The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1890-05-10
THE LOTTERY.
THE LOUISIANA LOTTERY A NATIONAL.
SCGURGE.
From Orr Day, Boston. !

tEiOul- CtC ILdy, hGSl0l.
The Louisiana Lottery IS national
scourge. 1t is a crime brecder;a pub
lie nuisance; a wrecker Of homes; q
bid to dishonesty, and constant me-
mace 10 the peace and industries OF
this nation.
Through political intriguing it has
secured a quasi-lease Of existence for
twenty-five years from 1868, under a
charter granted in 1868 by the Cen
eral Assembly Of Louisiana, and by
the same legislative body repealed and
declared void in 1879.
Nine months afterwards we find the
people of that State endeavoring to
galvanize this corpse into life again
by a clause inserted, if newspapers
and some Of Louisiana's best citizens
are to be believed, by whosale bribery
and corruption, into the amended or
new Constitution Of that State, adopt
ed December, 1879.
| am asked 70 answer through Our
Day TIE following questions:
First, "What laws, National and
State, are there which are applied to
the Louisiana Lotterv?"
Second, :lThat additional legisla-
ton is needed"
lotteries come within the police
poayor Of the State, because of their
injury to public morals.
Every State but two in the Union,
and all tie Territories, have laws
against lotteries, while twenty-seven
States have, in addition thereto, Cons
titutional enactments prohibiting
them.
The Congress of the United States
has passed laws prohibiting all letters
and circulars concerning lotteries
passing through the mails.
1t will be observed that, in spite Of
this universal legislation against this
snonstruous evil, yet like huge oc-
topus it has spread itself all over our
land, sending down into the homes in
every State and Territory its merciless
tentacles leaving poverty and crime in
its wake, and this, too, by open, def
ant use Of mails Of the United States.
Year after year this company has
grown rich, arrogant and shamelessly
grasping and greedy. Starting with
its tickets, first, at but two dollars each
for single drawings which are but ten
months in each year, and five dollars
per ticket for the extraordinary draw
ings for. the other two months Of each
year, they have gradually increased
the price of tickets, until now they
charge twenty dollars in the ordinary
drawings and forty dollars in the ex-
traordinary drawings. They have had
twelve drawings per year, each year
since they started. 4 little calcula-
ton will show what q monstruous
fraud this public plunderer is. There
are supposed to be 100000 tickets
sold every month. This has been
their boast, in years past, that ''eyery
ticket is sold each drawing"
In ordgr to compare the amounts
received, and to show the enormous
increase N amounts received, and the
heartless greed of the managers, the
following tables are presented:
100000 tickets sold 10 months
in each year at So each SO. 0O0, GOO
1G;A GnA ~ cold Lc
each year at s. each. ...... 1000, G00
Total receipts under old rates, So, 900, ,ooo
Now compare this with the present
rates:
100000 tickets sold 10 months
it the year at $50 each -. $50, 600 coo
100000 tickets sold 2 months
in the year at $40 each. ... 5000, coo
Total receipts under present
management, ............ .S2S, 900, 900
What does this public plunderer
now cody propose? Its lease Of life
is drawing to a close 1t has defed
the law Of every State in the Union.
It has sent its tickets to be sold all over
this land. It has prevented legislation
In Congress to restrict its uses Of the
mails. Il has plunderered the pock-
cts and cursed the morals Of the peo-
pie Of this nation. And now, when .
ray Of hope was about to dawn, that
this national scourge was about to end
we have the managers brazenly at
tempting to bribe the whole State of
Louisiana in order to prolong its dis
honest practises.
It is currently reported that the
managers have offered to give the
city Of New Orleans a public library
building, to cost not less than $780,
600, and pay the debt Of the State Of
louisiana, amounting to over $4,000
GOO, in addition thereto, provided It's
charter be extended for a period Of
| Fifty years.