New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-05
SCENE FROM THE LAST CHAPTER" GARDEN THEATRE

are not confirming and leave them considerable
time for other work When one remembers that
OF the professional men in Germany very few, II
any. self-suppOrting until they are thirty
years Old and only a small number are able 10
marry until within a few years Of forty, II is not
surprising that a situation offering a settled
though small income should be found so at
tractive. Lottery agencies may not be managed
by business firms or women.
A sign to designate the branch office is fur
nished by the Government. beside which an
other may be affixed bearing the royal eagle
but no other decoration or lettering which could
act as an advertisement or inducement to play.
Tickets may be offered for sale three times pub
llcly in the local newspapers before the lottery
takes place. available lots may be advertised
once before the drawing but it is strictly Tor
hidden to publish the numbers which have won
prizes The lottery management refrains from
making propaganda for its cause. but the ms
and outs Of the concern are so we'll known to the
average German man and woman that there Is
hardly more need to advertise the State Lottery
than to placard the fact that there is a State
telegraph or railway.
One difference between the lottery and these
other institutions is that the lower classes of
Germany. who make such constant Of the
railroad with its fourth-cass carriages, take a
comparatively small part in the lottery. 1t is
reckoned that only . per cent Of those who buy
lots are not people of means. This fact furnishes
an argument to those who support the system.
These say that people who are already well-to-do
will not easily be tempted to add to their fort
unes by this means. which some consider illegiu-
mate. These same champions Of the lottery also
maintain that limiting the number Of lotteries
to two in the year, and allowing six months to
intervene, must prevent or ut least do little to
encourage passion for gambling. The first ar
gument is distinctly not so sef-evident as these
lcgcians would assert. and as to the second
they apparently forget that not only Holland
and Denmark and Austria their neighbors. but
the near home provinces Of Brunswick. Saxony
Hamburg and others offer ample opportunity to
those who care to spend their money in this
way.
The lottery is one of the most popular institu-
tions in Germany, but it does not follow that
there are not many thoughtful and influential
people who seriously dsapprove of this means
of raising revenue for the State. even though it
is indirectly returned to the people in the form
of better railway stations and new postolices
Meanwhile the Government pockets its yearly
income from this source of over 100000 marks,
and will probably continue to do SO for many
years.
Whether the passion for gambling is developed
among the German people or not is hard to de-
termine The following incident will help to de-
eide with regard to a certain class: Der Klub
der Harmlosen." the Club Of the Harmless Ones
or InnOccnts, is a club composed OF the members
of the highest nobility. the army and rich bour-
geoisie. 1t meets in palace of it's own to dis
no amos Of he dn nd hn
OF the future. 1t was supposed that this was all
it met to do, but rumor has been spread abroad
during the last few weeks that this Is not the
sole aim Of the society. but that whole families
OF the German arstocracy have been ruined by
one evenings Harmless play in this casino
and the Emperor. as Father Of his People, and
especially OF the Army, has deputed high gen.
eral to investigate matters.