Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-19
THE LOTTERY EVIL.
Forces Said to Be Marshaled for an
Attack on Congress.
A GIGANTIC ORGANIZATION.
Money for the Purpose of Buying Legisia-
tion-How the Lottery Runs the State OF
J.ouisianA-Frautic Efforts to Secure Per
petuation of Its Business.
Written for The Evening Star

Written for The Evening Star
THE MOST FoRMIDABLY EQUIPPED
Il lobby that ever assailed Congress is said t.
be preparing to lay siege to the Capitol, backed
by more millions of dollars than can be raised
in support of any other enterprise. A bis
furd viii be spent like water, for ther'
10 no bound 20 the audaeity and activity fol
which the Louisiana Lottery Company ha
made itself famous
TRIED TO BUY CONGRESS.
In fact the boldness of the lottery's methods
has done much to damage its cause. During
the last Congress its officers came to Washing
ton with the avowed intention Of controlling
both Senate and House. So openly die
they haunt heir greenbacks a. to defeat then
own purpose The anti-lotttry law wa,
passed almost without dissenting voice
Any man Who voted against it would have
been at once suspected OF having lottery cur
rency in his pocket Yet it is ordinarily tel
times as easy 20 prevent the passage OF a bill az
II rs to get one through. for the reason thai
there are SO many stumbling blocks which can
be placed in the way. 1t remains to be seen
whether they will succeed any better In their
present effort to secure the rer cal OF the law
Two years ago they tried to get charter for a
term Of years in Dakota. but the braZen way
In which they went about the task of buying up
the new state set public opinion against them
and they failed.
THE Loss OF REVENUE
to the lottery owing to the operation OF the
new Law has been enormous One illustration
of this is afforded by the fact that the COM
pany now will not sell more than ten-twentieths
Of any ticket This reduces all the prizes paid
to exactly One-half Of the sums advertised. For
example, the capital prize Is $500, 900, but what
ever ticket draws it, ten-twentieths of the
amount remains in the hands of the concern.
So 1t Is with all the other premiums The lot
terry Is gambling game which cannot be beaten.
Before the passage of the law 100000 tickets
were printed and put on sale every month vi
this number only about 70, 900 were sold, mostly
in tventieths at II each. OF course the 81. OOO
unsold tickets drew three-tenths of the prizes
offered, on an average, which meant large
saving to the company.
FABULOUS PROFITS IN BrGoSE DAYS.
brief calculation will show how well nigh
fabulous the profits Of the lottery were. Sup
posing that 90 200 tickets were sold at go each,
that would make the gross receipts u, 400, 900
on a single ordinary drawing. out of that sum
the company advertised to disburse $500, 900 in
prizes. thus leaving for itself the modest sum
of 500. 900 for expenses and profits. But. as a
matter OF fact, only seven-tenths OF the prizes
had to be paid out, for the reason above men-
toned, and this meant SlS0, 900 more to be added
to the gains of the enterprise.
THE MONTHLY DRAWING.
Now. there was such drawing every month
for ten months in each year. That signifed
$500. 900 for expenses and profits In each of
the two remaining months yearly there was an
extraordinary drawing. when the prizes were
doubled and 10000 tickets were sold at 40
each ReckOning on the same plan as before,
the gross gains for those two months were
-. ~, 600 Add this to the sum above men
toned and you have the enormous total of
Sl3. 10000 annually to pay the cost of running
the lottery and remunerate its owners No
wonder that they are willing to make a vast
outlay for the purpose Of perpetuating their
business
How THE COMPANY ORIGINATED.
The charter of the Louisiana lottery was OBJ
tanned in 1869 from the legislature of that state.
1t was to run for twenty-five years. the con-
slderation being $4,000 a year. to be paid to
certain charities In its way il is curiosity.
~ whereas, II saws. "many millions OF dollars
have been withdrawn from and lost to this
state by the sale of Havana, Kentucky, Mad
RAJ anI other lottery tickets impoverishing
our own people. it shall be unlawful hereafter
To sell any lottery ticket except such are
hereinafter authorized &c. thus the law was
made TO declare that John A. Morris, Charley
Howard and their associates should for the
period mentioned have an exclusive right to all
the plumber which had previously been dis
tributed elsewhere
BIG OFFERS FOR AN EXTENSION OF CHARTER.
Only tNcNc ulOre remain IOr InlS
charter to run. So prohta BILE has IL been to its
owners that they have offered the state of
Louisiana extravagant brides to extend it for
another twenty-five Years. One proposition
made BY them was to pay of the entire state
cebi. amounting TO Sl2. 900. A paragraph
Low incorporated IN the constitution of the
state provides that there shall be no further
lotteries permitted after January l, 1894. So
the company has made q final offer of -, $780,
OoO annually for twenty five years, in consider
alton of the extension of its privileges for that
period by constitutional amendment, which
will be voted upon by the people next April.
IL Is proposed that this income shall be divided
among various public and charitable enter
Prises-pubic schools, levees, the drainage Of
New Orleans and the hospitals. 1t is bride
extended TO tbs people at large for permitting
the continued existence of the most gigantic
gambling concern on the face of the earth. In
the Ievee parishes, particularly in New Or
leans, the amendment Is likely TO obtain a con-
siderable majority, and it would not be sur
prisin8 II II should carry the state.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE
To understand the tremendous political infu-
snce which the lottery Is able to bring to bear
In behalf Of its proposition one must under
stand that this gambling concern literally runs
The polties OF the clty OF New Orleans, and to
great extent OF the state. Ii has a hundred
local offices in New Orleans which are farmed
on: among the local politicians. They are
mostly located In cigar shops. II any one de-
sires the privilege of selling tickets he does not
60 TO the company, but TO the influential politi.
clan Of the ward. It ia a poor osiiee that does
not sell ut least seventy-tive or a hundred tick
e,s a day, on which tine commission is Is cents
the dollar. by tins ana other means the
lottery holds the town in the hollow OF it, hand.
CONTROLLING STATE POLITICS.
So far IS state politics are concerned the lot
terry is said TO control them in part by keeping
members OF the legislature on its pay roll Ger
tain leg .slators are alleged to be retained in
their places by its money for the purpose OF
serving its interests OF course. they are no,
known as beng in the employ of the enter
prise, but they get their remuneration lust the
came. No checks are sent them, bus conf.
dental agents distribute the funds- Bribery
has cCme TO be considered such q matter OF
course that a while ago, when a statesman ran
Away with the money intrus.ed to him for dis
trIbuiion. instead Of dividing IL among the in.
tended recipients the latter called a committed
meeting to consider what should be done
Tue lottery owns one of the chief newspaper
CO New Orleans aud subsidies some OF the
others. When al anti-lottery organ was started
In that eitv short time ago II could not buJ
printing press there for money II could no,
evea sell its papers on the streets, because the
newsboys were bribed not to vend them. The
news companies would not sell the paper ON the
trains or boats Recently, for the purpose OF
influencing opinion IN the state at large the
lottery bought M newspapers in all direc tons.
Wherever IL could not accomplish that il sent
men to start opposition journals in the same
h.