Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-16

THO THAT FORM OF GAMBLING WHICH
L IL called the '1ottery" there are no people
more generally and enthusiastically addicted
than the Chinese, as STAR reporter discovered
during some recent Investigations. 1t is car
ried on as business by sports" from the
howery kingdom in every large city in this
country, its directors organized - "com-
panies," Of which there are at present i've in
New York, four in Philadelphia and many
more in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and
other towns. These speculative concerns have
such pleasing names as Fortunate Increase"
Heavenly Harmony" and Encouraging
Fountain"
The lottery il named pax kop piu." which
signifies white pigeon ticket" In China,
where games Of this description are illegal
they are frequently carried on among the hills
near the cities and pigeons are used to convey
the tickets and winning numbers between the
ofhces and their patrons. In America the offices
OF the pax kop piu are always located in an
upper ROOM suggesting the survival of the use
OF the loft from whence the winged messengers
were formerly dispatched, but no such precau-
uon Is necessary. the mails carrying the tickets
ana runners daily traversing the cities from
Laundry to laundry soliciting custom. A por-
uon OF the room occupied by the lottery COM
q
which the business is conducted. Customers
are not permitted to enter this Enclosure. al
though everything that goes on inside is open
fence.
DRAWINGS EVERY NIGHT.
drawings take place every night. Between
9and 10 r. m. the Office is open for the dstribu-
ton OF tickets. which the manager of the COM
pany sells to such customers as come in and
hands over to the runners in exchange for the
money entrusted to the latter by other patrons.
ihe tickets are imported for this purpose
from China in large quantities; they are
pieces OF paper five inches square, and on each
are printed with a wooden block the first eighty
characters OF famous poem known as the
thousand Character Classic"--a work con-
tanning precisely one thousand characters, andso
"eii-known among the pig tailed people of the
orient that these characters are very commonly
USED In place Of the numbers from one to one
thousand. On the tickets, therefore, they
serve the same purpose as numbers from one
to eighty.
Each purchaser marks on one of these
tickets as many characters as he chooses up to
ten. paying 10 cents apiece for those he desig-
mates In this way. According to the rules he
loses his entire stake unless as many as five of
the numbers thus selected come out in the
drawing as winners. If five do so come
out he gets 80 for every 81 he has put in; if six
appear he receives $40 for 81; if seven, 5000 for
81; II eight, $1,000 for 81; if nine, $500
for 81; If ten, $4,000 for 81 In these
enormous possibilities of gain lies the great
seduction of this sort of gambling By
ouylng more than ten numbers The chance of
sec q ing winners is correspondingly increased,
anu the lottery companies will usually sell up
10 twenty at rates proportionately advanced.
The method of calculating the probabilities in
this game is given in detail by a book entitled
"A Quick Way to Get Rich" which is sold in
oil. Il. l..
his assistant are dignifed with the title OF sSin
Shang, literally, first born" which is equiv
alent to Mr.. and is about the only title Of re-
spect employed among the laboring Chinese in
this country.
HOW THE DRAWINGS ARE CONDUCTED
The selling Of tickets lasts for an hour, after
which the drawing Immediately takes place.
Eighty pieces of white paper have been pro-
vIded. upon which have been written or printed
the same eighty characters referred to, one ON
each The manager carefully rolls these eighty
pieces into as many pellets SO that thew can
not be distinguished one from another, and
mikes them thoroughly in big tin PAN
he then counts twenty of them carefully
into white china bowl marked zone
twenty moro into a second bowl marked two"
twenty more into third bowl marked three"
and the remaining twenty into a fourth bowl
marked -four All his proceedings are
carefully watched by the PLAYERS present. SO
that there is scarcely a possibility of cheat
ing. Finally. one of the players is asked
to select one of the bowls. which he does.
and the numbers it contains are the win,
ners These the manager carefully un-
rolls, one at time, and at once pastes them on
a board in full view. A number of the tickets
are next taken and the winning characters
marked upon them with red ink. The runners
carry these without delay to the Chinese shops
and restaurants, where they ere prominently
displayed in order that customers NAV learn
how they have Jared in their latest
bout with the tickle goddess. Five per cent
is deducted by the company from all sums paid
out as its commission. Runners receive from
persons for whom they purchase tickets Sll5
for every 81 worth of tickets bought and thus
they are paid. Shops often act as agents for
the lottery, and they get 10 per cent on all
made through their hands All win
nings must be paid on the day following the
drawing. and failure to iquidate thus promptly
''busts" the institution. Lotteries are not in
frequently compelled by repeated losses to sus-
pend business.
TEE MAGIC POEM.
The first eighty characters of the celebrated
poem printed on the tickets reads as follows:
Heaven and earth. black and yellow;