The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-17
An Instance of n Housewife Using Up
All Her Husbands Savings I'm
Buying Lottery Tickets.
SOME LUCKY PRIZE WINNERS
IN INDIANAPOLIS ONE OR TWO HAVE
BEEN FORTUNATE.
Method of Collecting Money When a
Prize Is Won in a Lottery Draw
ing-Interesting Facts.


hold over in West Indianapolis last week.
workingman, who has for many years
been employed in a large factory where
spokes for wagon wheels are manufactured,
made a discovery that almost fioored him
with amazement. His better half, the wife
of his bosom-the one person in the whole
world whom he had considered entirely
trustworthy in all things-had been play
ing the lottery. and playing 1t with the
hard-earned money which he had given
her to save up toward buying a home"
He had turned over to her with great regu-
larity as much of his weekly wages as he
could save after paying their living ex-
penses. with the understanding that she
was to carefully guard the little pile Of gold
and paper money until it had amounted to
$500. "And when we get that much" he
had told her, with happy smile, well
start respectable bank account, to which
we'll add from time to time until we have
enough to build a cottage"
But the little pile of gold and paper
money never reached the five hundred
stage" 1t seemed to grow with unaccount-
able slowness. AT last-one day during the
early part of last week-the man-who-
works-in-the-factory said to the woman
MISUNDERSTANDING Lets get out our
savings, my dear. and count em up, and
see just how near we are to starting that
bank account" And then the truth came
out. The savings were gone-vanished-all
but a few miserable one and two-doilar
bills. With hysterical tears, intermingled
with prayers for forgiveness, the wife made
her wretched confession. She had lust
bought dollar ticket at first, because the
woman next door had won IS from lottery
down South and then she had proceeded
to purchase several lottery tickets every
month for half year without winning
penny. She had felt that luck must surely
come her way if she only kept everlastingly
at the thing, and so she invested $25 in
tickets the seventh time the lottery agent
came around-just as an experiment. She
won a prize on the drawing that time-$14
it was. She hadn't said word about all
of this to her husband, because she thought
how nice it would be to surprise him when
she won her big prize, as, of course. she
was certain to do eventually. That four
teen-dollar prize was an omen, she mag
ined, foretelling a change Of fortune. And
so she 'plunged"-went into her specula-
tons deeper and deeper with each new
drawing, and gradually the little pile Of
savings had melted away until-until-
WELL you needn't say anything more
about it, interrupted her husband at this
point, as he rose grimly to his feet and
stalked to the door of the house. I'll go
out and walk a while. / want to think
about things. 1 want to think just what
we'd better do
THEY ARE GOOD.
rL~ he 70 ae
good man, just as the 'woman-who-played-
the-lottery is good woman. Many couples
in their walks of life would have allowed
a matter of this kind to lead them into the
divorce courts. But the man loves his wife
dearly and he knows that never again will
a mistake so terrible be made by her. But
it was dreadfully sad little household
last week. and only within the last few
days have things begun to look any bright
er over there in that West Indianapolis
home.
This is only one of many such cases
only it is nearly always the man instead
of the woman who finds the lottery such
fascinating, greedy monster. The truth of
the matter is that part of the average
mans income must be deducted as a trib-
ute to the Goddess of Fortune, and Indian
apolis men no different from their
brothers all over the world. People of all
classes and all descriptions play the lot
terry regularly from month to month
Some of them win little sums from time to
time; some fortunate few strike big prizes
and receive large sums Of money in return
for the half-dollar, 81 or 81, as the case
may be, that they have paid for their all
powerful tickets, and some-like the wife
of the factory mango broke" in vain at
tempts to win prizes through unusually
heavy investments.
Indianapolis has had its share of lucky
prize winners within the last two years.
and this fact has greatly increased tie
lottery play" as the agents call 1t. in this
city. 1t is estimated that during the last
twelve months more lottery tickets were
sold In Indianapolis than ever before dur
ing a like period. The more recent prize
winners in this city were Fred Henschel,
two-time winner, the Davie Bros. and
Cheap JOHN a stall keeper in the market
house. Mr.. Henschels friends look upon
him as an individual especially picked out
by the Goddess of Fortune as the most IA
vored of mankind. Whoever heard Of one
man winning big prize in two different
lotteries all in one years time? This is
what Mr.. Henschel did. Within q few
months after one lottery had paid him 81, 500
another one turned over to him 5000 in
cash. The Davie brothers kept a small
poultry farm several miles south of the
city until 81 lottery ticket. in which each
owned a half share, brought them $4,000
from the best known of all lotteries.
Cheap JOHN a well-known character
about town, has made several winnings.
being persistent investor in lottery tick
cts. and he looked upon the 81 900 which he
recently won as something that was due
him and accepted his good fortune as
matter of course
There was never much faith In a certain
lottery concern In Mexico In this part of
the country. for some reason or other. until
Mr. Henschel won his prize from that COM
pany Naturally sentiment changed after
that many tickets from Mexico are sold In
indianapolis nowadays. and there have
been several small prizes. ranging from so
to $780, sent to this city from across the Rio
Grande river during the last six months.
But most lottery players In this vicinity