The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-31
A Member of the Reichsrath Seizes the Event as
Pretext for AbOlishing the Lottery Sys-
TEN, with Chance of Success.
Turkey to Send Another Commission to
Treat with the Cretan Insurgents.
Lord Churchill's Appeal to the Dissidents-An
Incident Showing Bismarck's Hold on the
German Emperor-The War in Egypt.
CHEATING A LOTTERY.
An Incident That Revealed to the Autho
ties the Wickedness Of Games Of Chance

An Incident That Revealed to the Authori-
ties the Wickedness Of Games of Chance.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal
LONDON, July 3l.-Dr. Roser, member of
the Austrian Reichsrath. who has been for
twenty-five years fighting the government
lottery enterprise, now has the opportunity
of lifetime. and is not slow to avail him
self of it. He has just introduced, for the
twentieth time, a bill for the abolition of
all the state lotteries, and IN the present
peculiar condition of affairs is confident
that the measure will pass. The change of
feeling on the subject of lotteries, upon
which DR.. Roser builds his hopes for sue
cess, is not based upon any moral consider
ations. 1t was only six weeks ago that q
man who was total stranger in Vienna
won 100000 fiorins of the governments
money by what now appears to
is this circumstance that has opened the
eyes of the Austrian legislators to the
wickedness of lotteries, and which will
probably pave the way for the final over
throw of the state lotteries in Austria.
The game i'll which this unprecedented
winning was made is precisely that which.
in America. is known as policy" The
gambler selects certain numbers, places
them IN certain order and puts up his
stake. If the numbers are drawn in the
order in which he places them, he wins a
great many times his stake. the proportion
numbers which the gambler attempts to
place. In this case M. Farkas-that Is the
lucky individuals name played
five numbers, and backed his
opinion at several different government
Offices in Vienna. Five numbers are drawn
daily out of ninety placed in glass urn.
On this day the numbers drawn were the
five which Farkas selected. He went to
the Treasury Department, showed his
tickets. and demanded his 500. 1000 So
flee, but the Minister of Finance promptly
secured a loan of the amount from a Vienna
bank, and Farkas went off rejoicing. with
his 100000 fOrins, in crisp new notes,
packed in a leather bag. After the money
had been paid, the officials began to sus-
pect fraud. Attention was called to certain
peculiar incidents at the drawing, which
no one paid much attention to at the time,
but which every one remembered when
Farkas's immense winning became known.
the plumbers on that day was or
dered by the lottery official in charge
TO stand aside, and another boy
who presented himself was likewise re-
jected-a circumstance in,ltselfnots SO unfre-
quent as to cause suspicion. But at this
stage, young woman appeared and asked,
as favor. that her son, whom she brought
with her. be allowed to draw the numbers.
The official goodnaturedly permitted this,
and now the police discover that Farkas
and this young woman were we'll ac-
quainJed with one another, and it is even
said the boy is Farkas's son. Two of the
lottery officials in charge of the drawing.
Farkas himself, the young woman and the
boy have all been arrested, and the police
are leaving no stone unturned to ferret out
the modus 'operandi of the swindle, for
that there was swindle seems certain.
Not only In Vienna. but all through Austria
and Hungary. where everybody plays in
the government lotteries, the big winning
and the romantic sequel are the sensation
of the hour.