Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-11
A GIANT OCTOPUS,
Which Extends Its A:nS All
Over Our Broad Land.
History of the Workings Of the
Louisiana Lottery

AS Set Forth by the Anti-Lottery League
In An Address to the People of the
United Statcs-B!ind Idiocy of the Man
Who Invests-Congrcss Called Upon for
Immediate Action.
BATON ROUGE, La. Aug. 1l.-.At the
An,i-Lottery league convention the
committee to formulate an address to
the people of the United States and to
memorialize the president and congress
made the following report, whicl was
adopted
To the People of the United States:
Your fellow-citizens of the state OF Lou
isiana opposed to lottery gambling and
lottery charters, assembled in convection
at Baton Rouge, this 9TH day of August,
1880, make TO you this appeal for aid in
the struggle they are engaged in with IA
powerful gambling corporation, which
sits here among MS like giant octopus,
and stretches its arms to the remotest
hamlet in the land. For your sympathy
they ask not, because that they have this
well they know by the unanimous voice
of the free press of this country, which
untouched and untouchable by lottery in
tluence, has denounced, in no uncertain
tones the infamy we are combating.
In 1868 the carpet-bag legislature of
Louisiana, at the instigatiol of
syndicate of gamblers, formed in
New York in 1863, composed of John A.
Morris, Btn {. Wood, c. II. Murray and
Others, chartered the Louisiana Lottery
company. with capital OF 81 Coz, 600 giv-
ing it monci oily OF drawing lotteries in
the state for twenty-five years. The grant
was obtained by bribery and corrupt
means. At that time the public regarded
it with . r,r, and he men connected with
it were pursued with public and private
condemn ti0u ard disgrace. For ten years
il maintained itself against constant leg
islativc = s,u,t by similar corrupt mear
In 1879 the legislature repealed this chur-
ter. Il .rsait accomplished by ma ajority
o only two votes in the senate This re-
repeal was practically nullifed Y an in
junct on issued by Edward c. Billing,
United States district judge for Louisi-
ana, who held il the very teeth IF
the dcci ion o. the supreme court
of the United States, rendered in
the similar case of Boyd vs.
Alabama, tina. an immoral bargain, such
as his charter, was sacred contract pro-
tcctcd 10y tie constitution of the United
States nat, binding upon the police power
of sovereign state. Hhe same legislt
tine that repealed this charter called I
constitutional convention. This CONVEX
tion was attacked by tie lottery people
with money, with Judge Billings deci
sion, with promises to give up its mouop.
oily, to retire from politics ard to allow t
provision 10 be inserted in the constitu
ton prohibiting all lotteries after Jan. !
1895.
Several distinguished attorneys of the
lottery company were elected to this
body. The whole convention was sur
pounded by a strong lobby of purchased
respeCtability, Under these combined in
nuencos provision was inserted in the
projected constitution reinstating the
repealed charter without the mo-
nopoly feature, permitting the legis-
laturc to charter other lotteries.
providing that after Jan. /, 1895,
NIL lot les should be prohibited. This
provision was intended and reg re as
and rather than defeat the
whole constitution in which it was i'm
beddcd the people adopted it with the
leief that in a few years the evil would
die beyond any prospect of resurrection,
and such was the pledge of the lottery
Mark the result. With this
new lease of life came row lease of
power and a prosperity incredible. They
have practically enjoyed their renounced
by preventing every legislature
elected since 1880 from granting additional
charters. This has been acc ompishcd by
tie unlimited use of money by playing
upon the opposition of good men to the
application for such charters, and by
their control, through tic ownership of
certain dominant politicians of both
political parties, of nominations to the
legislature. Tie market value of their
stock has risen from $35 per share in 1879
to 81 "GO per share in 1890, so that now it is
more than double that of the whole bank
ing capital Of the state. They have built
up tie original capital which was never
subscribed, and have accumulated an
enormous surplus of unknown amount,
while declaring dividends of 80 to 100 per
cen. per annum, and that, too, out of only
onc-half of the net earnings, as the other
half belongs to the lcssees, Howard &
Morris.
Definite information as to their list of
officers, profits and business
affairs cannot DE obtained, as they are kept
studiously concealed from the public The
scheme OF their drawings has increased
from monthly capital prize of $4,000 to
n monthly capital prize of $500 600 and n
scmi-annual prize of SG00,00O
The aggregate of the schemes of the
and semi-annual drawings is the
sum of $2S, ,OGO, 90 eyannum, and
the aggregate of their daily draw ngs is
over $40, 0,000,OO0 more Tie receive annu-
ally 81 - 1000 from the written policies
sold ON the numbers of the daily draw
ing apart from the sale of the regular
printed ticiets. They receive annually
about S22 600 OOO from their monthly and
semi-annual drawings The schemes of
the last drawings are so arranged that
they can sell Is per cent. of their tickets.
pay 10 per cent. for selling them, lose all
the prizes provided for in the schemes,
pay 81, 900. 90 for expenses ana still make
81 COJ,GOJ profit per annum.
We make no idle assertion when we de
nnune these SCHEMES as fraudulent Even
from lottery standpoint this company
offers to distribute /, - than SO per cent. in
prizes authorized lottery ON earth that
l,e know of outside Of Mexico is allowed
10 tlNltlDNNt lH~S NllAu ~ per teslt. ! nc
chance 70 win a prize Of any sort in one of
these drawings is about one in thirty;
whereas, if ii were an honest lottery, it
would be at least one in ten. These were
the reasons which induced two postmaster
gererais OF the United States to exclude
It from the mails a. fraudulent lottery
What is known rs the daily drawing takes
place every day except Sunday--5i3 days
C.. Q -
tenary combination OF natural numbers
from / to =, aud on some days from / to
a.. giving IN the one case 5S.056 and in the
other g. ~ different combinations Of
three numbers each.