The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-09-05

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tends to confound moral distinc-
tions. In Spain the unspeakable
cruelties and brutalities of the bull
fights are often used to promote
some laudable charity, but this does
not make the brutality of the bull ring
any less degrading or demoralizing
Tin the eyes of right minded men
and women) and no gliding of lot
teries and gambling dens with pre-
tence of pious or landable purposes
will make them better in the eyes of
those who care for the virtue of the
community or the safety of growing
families.
But some one may ask, sincerely:
lis not my property my own? May
| not do what | choose with my
own? If and my neighbors choose
to risk portion, or even all of our
property, in the hope of little or
great gain, have we not right to do
so2 We do it.of our own accord,
who has right to stop u.s." The
answer to these questions is simple.
First, your property is not fully
your own, but, in reality temporary
trust from your Maker, which you
are morally bound to use for the
best ends; and for every cent of
which you will be required to give
account Your family, your friends,
your community, your nation, hui
manity in general, have helped you
in acquiring your property and have
certain just claims upon it. You
have no right to risk a cent of it in
a gambling way, for, if you gain, you
give no just equivalent for your gain
to those who lose, If you lose, you
obtain no equivalent for your family,
or whoever else has rights in that
property. Besides, by SO doing, you
set an example which is injurious to
every member of the community in
which you live, and especially dan
gerous to the young.
We are, as all are aware, in cir
cumstances of financial depression
in this little kingdom of Hawaii-nei
and now there come to us body of
men asking our government to let
them set up a legalized lottery in
our land, with an exclusive privilege
for that kind of transaction for %
years, and the guarantee of the I'M
obstructed use of our mails for their
purposes. In return for these priv
leges, they propose to give our gov
eminent an annual bride of S;500,000
to be used for its various needs.
If they should be able to pay this
enormous bride annually, whence
would come these gains, for which
they make no return whatever?
If these gains come from the
pockets of our own people, they GER
tainly do not help us by impover-
ishing the masses, while forming in
them the habit of gambling with its
attendant vices.
If the larger proportion of the
money is to be obtained by fleeing
other nations, how is this to be
done? The United States has
strictly prohibited to lotteries the
use Of its mails, and there is no prob
ability that it would allow its little
neighbor in the Pacific to abuse its
hospitality by doing what it has pro
hibited to its own citizens, either by
mail or cable.
The true nature of lotteries, theil
methods of working and their in
evitable moral and material results
are best shown by their history.
In Spain the Governm ent itsel
carries on great lottery, prohibit
ing all others. 1t sells its lotter,
tickets, or policy slips, by thousand
of agents in every city, town, villag'
and hamlet in the land. Every nov
, and then the papers are filled will
the accounts of some poor mechanic
some widow, some young girl, O.
! poor farmer, who has drawn a priz,
f of a thousand, or possibly ten thou
5 sand dollars. The result is that the
; whole population, especially tn,
, poor and laboring people, are filleC
with feverish desire to get sud
: denly rich without having to worl
| for it. In this vain hope hundred.
of thousands, probably millions, o
, people spend their hard-earnec
, wages buying lottery tickets. Man,
, reduce themselves to absolute pov
erty and others keep themselves al
, ways poor. Young and old learn t.
hate work, to become discontinued
| idle and vicious. Those that draw
small prizes soon spend them, anC
r the very few that draw large ones dc
not usually take long to squande
, them. Quick and ill-gotten gains ar,