The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-03-22
LOTTERY TICKETS.
Who and What People Invest Their
Money.
Some OF the superstItIons In Regard
to Numbers.

great deal has been said about the sale
OF lottery tickets In Portland, but very little
about the methods Of the sale or Of the peo-
pie who buy them. Reference Is made more
particularly to the Louisiana and Little
Louisiana Lotteries.
Since the recent decision Of the postal au-
thorities, by which the direct purchase OF
lottery tickets, through the mails, has been
rendered difficult. certain persons In almost
every town and city have made themselves
agents for their sale. The lottery managers
send $115 worth Of tickets to any person for
the sum Of 500. but they do not take back
any unsoid tickets. consequently the person
ordering Sil5 worth makes SIS profits on his
sales, and, II any tickets are left unsold In
his possession and draw prizes. he is, of
course, entitled to those prizes; otherwise he
is out to the amount Of their value. There
are not many persons willing to invest so
large an amount as s115, but those who do,
In the mjority Of instances, have regular Gus
toners, who are small dealers in the little
towns and villages, who buy every month
So or So worth, represented by two or three
twentieths Of different tickets, for resale to
their country customers.
1t any one had desire to prove the de-
moralizatiOn Of lotteries 1t would only be
necessary for him to visit one of the large
offices where tickets are sold, just after the
official lists Of the monthly drawings have
been received. Many Of the dailies publish
the telegraphic result of each drawing, as far
as the large prizes are concerned, the morn
ing after 1t takes place, but a week elapses
at distant points before the official list OF all
the lucky numbers Is received. When that
list arrives the rush begins. From morning
until night, for several days, steady stream
of people passes in and out. showing the
hold these lotteries have OF the general pub
lie. Nor are the investors confined TO the
poorer classes. Here comes gentleman
we'll known in social circles, elegantly
dressed, smoking a choice cigar. He care
lessly scans the list, comparing his ticket
with the lucky numbers, laughingly remarks,
my usual luck; nothing but a blank" fiicks
the ashes off his cigar, and goes out saying
he will try again when the next batch of
tickets arrives. Here comes a poor, hard
working woman, who has been tempted to
invest hard earned dollar in a piece of a
ss~AOss aOA mOubA 10 hAthAJ sChs bhCAC 10 al
eager look in the eye. and her hand trcmbles
slightly as she takes the list.
When she finds that she has been unsuccess-
ful, there is a quiver Of the muscles Of the
face, half suppressed sob, and out she goes
only to come in again In few days buoyant
with the hope that the investment of a dol
lar may bring in better luck next time. Here
Is man whose appearance Is that Of the
last person one would imagine who would
invest in the lottery. His clothes are not
only seedy, they are actually ragged. his hair
and beard unkempt, his shoes broken. But
from the inmost recesses Of his tattered vest
he pulls out twentieth Of Louisiana tick
ct and his eyes sparkle as he finds he has
drawn twentieth Of a small prize. perhaps
amounting to s5. When the money Is paid
to him he takes cart wheel dollar from his
little pile and proceeds to re-inyest II In q
chance in the next drawing. 1t Is his con-
tirmed belief now that the next time he will
get piece Of one Of the great prizes, and
will then be rich man. Besides these cases
we have mentioned, sailors. mechanics, mel
chants, working girls, even school girls and
school boys jostle against people whose bus
iucoo III illc 10 uy uO lucduS aS odfOIJ III tuclT
eagerness to inspect the lists and acquire the
taste for gambling that perhaps. in the end.
wrecks their lives.
1t Is astonishing to see the superstition
that hangs about this lottery ticket business.
There is a woman in Portland, clairvOy-
ant, who makes, 1t is said, s25 or $50 week
merely as an advisor In the purchase Of lot
terry numbers. She charges a moderate fee,
goes into trance, and tells her customers
that such a number appeared to her as the
winner of prize. She does not go to the
extent of stating how large the prize win be,
but that the number is lucky one, and 1t Is
wonderful to see how many Of these people
come into the dealers after drawing and
almost refuse to believe they have not drawn
prize, so implicit Is their confidence in the
clairvoyant's statement. The explanation
Gyen to some Of them for their i'll luck Is
that an error was made by them in the num-
Der, that they failed to understand her
Alright. Sometimes, not infrequently, the
numbers given by the clairvoyant draw
small prizes, which is sufficient to serve as a
capital advertisement.
There are also large class Of investors
WIN arc eeis isain snab suoy Ha'o uioOo'oAou
system by which prizes are assured to the
lucky purchasers Of certain numbers. That
Is to say II number In the ninety thousands
draws the capital prize this month, 1t will
surely be number between thirty and fifty
that will get 1t the third month. Some peo-
pie must have a nine or seven In the number
Of the ticket they buy, otherwise they will
not purchase, and others will equally insist
on six, four or two.
And SO the wheel goes round and every
month brings more and more flies into the
lottery net.
st. Johns Ambition.