The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-28

misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be
punished by fine of not more than $500
or by imprisonment for not more than six
months, or by both such fine and impris-
onment."
The section of the new order prohibiting
persons from having in their possession
lottery tickets. whether before or after the
drawing of lotteries, is recommended for
amendment as follows:
In his possession any lottery ticket, either be-
fore or after the event of the lottery on which
it depends, or has depended. has taken place;
ticket certificate, paper or instrument repre-
represented or purported to represent any
chance share or interest in or depending upon
the event OF any lottery;, tool, instrument,
used, or that has been used in contriving, SET
ting up, preparing or drawing any lottery or
used or intended to be used, or that has been
used in continuing, preparing, writing, making,
printing, stamping or getting ready for sale or
distribution any lottery ticket or tickets; any
book, paper, instrument OF device relating to
the sale OF lottery tickets or giving informa-
ton of the numbers of tickets in q lottery or of
the distribution OF tickets in a lottery. whether
the event upon which the lottery depends has
or has not taken place.
Any persons violating any of the provisions
of this section shall be guilty of a misde-
meanor and on conviction shall be punished
by fine of not more than $500, or by i'm prison.
ment for not less than six months or by both
such fine and impris onment.
In making their plea to the board the
members of the Civic Federation having
the matter in charge petitioned as follows:
The lottery traffic is an evil of the greatest
magnitude, but 1t has existed for such length
of time and its managers have conducted the
business with such impunity that the people
of San Francisco have come to look upon it as
necessary evil, and the public conscience
has hecOme drilled and insensible to its eQcr.
mites.
The laws as at present framed are made
quate. The advertisements that awaken the
interest of the people are the tales of past
drawings and the names of the lucky indt-
viduals who have leaped from poverty to
wealth in single day. 1t is only aiding and
abetting, future drawings that at present are
unlawful.
The two proposed laws that the Civic Fedora
ton lays before you prohibit the aiding of lot
teries by singing the praises OF past drawings
particularly at the Chinese lotteries, whose
agents cover the City weekly. The letters an
books of these lotteries are unintelligible to
nected meaning and 1t is almost impossible to
prove that given Chinese lottery ticket re-
1ates to q future drawing. The best efforts OF
the police are baified by the legal technIcali-
ties standing in the way of conviction. These
ordinances have the hearty support of Ser
geant Shea, now in charge OF the Chinatown
squad.
1OSb OF the IOttcTy COlu pduleS eAlSt Oh paper
only, and the sale of their lottery tickets is a
most shameless robbery of the poor, who buy
most of the tickets. 1t can almost be said that
the poorer classes OF San Francisco are adj
dicted to the lottery habit; many put away a
dollar or two each month to buy lottery tick
cts till the aggregate sum invested in this Grim
inal traffic amounts to over 800, ZOO each
month, most of which is taken out of San Fran
cisco and lost to the community. The winning
numbers of these lotteries are advertised in the
daily newspapers, and the lottery people are
so prosperous that they pay extremely high
rates for these notices.
The frugal and industrious habits of our peo-
pie are undermined by the presence OF this
evil, their moral ideas are perverted and their
trust in the slow and steady returns of legiti.
mate business is impaired.
The new order as framed will go regu-
larly before the board next Monday after
noon.