Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-17
English Papers Latest
Gift Enterprise Scheme
Special Correspondence of The Star

| Special Correspondence of The Star
LONDON June 2 1905.
Ticket Graceful Killed In Searching
for Prize Numbers - Newspapers Cen
sured'-such are the (for an English jour
| nab lurid headlines over story describing
coroner's inquest over a child whose
Death resulted from the latest scheme or
certain newspapers. that are her7 Chased
as sensational. TO increase thor ctrcula-
tons Needless to say. the Jsurnsls en-
gagged IN the gift enterprise business sup
press all mention of any connection be-
tween 1t and the fatal accident to a little
girl
The hunt for buried treasure which as
device for increasing newspaper sales
rar it's course some months ago. was i'm
ported into the United States. bat Its sac
cessor can hardly be tried there. because
buses were long ago abandoned as too
dead slow for Americans. Here every pas
senger who rides motor bus. horse
bus or tram as street cars are here called.
receives a numbered ticket from the con-
ductor on payment Of his fare. L he tickets
are simply issued check on the hon
esty of the conductors and are retained
by passengers until they reach their oes-
tinations on the chance that y ''spotter''
may come along and demand to see them.
Passengers
away their tickets on alightinS, until some
circulation boomer hit upon the idea OF
Offering prizes for certain numbers. AS
these winning numbers are not announced
until the day after, and In some cases the
week after their issue, the chance of get
ting something for nothing, however slight,
prevents them from being treated as waste
paper until the prize winning num"ers
have been inspected. Several papers are
now working the scheme for all :. Is
worth. the prizes offered daily ranging
from $40 $50 to five shillings GI25); AT
the lower figure, OF course. the more nli-
merous are the prizes. One halfpenBy daily
paper announces that the prizes 1t offers
for omnibus and tram-car tickets amounts
in the course of week TO E2.ooo Hlo.op,,
and a weekly paper goes 5000 beyond that
figure.
OF course, children are the most eager
collectors of tickets. They swarm at every
bus and tram line terminus like fies
around honey pot. and beg tickets or
the passengers. 1t was at such tel
minus that little girl tried to pick up
ticket that had fallen under a bus. ig-
norant of the fact that the child was be-
tween the wheels, the conductor gave the
signal to start, and she was run over and
killed. policeman who gave evidence
at the inquest said that the lives OF boys
and girls were frequently imperiled I'm the
attempts of the youngsters to get posses
sion OF the tickets. When buses and
trans stop" he said. at takes the police
all their time to prevent the children get
ting under the wheels" To their verdict
of accidental death" the jury added
rider condemnIng the papers tina. are en-
gagged In this latest gift enterprise scheme.
The matter has been brought to the st
tention of the home secretary, Herbert
Gladstone, son OF the grand old man.
who in response to question in tile house
of commons stated that the craze was UNI
doubtedly contrary to the public interest.
but whether 1t was contrary To law he
could not tell until the legal luminaries or
his department had gone thoroughly inso
the matter If 1t was found that the prize
ticket game could be stopped he would set
In motion the machinery OF the law fof
that purpose
OF course, the newspapers concerned
counted on recouping themselves for The
prize money expended by their increased
circulation, but II doubtful II the game
pays them know. for q fact, that one
nc wspaper which has invested heavily "a
the enterprise had assumed that only ~
per cent OF the prise-wtnnlng tickets ~ouia
he claimed but consternafton mad oecn
created BIZ the discovery that. owing 70
the eagerneas with which children sought
thenn, 60 per cent Of them haA been claimed