Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-08
INVESTMENTS ON CHANCE.
How Are Authorized Lotteries DrawRl
TIE LOUISIANA STATE LOTTERY.
Closely watching It's Drawing.
of the Hartford Times.

Louisiana State Lottery. 1t occurred yester
day, in the Academy Of Music In this city.
office, which occupies a good share of Its own
handsome granite building on st. Charles
street. Atyour request l have given the sub
iect of lottery drawing thorough inyestIga-
ton. l sent 10 the Times what myself E6Slr to
he ar accurate acCount of ever, thing having to
do with the tran action of the business of the
company and the drawings. We're ever con
WINGED of absolute fairness IN any scheme am
in this case; for labored diligently to see and
know ali the details. Below are my observs-
tlons, which Will quite llEely interest the reader
as they did me,
There is not city. nor town, nor scarcely
hamlet in the United States that does not con-
tain patrons or the uitiaEa State Lottery.
The lottery Is Oh 4rtefed by the State of Lonis-
lana, and Is as legtti cate as any other .nsd q.
ton IN that state, Now this has much to do
toward begettinS confidence Ia the lottery, and
It is still further aided therein by the fact of
General Beau, gard and General Early giving
their str. ct attention to the drawings. Fairer
men than they are not to be found.
Some years ago the New GorE World sent q
reporter to attend one of these drawings, with
Instructions 80 write up the whole business
strictly according TO the facts. The Chicae Times
later did the same thing. So did the hronicle
of San, Francisco. Even petroleum V. Nasty"
OF the Toledo Blade qylt the Gross Roads long
enough 70 write no Ihfss lottery All Of thea
failed 70 give an accurate idea of the mode of
fact we have al been obllgedt 70 acknowledge
that all the ttckat holders
of winning IA these strictly impartial draw
The drawing Itself is Of great ipterest to
every ticket hol Ter. whether he be present, or
= thousand miles distant. The mannefaof de-
terminin2 who sha receive the prizes Malone
worthy of detailed explanation, and IhaVe
made Is one of the principal parts Of my article.
The drawing Of December Is u a. what isiknown
as an. extraordinary one, the prica of the
tickets, and the amount of The prizes, being
twice those in the r guler drawings. About
al, - Hh,nWN A-n ArNn AaoA
envy OF Music, which Is sItuatsd4on st. Charles
street, NOS Iar from the office of the Lottery
Company. l accompanied General Early
thither, aud upon entering the Academy he in
vItei ME to 8 seat on the stage where I might
observe the mOdus operandi Of the drawing in
every detail, and as closely as n iSht desire.
The drawing was to begin at IL o'clock Pre-
parstions TO It uegsn about three quarters Of
an hour before that hour, General Early and
General BeauIegRrd both being present. Under
their direction assistants placed, at one side Of
the stage ard close by the footlights, the
wheel for the tickets This is large concern
and res, mbles q base-drum in It's shape, It's
woodwork being similar, but the heads arepf
glass instead of sneep- skin. Il is i've or SIX
feet in diameter and some two feet thick. -
THB WHEEL STANDS UP
on It's side, and through It's centre runs an axle
which rests at each end in rocket of7a frame
built uyon a large wooden base. The wheel
easily rolls lear of eve J obstractioD- Atea h
end Of the axle is ats ched largeffon crank,
by mean of which two assistants troll, that Is,
turn the whe i rapidly fer aboutstwo minutes,
thus mixing up the tickets hof0ughly. In the
woodwork on the side is q don foot or so
square. 1t Is closed when thsztickets are roll
ed," and then opeEed for Tho boys to draw the
numbers No person lays a1nger on this door
save General Early. This large wheel having
been place properly ia a1sition the tickets
were prepared to be emptled into 1t
The IicRe.s were 10 canvass bags, and there
we're 100000 Of them. T Il bags, each contain
ing about 10000 were used. These bags were
taken out OF TWO great boxes which had been
brought on 20 the stage, the lid of each being
unsCTewEd. The ten Werc placed together In
the center Of the stage at the front, avail ing
personal services by General Early and General
Beauregard by this time there were fully 500
spectators 10 the house, and they looked on at
the preparations with evident satisfaction.
Fir't General early took up bag, BROKE the
wax seal, cut The st ing which helI the neck of
the bag tightly, aud before emptying the
tickets into the wheel, scruunized folded strip
of ma, 1 a paper, which he had unwo nd f. ON
the neck of the bag also. This piece of paper
ne then handed to General Beauregard, and
the ontents OF tn bag were thereupon emptied
into the great wheel The manila strips were
laid together on a table close by. The story Of
the first bag IS the story of all the others
Whil5 this worT was progressing noticed
that on the inner side of each paper Wer the
autographs of both General Early and General
Beauregard, and on looking closely at an IN
opened bag
CLEARLY SAW THE WAX SEAL
to bear the lett rs "B & En- ard also to per-
fecJy seal the string and folded stri Of paper.
When The bag has been empued into the wheel
tits searcnedf rho IS through which eyee a sol
itary tlcEtt mig be lost, For years not the
slightest tRmpering or acClde Mt has occurred to
the bags, anu this, too, with twelve drawings
every year, And yet this result could not but be
nAtu al when one considers the safeguards
thrown around tae big canvas pockets for, on
being sealed after the drawing, they are taken
into the com any's large vaults and there kept
together unit. removed for the next drawing
give, perhaps, unusual space to this matter
of tickets, baE judge that nothing in the en-
tire machinery OF the lottery can be of greater
interest to the ader than the method of pre-
pairing and handling the tickets; and the great
care exercised for every one or the lOO, 600 num-
DeTs Is surely OF great consequence to those
VINO pay ous their money for them. The whole
number of tickets are actually counted once q
year by assistants who are under the especial
supervision of Generals Early and Besuregard
BY their syst5m owe referred to, and the re-
turn at each Drawing, OF the numbers drawn
the previous month, these gentlemen are sure
of the entire number bring in the big wheel,
whenever drawing occnrs
But 10 return 20 the drawing of Dec. Is. AS
the tickets were being loa1ed in by the half
bushel locked at them through one of the
glass sides. The ticket Is about four inches
long by two in width The number is printed
IN heavy, black, condensed fgurer.
THIS TICKET IS ROLLED
tightly and inser ed within an india rubber
tube an inch and half long. thus showing q
quarter of an 1 CHI Of the roll of paper at each
end. The tuba is OF tie diameter of a lead
pencil. The natural spring in the rolled Ticket
prevents Is from ever comi5g out OF the tube
save when pulled oat by General Ear'y To
''roll" them from noon uE II midnight would
not disarTange the tickets IN the tubes, even to
q hairs breadth. By the time the l00, 900 tcs cts
were all in and General Early had closed the
small door of the wheel, It Is kI d about half
an hour Of ii O'Clock, the hour for the drawing
10 begin. There were nearly 90 persons then
IN lhe house, the parquet being well filed. Nm
tbs ront row the dress circle noticed - rec
we'll cressed aides sitting together. The day
b fore 1 saw the same trio In the lottery
Company's Office, where the handsoncst of
them counted Gus $l5U and bought that amount
OF twentieth tickets.
The wheel containing the prizes, situated op.
posite the big one was next prepared by GEN
erals Z Irly and Beauregard jointly, as in the
other Gaze. They oil the tubes with rolled
papers bearing the amou7ts of the price, the
VApers and the tubes being similar in size to
thoss in the ticket wheel. This pr cess is per-
formed before the day Of the drawing, and they
also are emptied into the small wheel from a
sealed canvas bag. Tire prize wheel Is 8 nina
ture model of the big one. glass and all, but I'll
tubes containi & VrIZes bear about the proDoI-
ton to those holding he tickets as four quarts
do to hve or * busne g. The door of the little
wheel ben 9 secured, It WAS ststsd TO be II
O'Clock, and there were full y
1900 PERSONS IN TH8 HOUSE.
Genera Early too scat on the left front OF
the sage, chose by the ticket wheel General
Beauregard sea,ed himself alongside the wheel
of prizes at the right front of { stage. Four
small boys from q y Orleans orphan asylum
fIled 8 sofa at the rear Of the STAGE, an 8
everything was announced to be ready two of
these lads came forward and W. re blindfolded.