $1,000
before their game was discovered. Some
| of the men who flooded the town with
| tickets are well known, but the real culprits
| are as yet not definitely located, and prob
ably never will, as no one has sufficient
| interest in the affair TO prosecute.
| at has been said that some OF these
| tickets bore on the back the stamp of
| Wells. Fargo & Co., and that some of the
express company's employees sold the tick
cts. On inquiry it was learned by a Cliron-
isle reporter that some time since it was
discovered that employees of Wells, Fargo
& Co. were handling genuine lottery tick
cts, and, being an illegitimate business, an
order was promptly issued forbidding all
employees selling such tickets under penalty
of immediate dismissal. This rule has
been so vigorously enforced that man sus-
pected of violating it was recently sus-
| pended, and reinstated only when positive
| proof of his innocence was produced. At
/ no time did any one connected with Wells,
Fargo Il Co. have authority to use the
stamp of that company for such uses