The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-03
LOTTERIES ARE SCARCE
Some Beneficial Results or
"The Calls Crusade
Against the Fakes.
COUNTERFEITs ARE PLENTIFUL.
the Peddlers Out of the Illicit
Business.

Since Chief of Police Crowley's new Or
der granting three days leave-of-absence
to all officers who secure the conviction of
lottery ticket peddlers and dealers went
into effect the number of arrests have been
considerable. And in almost every case
the arrest has been followed by convic-
ton and fine.
The result is that to-day lottery tickets
are not sold openly. Detective Wright,
whose effective work on the lottery detail
has been the means of driving such swim
dlers as Fox IL Co. and several others out
of the City entirely, said yesterday that
since THE CALL began its anti-lottery cru
SADIE the traffic had decreased gradually
until now there are not 40per cent as many
tickets sold in this City as there was year
ago.
eff the newspapers would only stop adj
vertising the lottery frauds" said Chief
Crowley, 1--WE could eventually, believe,
almost rid the City entirely OF the banefuI
traffic. But so long as people read in their
daily paper the accounts of drawings and
alleged prize winnings, so long Will there
be some people foolish enough to throw
away their money in that manner. And,
OF course. as long as there is demand Tor
lottery tickets there will always be found
some way in which to obtain them-though
detection will come sooner or later, and
some new method be invoked.
However, we are worrying the lottery
dealers and peddlers good deal and the
traffic is more than one-half reduced. The
CALLS influence has been felt in reducing
the demand for them great deal. Its
exposure of the fake companies and fraud
ulent prize winnings and the counterfeit
tickets has had the effect of opening the
eyes OF great many people to the folly OF
throwing their money away in such silly
manner. Aside from this THE CALL has
aroused considerable public sentiment
against the evil business, and | now find
that many people who hitherto looked
upon it almost as an honest calling now
have a consciousness that to handle lottery
tickets in any way is not only dishonest
but belittling and disreputable.
There are still good many rogues who
are willing to handle anything that will
that the officers, spurned little more to
their duty, perhaps, by the promised vaca-
ton, are now bringing in"
1t is indeed fact that lottery tickets can
no longer be purchased in San Francisco
as openly as opera tickets. There Is great
danger attending the traffic at present, and
now the sales are made in dark alleys or
out-of-the-way places where the seller and
buyer are both assured that there is no
witness to the transaction.
There are still few women who peddle
tickets in the Mission and in the Western
Addition. but they conduct their business
very secretly and carefully. The police
have strict orders to arrest every lottery
peddler, regardless of sex, and they are fol-
lowing out this order to the letter.
The Honduras lottery fake has decided
to send no more high-priced tickets to San
Francisco. A great many of them have
been seized by the police, and this makes
not little loss to the company. Other
lottery companies are also getting wary of
San Francisco, and about the only tickets
which are now circulating here to any ex-
tent are the counterfeit tickets. The own
ers of these have nothing to lose by police
seizures beyond the cost of printing, and
this is SO trivial compared to the handsome
profit of selling worthless bit of paper for
from % cents to S. that the counterfeit lot
terry ticket business may be said to be in a
fourishing condition in this City.
1t is almost impossible for the police to
eradicate this counterfeit ticket traffic for
the reason that no capital is required to
conduct it, and the plates from which the
tickets are printed each month are so
cheaply engraved that they are destroyed
after every issue is run off. Indeed, the
man who buys lottery ticket to-day is
tenderfoot of the worst kind, and could
get more satisfaction for his money by
casting it in the bay and watching the coin
sink to the bottom.