Omaha daily bee., 1888-03-11
INVESTMENTS ON CHANCE.
How Are Authorized Lotteries
Drawn?
THE LOUISIANA STATE LOTTERY.
Closely Watching Its Drawing.
correspondence of the Hartford Times.

Louisiana State Lottery. 1toccurredy yesterday,
in the Academy of Music in this city. Further,
] have been through the company's Office, which
occupies a good share of its own handsome
granite building on St. Charles street. At your
request have given the subject of lottery draw
ing q thorough investigation. / sent to the
Times what myself kn0W to be an accurate ac-
count OF everything having to do with the
transaction of the business of the company and
the drawings. Were l ever convinced of abso
Lutte fairness in any scheme, l am in this case;
for | labored diligently to see and know all the
details, Below are my observations, which will
quite likely interest the reader as they did me
There is not a city, nor a town, nor scarcely q
hamlet In the United States that does not contain
patrons of the Louisiana State Lottery. The lot
terry is chartered by the state OF Louisiana, and
Is as legitimate as any other institution in that
state. Now, this has much to do toward beget:
ting confidence in the lottery. and It is still
further aided therein by the fact of General
Bcauregard and General Early giving their
strict attention TO the drawings. Fairer men
than they are not TO be found.
Some years ago the New York. World sent q
reporter to attend one OF these drawings, with
instructions to write up the whole business
Times later did the same thing. So did the
Chronicle of San Francisco. Even petroleum
y H,s NGnssS gno of the T 70 wEIta BLADE la tSiaa q lo,t tine cr 81
OF them failed to give an accurate idea of the
mode of drawing. 1 will supply that omission.
One fact We have all been obliged to &C
knowledge-that all the ticket holders
STAND THE SANE CHANCE
The draVsjng itseif is of great interest to every
ticket-holder. whether he be present or a thou
sand miles distant. The manner of determin-
of detailed explanation: aud | have made It one
of the principal parts OF my article. me draw
ordinary one, the price of the tickets, and the
amount of the prizes, being twice those in the
regular drawings; About 10 o,cloeS that y fore,
is situated on st. Charles street, not far from the
office of the Lottery, company. l accompanied
General Early thither, and upon entering the
academy he invited me to a seat on the stage,
where ! might observe the modus operandi OF
5ns SfG Sss1Is in T fysr Sr aSta5l, S WHs as IS c besiE at IS /, |
S,s50fk' th PreP%rattions of for an 1T hour oeE bel
General Beauregard both being present.
Under their direction assistants placed Mt one
wheel for the tickets, This is a large concern
and resembles a bass drum in its shape, its
woodwork being similar, but the, heads are OF
glass instead of sheepskin. IL Is tive or SIX feet
in diameter and some two feet thick.
THE WHEEL STANDS UP
on its side. and through its center runs an axle
which rests at each end in a socket Of a frame
built upon a large wooden base. The wheel
eaSll Gf f the axle Siss Is al att evGfs S a. iarge IRON cr al S" by
peens of which two assistants roll" that Is,
turn the wheel rapidly for about two minutes,
woodwork on the side is a door a foot OR SO
| square. 1t is closed when the tickets are roll
tu, aDu Unen opened lOT uue DOyS u uTdN hHo
save General Early. This large wheel having
been placed properlyi in position the tickets were
prepared to be emptied into ii.
The tickets were in canvas bags, and there
were 100000 of them. Ten bags. each containing
taken out of two great boxes which had been
brought on to the stage, the lid of each being
u%nscfewed. The ten were placed together in
personal services by General Early and General
Beauregard. BY tins time there were fully 900
| snpntafD rg in the hnDGp and thpV looked on at
| the preparations with evident satisfaction.
First, General Early took up a bag; broke the
the bag tightly, and before emptying the tickets
into the wheel, scruitinized a folded strip Of
neck of the bag also. This piece of paper he
then handed to General Beauregard, and the
=f fntneRe s 9f dhe w fag we're Tbe t mantla str G@P @ :
laid together on a table close by. The story Of
the first bag is the story of all the others. While
inner side of each paper were the autographs of
both General Early and General Beauregard,
and on looking closely at an unopened bag l
CLEARLY SAY TIE. SEAL
to bear the letters 'B. q e. and also to perfect
ly seal the string and folded strip of PAPER.
it is searched for holes through which even a
solitary ticket might be lost. For years not the
the bags, and this too, with twelve drawings
every year. And yet this result could not be
but natural when one considers the safeguards
thrown around the big canvas pockets; for, on
being sealed after the drawing they are taken
into the company'S large vaults and there KEEP
together until removed for the next drawing.
give, perhaps. unusual space to this matter OF
tickets, but l Judge that nothing in the entire
machinery Of the lottery can be of greater inter
est to the reader than the method of preparing
and handling the tickets: and the great care eM
ercised for every one of the 100. 600 numbers is
surely of great Consequence TO those who pa!
out their money for them. The whole number
of tickets are actually counted once a year b.
assistants who are under the special supervisor
of Generals Early and Beaure gard. By their Sys
TEN above referred TO, and the return at eacf
drawing of the numbers drawn the previous
month, these gentlemen are sure of the entire
number being in the big wheel, whenever a
But to returnto the drawing of Dec 10. a
the tickets were being loaded in by the hal
bushel looked at them through one of tn
long by two in width. The numberi is printed il
heavy, black, condensed figures.
THE TICKET is ROLLED
tightly and inserted within an India rubbe'
tube an inch and a half long. thus showing
quarter of an inch of the roll of paper at eacl
The natural spring in the rolled ticket prevents
1T from ever coming out Of the tube save whel
from noon until midnight would not disarrang'
the tickets in the tubes, even to a hairs breadth
General Early had closed the small door of tn
wheel, it lacked about half an hourof II O'Clock
the hour for the drawing to begin. There wer,
nearly 1000 persons then in the house, the par
quet being well filled. In the front row, of tn
dress circle aotic a1s three dow wetII,dreTsed aw JADE Ne
same trio in the lottery company's office; wher
the handsomest of them counted out $3.50 an
bought that amount of twentieth tickets.
The wheel containing the prizes, situated op
posite the big one, was next prepared by GeneI
ais Early and Beauregard, Jointly, as in the othe
case. They filed the tubes with rolled pape
bearing the amounts of the prizes, the paper
and thetubes being similar in size to those Il
the ticket wheel. This process is performed be
fore the day of the drawing and they also al
emptied into the small wheel from q sealed car
vas bag. The prize wheel is a miniature mode
of the big one, glass and all; but the tubes con
taing prizes bear about the proportion TO thos
holding the tickets as four quarts do 10 Ave o
six bushels. The door of the little wheel bein
secured, 1t was stated to be III O'Clock, and ther
1900 PERSONS IN THE HOUSE.
General Early took q seat on the left front q
the stage, close b. the ticket wheel. Genera
Beauregard seated himself alongside the whee
of prizes at the right front of the stage, Fou
small boys from a New Orleans orphan asylum
filled a sofa at the rear of the stage, and q
everything was announced to be ready two G
these lads came forward and were blindfoldeC
One stood between General Early and his vince
the other between General Beauregard and tn
$50 prizes.
The two wheels having been thorough
''rolled," the doors are opened, One boy reache
In, takes a single tube and hands II TO Generi
Early; the other picks out a prize from his whe'
and gives 1t TO General Beauregard. The nun
her of the ticket is read by General Early, an
the amount won is announced by General BeaI
regard. An assistant standing close by Genera
Early takes the ticket from him and he, too
states its number; another gentleman near Gel
-.aI 1alrAn N1a rio ftAna hfnN -