The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-02-14
LOUISIANA LOTTERY
A Little History of the Great
Southern Gambling Concern.
Florida Should Consider Before Giving
the Disgraceful Swindle a Foot
Enthusiastically Managers.

New Orleans Letter In New York Times.
AS soon as the charter of the lottery was
obtained, Norris began scheming to get
possession of the lions share of it, and this
he did speedily. Less than two weeks after
the scheme was bought through the Legis-
lature the charter was assigned, with all
its rights and privileges, to John A. Morris.
u. Z. simmons and c. H. Murray. Later
Howard, in accordance with a. previous I'M
derstanding, was given a fifth interest in
the concern, and the curse TO the city and
State was launched as the property of How
ard, Simmons & Co. When it began TO pour
a stream of gold into the pockets of its
owners, Morris in some way "froze OUT all
his partners except Howard. The story of
how he did it is buried in the grave OF
Charles T.. Howard and in the bosom of
John A. Morris.
Morris is opposed to have obtained pos
session of more than one-half of the stock
of the concern before, in 1871, it had become
a mine richer than Golconda, a fountain of
wealth to which that of Monte Cristo was
but a mere bagatelle. Since then he has ac-
quired all that he could buy at any price,
and its shares were more valuable at one
time than those of any other concern in
America. The stock of the Chemical Bank
in New York City is alone in having been
quoted as high, possibly higher, in the mar
I ket. The ruling price here for years was
81, 100 a share for one-hundred-doll shares,
and none was to be had at that figure, so
that the quotation was merely nominal. AS
the concern has paid as high as 10 per cent.
in dividends annually, and has averaged so
per cent. during the twenty-four years of
its existence, the quotation was even below
It's actual worth.
Ip,% 4 -nn $3.50 oO-& --o-rI ~-o~o
resent the actual yearly dividends to John
A. Morris and to Howard while he lived.
Their profits under the arrangement by
which they secured the assignment of the
lottery to themselves from a concern in
which they were the principal owners was
favorable beyond the dreams of avarice.
c. T. Howard & Co. became sole owners,
with Howard as the managing partner
of John A. Morris. who still wore the mask
OF responsibility and kept under cover. But
over the building where the concern was
situated he flew to the breeze his blood-red
"barbarity colors"-those which are now
his racing colors, emblaZoned on them his
and every man has his price" That has
been the motto of the Norris crest, is now
and always will be. judging from the re-
son, Alfred Hennen Morris, in New York
State, Financially, it has been a good creed,
servatively estimated at $25, O00,O 900, and
which some say may be fully double that
The way in which Morris froze his fell
low gamblers out of the Louisiana lottery
gave rise to the institution of a considera-
| Die number of suits against him in his cor
porate name. To stave them off he had re-
| course to the golden flood that poured into
the lottery Golfers. Litigants were bought
OF Just as adverse legislation was crushed,
one conversant with the affairs of the con-
cern asserting that over $500, coo was paid
- members of the LEGISLATURE for bribes TO
4 XIII such legislation What HtiOantS uyara
million.
nority stockholders to run the concern for
one-half the profits and divide the other
half between the shareholders. after all the
running expenses were paid and a snug
sum SET aside ea2h year as a reserve or
fund for corruption purposes. This latter
so 1t is said, though this has never been
certainly known. Morris demanded from
ms stockholders absolute freedom from in
Vestigation of any kind into the affairs of
the concern, and each signed a release to
that effect. when he drew hfs dividends.
a policy Hesty a t4slS1g wtth v aaily IEs ing and and
field annex to his race-track scheme in
s Me5aeeesf Tbis c %as Morris New .r3 York Es was was
If the monthly lottery scheme, and left a
leans and Louisiana became iottervImad
and men, women and children paid their
nennies to help fill the pockets OF John A.
no lilo BGNlS Ilft DdlU all the
bills for the big concern. Morris and How
ara got not only the dividends on the stock
but presumably the entire half of the
profits which were set aside for them be-
fore the shareholders came in. and all the
money which was charged to what was
unquestionably the most liberal expense ac-
count that was ever charged up on the
DOCKS ak OF a Chartered corporation.
ThiS was the scheme which was run while
tue lottery was in existence here. and
which will be in existence in Florida and
devil fish may find q holding place for its
:arIreaching and everlastingly clinging ten
y monthly drawing ten months in the
year, with a capital prize OF $500. 600. and a
capital prize of $4,000 0 for the other two
months. A total of 100. 900 tickets issued
two months when the capital prize was
doubled. when the tickets were made $40
each. These tickets were subjivided into
twentieths. so that the poorest could be
drawn into the game. The very poor were
specially to be catered to, and it is from
these patrons of pawnshops and frequent
rs OF charity organizations all over the
country that John A. Morris has drawn his
millions.
ENORMOUS PROFITS
IL each ticket was sold in all it's portions
The lottery would receive $2,OO0,O 900 in cash
ten months in the year, and $4,000. 600 on
each of the other two months. Assuming
a fair drawing and a fair distribution of the
IL awe hSCN W ~ uidNH, the concern
would pay out 80 per cent. of its receipts.
or 81, 054, 600, every ten montss, and 81. 100. 200
the other two months. Total receipts, $28.-
OO,GO0; total payments, $14, ga, 900: total prof
its, $13, 235, 600. That would look like a. fair
enough return for an original investment
Of $1,000 100 by John A. Morris, under the
terms of the peculiar contract he held.
But all the tickets were not sold in any
one month-rarely, if ever.
So there was a little joker devised which
was sure TO keep the ratio of profits UP tc
the standard OF 4S per cent. of profit on the
face of the scheme. Such tickets or por-
tons of tickets as were rot sold were held
by Norris & Howard as their share of the
possibility of the prize drawings. Hun.
dreds and probably thousands of the prize
winning tickets were held in whole or In
part by Morris & Howard as competitors
against the poor devils who had bought the
gayly colored bits of paper at 81 or 81 the
bit, according to the value of the capita
prize. All this was clear gain to Morris.
There is believed to be no record of the
whole of any capital prize being paid 70
any person or set of persons since the lot
terry was inaugurated twenty-four years
ago. Here and there all over the country
persons were known to have drawn TWEEN
tieths, or, occasionally, tenths of the prize,
and whenever the holders of such tickets
could be found, Morris had the fact adver-
tised as widely as possible, so long as he
was permitted to advertise in the press OF