Evening star., 1901-07-19
TIPS FROM HEADQUARTERS
MANY REQUESTS FOR TREASURY
ESTIMATES.
People Want to Know Probable Re-
ceipts July 29-Varietfes of
Guessing Contests.

I'VE have received a new proposal for
increasing the revenues of the govern
ment," said Charles H. Miller. the acting
chief of the warrants division of the treas
ury, the other day to Secretary Gage. as he
passed in letter well covered with mathe-
matical computations. And this was only
one of a great many such epistles. Secre-
tary Gage found the letter to be from a
man who desires to win the bull ls-eye
prize by guessing the exact amount of
the receipts of the government on the 10Th
of July. A number Of newspapers are
evading the law in regard to lotteries by
offering prizes upon what purports to be
a question of judgment in the shape of an
estimate of the receipts OF the treasury
upon a certain day. 1t is the Gust ON in
such enterprises to offer very large prize
for guess exactly correct, since no man
can do that, going, as the figures do, into
cents. In the particular case in point the
newspaper offers $4,000 to the person who
can hit the bulls s-eye" The next largest
prize is $500 to che person who makes the
nearest guess.
Wanted a Sure Thing.
cow this man whose letter was brought
to the attention of the Secretary was not
content with the nearest prize; in fact,
he said the scheme was getting a great
deal of money out of the poor people in
his neighborhood. and was generally to be
reprobated. The bull's-eye prize he thought
worth having. He proposed to get it in a
perfectly honorable way" He would make
200 guesses at figures ranging from 81 70O,-
600 to 81, O0OOO, for the Monday upon which
the 10Th falls is usually a big day for re-
ceipts, at intervals Of 5000 apart. He
would thus surely have a guess within
1880 of the bulrs-eye. All he wanted of
the official of the treasury whom he ad-
dressed was to enter into an arrangement
by which the apparent receipts for that
day would be telegraphed him just in time
to buy enough stamps. internal revenue or
postage, to bring the sum to the exact fig
of of his guesses.
OF course, this scheme could not be made
to work, even if the Treasury Department
went in for such things, but the earnest
ness with which it was outlined. and the
graduated schedule of rewards which the
writer offered to his informant, made the
proposal of interest. Most Of the letters
which these lottery schemes stimulate ask
the Secretary, 'as personal favor" for an
inside estimate cf receipts The writer's
often say that they have had a dispute
with somebody as to the income of the
government and desire to have it settled by
having the Secretary of the Treasury tell
them what would be the probable income
on, say July %, for example. OF course
the treasury officials realize what all these
feelerS mean.
Tips Regarding New Cabinet.
one pecullarlty OF all guessing contests,
the correct answers to which depend upon
human action. is the number and variety
of the attempts on the part of the public
to get "a tip from headquarters In the
winter preceding each inauguration of
new President a great many country news
papers invite guesses on the new Presi
dents cabinet. Sometimes they print in
coupon form eight spaces in which are to
be entered the names of the states from
which the several cabinet members are to
be chosen, something like this: State, Ohio;
Treasury, Illinois; War New York; Attor-
ney General, Pennsylvania; Navy, Massa-
chusetts; Interior. Missouri; Postmaster
General, Pennsylvania; Agriculture, Iowa.
But in whatever form these guesses are in
vited, and for whatever the prize, the first
thought that occurs to many of the con-
testants is to write to the one man who
presumably knows the correct answer-the
President-elect of the United States Many
of these appeals are pathetically amusing
The writer says he has never had a prize
of any sort in his life; has always had to
work hard for every dollar he has ever
had; has voted the ticket of the President
elect with unfailing regularity-even made
bet upon the success Of the candidate at
the recent election. 1t is always very en-
barrassing to have to tell these earnest
seekers for unearned honOrs that 1t is i'm
possible to crafty their wishes