The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-05-27

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1@'ll GA wings. Ard 50 a policy attach
fneht very like the free nela~ zrrex 70
'sis race Track scheme in Wexteh@<tsr
eo3hfy. New York, was adopted. That
Vas MOTHS and Howard's private Prop
eFty- f paid all the expenses OF the
.a1alaay pottery scheme. and left hand
ND1AS marin OF profit, for Nex Orleans
aft1 Louisiana became iottery-Tad. and
Heh' women and children paid their pen
MES 70 help oil the pockets OF John A.
elofris As th4s petty annex paid all the
shis OF the big concern. Morris ard How
ara got not only the dividend on the
stock they held. on which dividends srere
paid. but presumably the entire half Of
the profits which were set aside for them
nefors tae shareholders came in aud ali
the money which vas charged 70 what was
unauesSioHably the most liberal expense
account mat was ever charged up on the
books OF chartered corporation
monthly drawing ten months in the
year, with capital prize OF 800 GO. and a
capital prize OF $1,000 for the other two
months A total Of 10000 tickets fss,od
each month at SO q ticket. save on the
two months when the capital LIE was
doubled. when the tickets were made So
each. These tickets were sub-dlvides into
t"entleths. 80 that the poorest couia -
drawn into the game The very poor were
10 os especially catered to- for IL v as from
THESE patrons of pawnshops and frequent
ers or charity organizations all over the
country that John Morris drew his mill
ions IL each ticket was sold In all its
portions the lottery would receive s2w9eoJ
IN cash ten months In the year. and s4aoo.-
go on each OF the other two months. As
Stunning a fair drawing and a fair d,stribu-
ton or the prizes advertised 10 be drawn.
the concern would pay out 50 per cent. OF
Its receipts. or s1.054so every ten months.
ana y, 30 the other two months. Total
receipts, 1896. go. total payments. si4..s4.-
40; total profits, sl3 Do, 600 That would
look like a fair enough return for an orig
maj investment or sieo, 0oD by John dor
ris. under the terms OF the peculiar con-
tract he held. But all the tickets were
not sold In any one month-rarely IL ever
So there was little joker devised which
was sure TO keep the ratio OF profits up 10
the standard OF 4s per cent of profit III.
the face OF the scheme. Such tickets sor
portions or tickets as We're not sold were
held by Morris & Howard as their share
Of the possibility Of the prize drawings.
Hundreds, and probably thousands. OF the
prize-winning tickets were held In whole
or IN part by Morris a. Howard as Compel
ftors against the poor devils who had
bought the gayly covered bits OF paper
at 81 or s. the bit. according 10 the value
OF the capital prize. All this was clear
gain TO Morris. There is believed to be no
being paid TO any person or set Of persons
Here and there all over the country per
Sons we're 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 I'm the press of
the country and play on the cupidity OF
the masses OF the country through the
mails. Morris wanted at least a part of
the capital prize drawn. II was the best
possible advertisement for his swndle
So there was no necessity for fraud in the
drawing. An honest drawing better served
his purpose. Even the sending of the en-
tire capital prize to some one person
would pay ultimately. II is stated as a
fact, however. that the Morris gang al
ways had string tied TO the capital and
most OF the other prizes In the unsold
fractions OF tickets. and that no ticket
was sold In its entirety if il could be help
ed during the existence OF the lottery
This can the more readily be believed
when the scheme involved the sale of
100000 tickets instead of 10000. as each
of the latter was cut into twenty parts
The reason was that If a gambler was GO
ing 10 invest $50 In lottery tickets he would
rather have twenty chances 10 draw a
part of the capital prize than one chance
in 10000 10 draw the whole of II. The re-
suit was that Morris had a certain chance
of keeping for his own pocket a portion OF
every prize, large or small. and that was
the plan that was pursued with success
and 10 certain profit.
For this source OF phenomenal money!
getting without entaiiing a single cent OF
risk, Morris paid 10 Louisiana the beg
garry sum OF $4,000 a year. not a 1.-THE
OF the sum the people OF this city, with
it's annual list OF thousands OF delinquent
taNpayers-all OF whom bought lottery
tickets-paid into John 4. Morris pockets.
II appears from one OF the many suits
brought against Morris that 81 100. 900 was
divided among the stockholders I'm 1850 as
their half of the profits This after Nor
ris had taken his 20 per cent. commits
sons TO ticket agents had been paid. and
contributions made to the campaign funds
OF all political parties. shareholders
taxed enormous sums for salaries, the
bribery fund fattened the national. state,
county and city officials paid their month
~ allowances, advertising bills paid. ard
the newspaper proprietors. editors and
reporters that were allowed 10 feed at the
lottery crib had all got their III. There
was a confessed profit of &Aa.9D In that
one year and one familiar with lottery
affairs asserts that the unconfessed profit
was fully as much more. including. OF
course. the undivided share OF the prize
drawing tickets that were held In the
treasury ~ John A. Morris. assignee of
the Louisiana Lottery Company and
owner OF It's charter.
The employment OF Gen. Beauregard
and Gen Early 20 supervise the drawings
was a clever scheme. II was proposed 70
hire a Northern general 20 serve with
Gen. Beauregard huts though many of
the Union leaders were living IN poverty
not one would prostitute himself 20 the
lottery.
The worst blow the lottery ever received
nrjor 20 that which wiped & out Of exist
en~e IN splte Of It's profIered annual
brFbe 10 the state Of $4,000. vas when
Postmaster General wanamaker prohio-
TED n from circulating us printed matter
through the mails This was Il terrific
blnv 10 the local postoflice as well. FOR IN
fhe last year that business was trans
acted through the mail the lottery COM
Many received nearly 100000 in postal
ro,ss money orders and registered let
fars In the last congress law was
,,assed cutting on the mail 20 Port
Tampa. Fla. and some of the express
,,or,f,anEes have ceased 20 10 business for
~ honduras concern. However. the law
forhlfdiug the circulation through the
nails of newspapers containing lottery
sSvartisements is nov dead letter, as
NAV be sen by looking over the columns
- fhe san Francisco papers
~ me Honduras lottery Morris was
.he sole proprietor lie leaves a son and