New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-04-25
THE LOUISIANA LOTTERY.

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THE LOUISIANA LOTTERY.
This is 9, monster, which the strong
hand of the government should throttle
and choke to death. 1t does more to
demoralize, rob and impoYerish the
poor man than any other instrumental
ty. Its patrons are not the persons
who can spare the money and not feel
it, but the poor who have desire to in
crease their holdings more rapidly than
can be done by any ordinary honest in
dustry. Let us assume that it is con-
Quoted in a strictly honest manner.
At every monthly drawing there are
100000 tickets sold at SIC each. This
brings in every month the enor-
nous sum Of $1,00O,0OO. Professedly,
there is paid out in prizes about $780,
600; expenses and gifts to charitable in
stitutions, say 100000, which leaves a
clear monthly profit of $500,0oO to be
divided among the stockholders. Where
does all this money come fromp The
poor washerwoman after a day of toll
over the wash-tub starts to her humble
home. and on her way her eye is at
tracted by flaming sign: "a Fortune
for One Dollar" She steps in, buys a
ticket and continues her way home.
She and her children 60 to bed hungry,
and she dreams of the time when she
will be rich, which, she thinks, will be
the next time those once honorable
men-Beauregard and EarlY-roll the
wheel and announce the lucky num-
bers. The drawing takes place and she
gets nothing, and the rascal, who took
her last dollar could have told her so
at the time she bought the ticket.
Clerks, sewing girls, and other poor
persons suffer in the same way. The
woodsawyer, whose back is almost
broken, bending over the saw, contri-
butes his hard earnings and is victim
lied to the extent of his investment.
While these poor-aDd the families de-
pendent upon them-are suffering for
the ordinary comforts of life, the stock
holders of this doubtful enterprise are
amassing colossal fortunes. If the
tickets are not all sold, the lottery com.
pany takes them, and thus the chances
are greatly on its side of drawing the
prizes To illustrate the workings of
the system, imagine that you have one
ticket. Beauregard reaches over to a
glass wheel in which there are 100000
numbers and takes one. You see that
you have one chance in 100000 that he
will pick up your ticket. He calls the
number. and Early thrusts his hands
into another glass wheel where there
are supposed to be about 1,4OO prizes,
ranging from $50 upward. There are
really only four prizes of any value.
Now you can see the chance you have.
Let us say here that you stand about
the same chance of getting prize in
any drawing that you would of being
stricken down by lightning in a thunder
shower. A friend once told the writer
that for eight years he had regularly
every month bought from $50 to $100
worth of tickets, and that he had never
drawn q cent. Poor encouragement
for patronizing such scheme. The
daughter of one of the stockholders was
recently married. It was said that he
was worth $2o,ooo,o0o, and that he
gave her a bridal present of 81, 900, 900.
What does this handsome bridal present
represent?
250,000 days washing by
25O, 600 women. $3.50, 900
250,000 days sewing by
25O,00O sewidg girls. ...... 25O,OOO
100000 days clerklng by
100000 clerks. ...... 100000
100000 days saving wood by
100000 men. en....... 100000
80, 600 days labor on farms etc. 10000
Cash from men trying their
luck. .......... ............ 10000
$1,ooo,ooo
Now, who in the world would care to
inherit such fortune derived from
such source? It is the cost of suffer
ing among the wage earners, and repre-
sents the price of hunger, nakedness,
poverty and wretchedness.
Let US urge upon the patrons Of this
nefarious institution to Withdraw,
and let the vampires, who are drawing
the life blood from our hard working
men and women, seek some honest oc-
cupation and follow it.