The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-03-06
LOUISJANA'S LOTTERY.
FIVE YEARS YET SECURE FOR THE
INIQUITY.

Letter to tho Now York Herald.
The recent effort to secure a lottery
charter in North Dakota has hal the ef-
feet Of filing the press Of this coustry
with much misiniorma ton. Among
1''"r i'gs it has been said that the
Louisl"n" Lottery, knowing tina, it was
impossible to srrure &n extension al it's
charter in Louisiana, haI Determined 10
mako preparations to Withdraw frun
the State, and for that reason had sought
to secure charter elsewhere. Few pco
hle in Louisians who have watched the
current ofeveAts thought for a moment
that the Lottery company had tho slg ht-
es' idea of abandoning tho State. Taev
regarded the attempt to secure y chatter
In Dakota only as means to gcs better
terms at homo and provisioa against a
possible failure to secure rcnowai Of
the franchise.
1t has also been charged that ihs Lou
lslana Lottery Company VIII DOW Try to
buy an extension Of its charter through
the State Legislature, and Will offer 70
retire the State debt Of $12, 600, 900 for y
twenty. tivi yeu's' lease OF corporate
life.
There is, as far ~ can learn, NO such
proposition to be made, The Legisla,
turs is absolutely powerless in the INST
ter. The people Of Louisiana and they
alone can extend the charter. The lot.
terry was chartered in 1868 and its fran
chse does not expire anul 1928. In
1879 the Legislature,in in the exercise OF its
police power, abolished the lottery, but
before the legislative Act went into effect
u constitutional convention met The
lottery question was taken up in that
body, and majority of the members held
that the Legislative Act was unconstitu.
uonal, inasmuch rs it violated COLI
tract.
A paragraph was, therefore, inserted
in the new constitution continuing the
lottery until its charter expired, and Civ
ing the Legislature power to establish
other lotteries, none of them to extend
beyond the time Of the expiration Of the
Louisiana State Lottery Company's fran
chlse, and after January l, 1894, no lot
terics were permitted to exist in the
State. There was an acrimonious debate
on this proposition and rccrimination
among delegates to the Convention, but
1t was finally embodied in the Constitu-
ton of the STATE, voted on by the pco-
pic and adopted. SO the Legislature is
powerless in the matter further than to
submit constitutional amendment to
the people. It will require :. 'two-thirds
vote to do this.
The next session Of the Legislature,
which must act upon the matter if re.
neWal of the charter is secured, will
meet in May. 1t is unders' ood that the
lottery company will 60 before that
BODY and ask that the proposition be
submitted to the people in tho form of a
constitutional amendment to extend its
charter for period Of twenty-five years.
The lottery now pays au annual license
INTO the State treasury Of $40, 900. This
is set apart for tho maintenance Of "A char
ity hospital in the city.
WILLING TO PAY.
am reliably informed that the lottery
will propose for All extension Of its char
ter to pay an annual license ranging from
$2G0, 600 to $500, 900, the sum thus raised
to be devoted to the charitable institu-
tlons OF the State and to educational
purposes. There will be hard fight
over the proposed amendment in the
Legislature, but the indications are that
the necessary two-thirds will be secured
and the amendment submitted to the
people.
The argument that will DO used by
those who will favor the amendment will
be that in q matter Of such Importance,
involving the payment Of $l2, 1000, 600,
the people should haye the rivght to de.
N tfnr
pose the lottery will do SO upon purely
moral grounds, holding that all lotteries
are pernicious and dcmoralizing and
should be prohibited, and the people
have virtually passed upon the question
by declaring ten years ago that no lottery
should be established in the State after
1895. The moral advocates are, as far
as my observation goes, in minority,
but will make most determined fight.
They will have Governor Nichols With
them. The Executive declared himself
within q week as against an extension Of
tide lottery charter. The Methodist Con
fcroncc has also declared against it. SO
has the Presbytery Of Louisiana and the
Farmers Alliance. On the other hand
the lottery people will be backed by many
of the largest fnanccrs of the city,
most of the influential politicians,
and by the great bulk of those who sec
no harm in buying lottery ticket.
These latter, it is safe to say, Judging
from the evidence one secs around him,
constitute large majority of the pop,-
lation. SO in spite of the Governor and
the moral free Of the religious element
| see no reason to doubt that the propo-
sitlon Of lottery, with some notifications
in favor Of the State, will bo submitted
to the people.
The disposition OF the amendm ent 10
more problenatlcal. The question, if it
is s"bmitted, will not be voted upon un-
til 1892. In the meantime groat deal
Of missionary work can be done on both
sides. Nothing j. more certain than
that the opposition will not cease with
the action Of the Legislature, provided,
OF course, it is favorable to the lottery
company. In fact, such action will only
intensity it.
This campaign is certain to bc one OF
the hottest ever fought in the State. An
attempt will be made made to get one or
both OF the political parties to declare
against the lottery in the party plat
form, but it is not likely that either will
inject the question into it's declaration