St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-09
Like a Giant Octopus, the Lot
terry Stretches Its Arms
Over the Union.
People Of the Enslaved State
Unite to Combat the
Infamy.
Norris & Co.'s Enormous Rev
enue Enables Them to Buy
Legislatures.
a Proposition to Amend the
Federal Constitution Abol-
ishing the Evil.

BATON ROUGE, La, Aux. o.-Ah0
committee of the anti-lottery league to
Formulate an address to the people OF
the United States and to memoriallZe
the president and congress, has made
The following report, which was
adopted:
To the People of the United States:
Your fellow citizens of the state OF
Louisiana opposed to lottery gambling
and lottery charters, assembled in con-
yention at Baton Rouge this 18th day of
August, 1890, make to you this appeal
for aid in the struggle they are engaged
in with a powerful gambling corpora
ton which sits here among us like a
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
Auence, has denounced, in no uncer-
tain tones, the infamy we are COM
batting. We desire briefly to state
to you the facts. In 1868 the carpetbag
legislature of Louisiana, at the instiga-
ton of syndicate Of gamblers, formed
in New York i'll 1868, composed of John
A. Morris, Ben G. Wood, c. III. Murray
and others. chartered the Louisiana Lot
terry company, with capital stock OF
S1,000,000, giving it monopoly of draw
ing lotteries in the state for twenty-five
years. This grant was obtained by
bribery and corrupt means. AT that
time the public
Regarded 1t with Horror,
and the men connected with it were
pursued with public and private con-
domination and disgrace, For ten years
it maintained itself against constant
legislative assault by similar corrupt
this charter, a result accomplished by a
majority of only two in the senate.
This repeal was practically nullitied by
an injunction issued by Edward G.
Billings, United States district Judge
for Louisiana, who held in the
very teeth of the decision of the SUI
preme court of the United States, rem
dered in the similar case Of Boyd VS..
Alabama, that an immoral bargain.
such as this charter, was sacred con-
tract, protected by the constitution of
the United States and binding upon the
police power of a sovereign state. The
ter called a constitutional convention.
This convention was attacked by the
lottery people with money, with Judge
Billings decision, with promises to give
up its monopoly, to retire from politics
and to allow provision 10 be inserted
in the constitution prohibiting all lot
teries after Jan. /, 1895. Several dis
tlnguished attorneys of the lottery COM
pany we're elected to this body. The
whole convention was surrounded with
strong lobby of purchased re-
spectability. Under these combined
Influences a,o provision oUdt;tn+i0 was ro in
stating the repealed charter without the
monopoly feature, permitting the legis-
lature to charter other lotteries, pro-
viding that after Jan. 1, 1895, all lot
terieS should be prohibited. This pro-
vision was intended and regarded as a
compromise. and, rather than defeat the
whole constitution in which it was i'm
bedded. the people adopted 1t with the
belief that in a few years the evil would
die beyond any
Prospect of Resurrection,
and such was the pledge of the lottery
company. Mark the result: With this
new lease of life came a new lease OF
power and prosperity incredible. They
have practically enjoyed their re-
nounced monopoly by preventing every
legislature elected since 1880 from grant
ing additional charters. This has been
accomplished by the unlimited use of
money; by playing upon the opposi-
ton OF good men to the appiica-
ton for such charters, and by
their control, through the ownership of
certain dominant politicians of both
political parties, of nominations to the
legislature. The market value of their
stock has risen from $50 per share in
1869 to 81, 200 per share in 1890, so that
now it is more than double that of the
whole banking capital of the state. They
have built up the original capital which
was never subscribed, and have ac-
cumuated an enormous surplus of un-
known amount. while declaring divi-
dends of so to 100 per cent per annum;
and that, too, out of only one-half of
the net earnings. as the other half be-
longs to the lessees, Howard and Nor
ris. Definite information as TO their list
of stockholders, officers, profits, and
business affairs cannot be obtained, as
they are StudiouSly concealed from the
public. The scheme of their drawings
has increased from monthly capital
prize of $4,000 to monthly capital
prize of 100000, and a semi-annual
prize of 100000. The aggregate of the
schemes of the monthly and seminar
nual drawings is the fabulous sum OF
S2S,000.000 per annum, and the aggre.
100000 more. They receive annually a
million and quarter Of dollars from the
written policies sold on the number oil
The Daily Drawing,
apart from the sale of the regular
printed tickets. They receive annually
about 500, 100000 from the monthly anG
gemi-annual drawings. The schemes o.
the last drawings are so arranged tina
they can sell rs per cent of their tick
cts, pay 10 per cent for selling them
lose all the prizes provided for in the
schemes, pay 100000 for expenses anC
still make S3,000,000 profit per annum
We make no idle assertion when we de
nOunce these schemes as fraudulent
Even from a lottery standpoint this
company offers to distribute less than 5;
per cent in prizes. No authorized lot
terry on earth that we know of, outside
of Mexico. is allowed to distribute les.
than 20 per cent. The chance to win
prize of any sort in one of these draw
ings is about one in thirty, whereas
would be at least one in ten
These were the reasons which in
duced two postmasters general o
the United States to exclude it from tn,
mails as fraudulent lottery. What il
known as the daily drawing takes plac,
every day except Sunday, 3l3 per an
mum. The scheme is based on the ter
nary combination of the natural number
from to rs, and OH some days from t.
IS, giving in the one case 7S,076, and il
the other 67,525 different combination
,lk.N,.f nol,
paid out of all honest proportions to tn
cost of tickets or the chances of win
ming. For instance. for a dollar ticket
the chance of winning prize of SIC i
one in three, winning prize of SIT
one in nineteen, and of winning priz
of SIPS is one in 1887. In addition t,
these printed tickets, policies or bets OF
the number of the daily drawings ar
taken at the