San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-04-06
DEATH BLOW 70 LOTTERY.
Dealt By The New Ding
ley Tariff Bill.
WHICH TAKES IN BOTH FOREIGN
AS WELL AS THE D0MES-
TIC CONCERNS.
1t Is Absolutely PrOhibitive, With
Extremely Severe Penalties For
Violation Of The Law How
Lotteries Were Heretofore
Illegally Conducted.

washington, April u-lu eIe Gan De
little doubt that in brief time such
thing as a lottery will have no exist
ence in the United tates.
The lottery business is one of the in
FAINT industries which is not foStered
and encouraged by the Dingley bill.
1t is not a nascent industry, nor can
adequate protection guarantee that
the entire lottery ticket crop will be
raided in this country if Congress will
only be kind and considerate enough
to place a prohibitive duty on the for
eign article
The lottery business is dead both do
nestle and foreign. Dingley is the
Lord High EXecutioner. Section 10 of
the new tariff bill reads thus:
THAT all persons are prohibited
from importing into the United States
from any foreign country any OBJ
scene book. pamphlet, paper, writing,
advertisement, circular, print, picture,
drawing, or other representation, fig
ure. or image on or of paper or other
-materinl, or any cast, instrument, or
other article of an immoral nature,
or any drug or medicine, or any arti
Gle whatever for the prevention of
conception or for causing unlawful
abortion, or any lottery ticket. or any
advertisement of any lottery"
When the Louisiana State Lottery
company was driven from its south
ern home on December 81, 1893, its
habitat was removed to Puerto CorteZ,
in Spanish Honduras. The terminus
of the business in this country was at
Port Tampa, in Florida, and the Plant
Line of steamers was used in the
transaction of the lottery business.
When yellow fever prevailedin Puerto
COrteZ. on the Honduras side, draw
ingS of the lottery was held on ship
board and the business was transacted
without hindrance. Instructions were
given intending purchasers to send
all orders for tickets to Paul Conrad,
the lottery. president, at Puerto Cor
teZ. via Port Tampa, Fla. At this lat
ter point substantial buildings were
erected to conduct the business of the
company. and no orders for tickets
went beyond Port Tampa. A magni-
ticent printing Office was located there,
and lottery tickets by the hundred
thousands were printed. 1t is true
that General Cabell, of Texas, a dis
tinguished Confederate, and Col. Chas.
7. Villere, brother-in-law of Gen. G.
I. Beauregard, superintendent the
drawings and made monthly trips to
Honduras for this purpose. But the
drawings alone took place in HOndur-
as. All business was transacted on
this side of the Gulf of Mexico. Flor
ida took hand in the lottery struggle
in 1894, and the Louisiana company
took up its baggage and decamped.
There were visions of cells and stripes
if the officials remained and they
wisely stole away. For a while they
lay perdu in Mobile, Ala, and now
there is no place where they can rest
for more than brief time, even with
complaisant police.
Senator HOar, of Massachusetts, en-
deavored to throttle the struggling
lottery industry a few years ago by |
introducing a bill to place a duty on |
lottery tickets in such a prohibitive |
fashion that the business could not |
be conducted at all. But he was met |
with the objection that the imposition |
of a duty on any article involved
recognition of the legality of the bus |
mess taxed and the righteous indigna-
ton of the Massachusetts statesman |
was not appeased by the specific en-
actment of the American Congress.
But Mr.. Dingley has given the coup
de grace. No lottery tickets can be
imported. No agent of the government
can wink at such importations under
penalty of $1,000 fine or ten years
The guessing contest
at one dollar a guess has gone out of
business.
Italy has a national lottery. In
Germany the officials have given sane
ton to several. France has had eX-
perience in the same lnie of business
Spain encourages lotteries; the Ha-
nvana lottery, in Cuba. n Spanish de-
tendency, does a large business in the
United States. In other days George
ran a large lottery and
signed the tickets with his own name. l.