Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-01-03
THE La. 5. l..

Outside Of Louisiana, public opinion
throughout the country is practically
unanimous against granting the official
sanction of the State TO the grand gam
bling concern known as the Louisiana
State Lottery Co. Therefore, 1t is the
practical rather than the moral side of
the question which we are interested in
discussing, and in which the whole
country is concerned. The dominant
party in the State is already divided,
which may mean minority rule In
Louisiana, and possibly a minority
choice Of presidential electors.
In the current Forum Judge Nc
GLoIN, of the Louisiana Court of APP
peals, gives a historical review Of the
growth OF the Lottery Company. 1t
was first chartered in reconstruction
days, the grant being for 25 years from
Jan. 1, 1869. WARMOTH was governor at
the time, aud allowed the charter bill to
become law without signing it. Its
passage through the Legislature was
undoubtedly secured by bribery. The
Supreme Court of the State has pro-
nounced that to have been the fact. A
constitutional convention was held in
Louisiana in 1879, and the Lottery Com
pany pledged itself formally to that
body to renounce its monopoly, and the
convention voted to allow it to hold its
charter until It's expiration on January
l, 1895, after which date it was declared
that all lotteries in Louisiana should be
unlawful.
At the last session of the Legislature
the Company openly threw its pledges
OF 1879 to the winds and went before
that body asking for new charter for
twenty-five years by an amendment to
the constitution. The Legislature,
thoroughly corrupted, adopted this
amendment, and on the question of its
ratification by the people'the present
bitter fight is being made. Judge
SAMUEL. D. MCENERY, one Of the JUS
tees Of the Supreme Court whose de-
cisiou to the effect that the Governor
had no power TO veto the amendment,
and thus sent it to the people for adop-
ton or rejection, has been made the
Lottery candidate for Governor. Against
him are arrayed the Democratic Farm
ers' Union in alliance with the Anti
Lottery League.
1t appears from Judge MCGLoIN'S
article that the strangeSt objection to
the proposed amendment is not so much
that il gives legal countenance to a
lottery, but that it erectS the propri-
etors Of this particular lottery into a
protected monopoly, and one which is
making enormous profits by dishonest
methods. The principle Of State pro-
lection 10 monopolies is wrong, and the
prstice Of fraud clearly ought not to be
chartered.
There arc 70 Louisiana Lottery draw
ings every year, one for each month.
Two out OF the twelve have a capital
prize Of 5000 200 each. For each Of
these two drawing 100000 tickets are
issued ut $40 "a ticket. If all the tickets
are sold it is plain that the company
gathers in Ss,OOO,COO for these two
drawings All the prizes to be won at
these two drawings amount, including
the two 100000 capital prizes, to
8, 100, COO. The margin Of clean profit
10 the company Is manitestly not less
that s., 500, 600 on these two drawings
alone. The total face value of the
tickets issued for all twelve drawings Is
SIS, goo, coo, and the total amount Of the
prizes drawn is slA,767,2 200. The com
pany's gross profits for the year, there
fore, reach the enormous figures of Sl3,-
a32, 500.
OF course al the tickets are not sold,
but this does not change the relative
proportion Of the compGay'S receipts to
its disbursements, because all unSold
tickets are put IN the wheel along with
those sold, and the company retains
whatever woUld have been won
upon them. The company takes
about per cent of the re-