The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-06
MILLIONS WON BY FRAUD.
Gigantic Lottery SwindIes Are I'm
earthed in Mexico.

! Gigantic Lottery SwiudIes Are I'm
earthed in Mexico.
A storm is about to burst forth in
Mexico over the frauds which are be-
ing committed by the lotteries, says
City of Mexico dispatch to the Chicago
! Chronicle. For months complaints
have been accommodating against those
who have the management of the lot
teries in hand and Investigations have
been secretly made to ascertain the
justice of the omplaints. 1t is claim
ed by several well-known Mexican de-
| tectives that proofs have been secured
! which If utilized will serve to place
| number of those who are connected
with the lotteries behind prison bars for
| long periods.
There are two lottery companies op-
| Grating in Mexico. The stronger of
these is the Beneficencia, but the other,
the National. is very powerful also.
| Both are operated under charter from
the government and pay royalties OF
20 per cent. of their profits to the gov
ernment for the purpose of maintaining
charitable institutions and for public
improvements. They are, according to
the charters, supposed to be under the
supervision of the government.
James w. burst, an American de-
| tective of great experience in Mexico,
was the first person to call the attention
of the public to the corruption existing
/ among those who are connected with
the lotteries. Mr.. burst first detected
the fraudulent practices through a ruse
of the lottery people to secure adver-
tisement. 1t appears that two weeks
ago the public became aware that it
was impossible to win anything from
the lottery and, therefore, fought shy of
the vendors of the tickets. Finding
business falling off, the lottery people,
through their agents, engaged Swede
| in Monterey to come to the City of
Mexico with a lottery ticket bearing
the number which wIl the capital
prize of $50 900 in goN and acting as
though he was unaware of his good
| fortune until after his arrival here, to
| present the ticket to the cashier of a
| prominent American bank for payment.
The cashier was in the game, and
for $780, Mexican, which was paid to
him as commission, accompanied the
Swede to the offices of the lottery COM
| pany in question and identified him so
that he could be paid the money. In
deed, the money was paid, but it was
| placed on deposit in the American.
| bank and was afterward returned to
the lottery people, the Swede leaving
the city Immediately after receiving
500 in gold. Nothing was neglected to
let the public know about the entire
transaction and as this was the first
winning known to have taken place
for months great interest was taken, in
it. But Detective burst, whose sus-
picions We're aroused at the outset of
| the lottery romance, set his agents to
work out of mere curiosity and locat-
ed the Swede in Monterey, where he
Is at present working for the steel COM
pany for 81 a day, Mexican.
Tee
burst in an interview to-day, that
it is utterly impossible for anybody
outside the lottery ring to win more
than $50 through the lotteries Every
thing is manipulated after the prin-
ciple of the Honduras National lottery,
the exposure of which was lately
made. The only prizes of any i'm
! portance which have been won in the
past year were two capital prizes of
$4,000 gold each. These were both
won by Mrs. Diaz, wife of the pres
ident, it having been undoubtedly so
arranged that she should win them, so
as to give the lotteries the advertise
ment which makes business for them.
There is no doubt that Mrs. Diaz was
an entirely innocent party to the trans
I actions
Investigations made by me show
that the drawings of both the Benefi-
cencia and the National are made from
tickets left unsold in the hands of the
companies. Sometimes those who are
| in the ring are allowed to win large
prizes through tickets bought by them
after arrangements are mad for the
winnings. This is done merely for the
purpose of repaying them for certain
| services of corrupt description. But
as rule the lottery people are salts
fled with the profits that are divided
among them through the defrauding
of the public purely and simply.
Americans, particularly in Califor-
mia, suffer as much as Mexicans on
account of the lottery frauds. The
Americans are induced to buy tickets
through advertisements of winnings in
the American newspapers. Most of
the reported winnings are fictitious,
and for this reason the fraud is the
more audacious; but no punishment
can follow, owing to the fact that
dealing in lottery tickets in the United
States is illegal and, moreover, as the
drawings occur in Mexico. it is very
difficult to fix the guilt for the ficti-
tious advertising. In Mexico, where g.
600 persons are engaged exclusively in
selling lottery tickets, and there is not
a corner where the tickets are not in
| evidence, there is no need of false ad-
vertisement through the press. In
consequence the Mexican victims are
not as unscrupulously swinded as the
Americans"
The earnings of the two lottery COM
panies are just $25, 100000 a year. OF
this the government receives 81, 900 000
Through the swindling methods being
pursued there is divided by the mem
bers of the ring the sum of SIS, 000 900
annually. The results of the present
agitation will undoubtedly be refor-
nation Of the lotteries rather than an
adjustment of them, as some persons
assert. After sending a number Of
the guilty parties to prison the govern
ment may make the lotteries state in
situations like the pawnshops. The
government gains too much through
them to consider the question of sus-
pending them.