St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1890-04-12
.... Communicated ]
The Lottery Question.


ness published IN last weeks ST. Ian
DRY DEMOCRAT a letter in advocacy OF
the Louisiana Lottery Company, which
the Times Democrat deemed Of sufficient
point and Importance to reprouuce III
It's issue of the 9Th inst That writer,
i'll order to certify his honesty OF pur-
pose and to lend additional weight to
his utterances, assumed u nom dc plume
far removed fiOm the vocabulary OF Lie
politician, and gave the publlc many
personal details about hlmseif calcu-
lated, he thinks, to induce the public To
accept his statements as coming from
one Ut the "many good men III THIS sec
tlon of Louisiana whose sound business
heads remain Oh their sbuulders.'
He says: Il am not an uthce-hoiGef
nor Il politician nor (: saint. l am Sill
ply and only IA square man OF business
vino, 10y tending to ills aiIalis ana let
Iiug other peoples alone, has made
enough to pay his honest debts and TO
provesa Il factor of some slight moment
IN upbullding southwestern Louis,
lana"
There is no sentiment about me and
men OF my way OF thinking. Ihree-
tur-a dime rural Statesmen may mount
the platform aud hoIoa ANTI Lottery
until the crack of doom. but this mouth
httS iOt lul SofSihHAb
Only one thing is lacking to make this
writer's description of himself coni-
plete, and that Is his identity, has name,
A newspaper writer that throws Ills per
sunul character aud motives into the
scale with his argument ought not TO
disguise himself, especially when 1t
plainly appears, as III tins case, that ne
is by no means deferred from disclosing
it by considerations Of modesty. Had
ie signed his name 60 his communica-
tlon the public could at once nave
Judged for itself whether he wrote from
The standpoint OF "a square business
man." Or whether from that OF a lottery
partisan. The opponents OF the lottery
scheme iu this community. to whom lie
makes more than one cOutemptuous al
fusion, would then also not have been
placed at the disadvantage OF being
compelled to fire into the bush to repei
this anbuscaued attack.
| But briefly TO notice the points at
tempted to be made Is the present pnr-
pose.
Firstly, the remarkable statement that
George w ashingtou and Thomas JelicF-
euu "were the fathers Of lotteries"
statement that fifty illustrates the pow
erty of argument of the LOTTERY adEo-
cate. Tie Inference sought to be pro-
duced Is that these great iiistoficai Guar
| s.cters, If heie to-day present among TIE
IlviDs, would sauut.un the ludt hhlte
ptrpetualiuu of IA gamhllbs Institution
hIch has acquired sufficient lhhaeuce
| and DuNtrtO silence To IL great extent
,ne voice of the press OF the State, aud
| which is not only Il wide reaching ana
| all peEvadlng source Of corruption OF
| the peupie, but which is at the same
/ time q standing menace TO the Integrity
| ana Independence of the State govern
! uent.
| shades OF the immortal Washington
and Jefferson, what !. Suggestion.
| But ut the same time should the lot
| terry company succeed in Inducing the
| Legislature and people OF Louisiana to
/ accept a bllbe OF an ANNUAL subsidy To
| the public school fund ot the State
what very appropriate thing It would
| be for the pubilc school teachers OF the
State, who would draw their salaries
from the boVnty Of the. lottery company
10 teach our children to look upon
| Washington, not as ''The Father OF his
| Country" but as the father Of lottery
companies! am,
occuuuiy, this writer asserts: "lhe
| French government often establishes a
lottery to make up d deficit between the
receipts ana expenditures OF the rtpuo-
llc. y Tney have pruspeled mule
III the last twenty years than any other
uatlon in Europe"
The statement has recently been pub
Iished in city paper OF vide cllcnia-
lion and not denied, as tar as the pre-
sent writer knows, that The FIencil gov
ernment has prohibited all lotteries,
| baslng its action upon Tue demoiaiisihg
effect of such u system OF gamb bling
r fltsAr "A lao
,siative COMMITTEES reported that 1t
suread among ali classes a gambling
| snlrit destructive OF economy and or
derIy habits, upon the maintenance OF
which organized society IN great mea-
snre rests. The Government felt COM
peHed to abolish this system OF gam
/ DING in order To bring tia, people back
to legitimate pursuits and habits. HIS
/ tory teaches ns that the republican con-
yentlon of France, body that denied
the existence of God and abolished the
sabbath, denounced the lottery as an
invention of tyrants. Here II may oe
a,iuea, the cummon people OF England
suffered untold mlseries ana poverty
from the universal habit OF lottery gam
bling until parliament by lew prohibited
them throughout the kingdom.
Thirdly, the lottery advocate says
I
me.h There is, indeed, no sentiment
about the lottery company. Its methods
and it's aim are strictly practical. Ihe
sole purpuse of its existence Is to coin
money out of the gambling instincts OF
4 the peol4e. If it offers money to the
chul ches; if 1t gives money to the over
tflowed districts, the motive is not plety
Ior charity, but, as this writer boldly ad-
mits, 1T Is to place the people Of this State
nnder obliqotlons to it, Untier obliga-
Mons to 40 wnat9 10 ertend the lottery
/ charter. 1t money can thus buy un-
limited licence to speculate upon the
follies and vices of the people; il mo-
ney can 80 corrupt the public and prl-
yate conscience and hush the voice of
the press, then woe be to the State OF
louisiana When that evil day comes
sentiment will, indeed, be dead I'D the
hearts of the people. The moral sentl,
ment of the people is justly regarded
by the lottery company us it's deadliest
foe, which, where it cannot brlbe, 1t
will fight with lidicule and with such
feeble sOpliistry as that nut forth by the
writer in question. He has no sentiment.
I What confession to fall from the lips
of one who assays to be teacher, a
leader of the people! Il it possible
there is one in our midst who asplres TO
teach the public and who is not only de-
1 void Of moral sentiment, but SO intel
tlectuallys0btuse as to publicly avow it
What work or device or ambition ia
worthy Of human effort and sacrifice,
Iunless it be prompted or IN some way
Eaffected by the sentimental side OF our
!, natnre9 What is beautiful or good 10
1.-THE lives OF men or women except the
Isentiment at<the bottom of their acts
and acbjevementss There is vital