The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-10
Lottery Forced to Wall
Federal Governments Great Triumph Over
the Honduras Concern.

name Of the Louisiana State Lottery. has
been forced out of business 10y the Fed
eral government, says the Chicago Rec
ord-Hcrald. The last drawing OF the
company was held in January Twenty
of the officers and employees of the con-
Germ are under indictment The dcatd
knoll OF this biggest lottery company in
the world has been sounded.
Bigger than the Mississippi Bubble,
potent in State and national affairs.
known in every civilized land, the Hon
duras company has made probably nos
less than S15,O000J0 for its owners during
its existence of moro than thirty years.
With its operations have been associated
some of the great men of civil war times.
and throughout It's life the names al
some Of the prouGest of the New orleans
creole families have been linked with II
without effort al concealment. In the
place of its birth, New Orleans, the lot
terry company was an institution. As a
Iawbreaker its place in the nation has
been unique, and its history OF absorb
ing interest.
The forcrunner of the old Louisiana
State Lottery was that known as the
Alabama lottery. This concern has been
lost TO the memory of tho present gone
ration, although j, did an enormous bust
ness. especially in the South, in the days
following the civil war.
Morris GETS Charter.
The New Orleans agent of the Alabama
company was one Johnson, known as
Dave Johnson. the halter" The very
rs..#sH.. u
the attention Of John A. Morris. who at
THAT time owned one of the finest horse
and stock ranches IN Texas and was the
posscssor OF a large fortune. Morris was
associated with New orleans us intimately
as with Texas and as intimately rs he
aftc-gard came 20 De associated with
Now York Through his building of Mor-
ris Park, the great Eastern race course.
Norris gathered around him a coterio Of
New Orleans men and secured a charter
under which he could operate q policy
and lottery game, This charter was
issued by the state of Louisiana FOR
twenty-five years.
The official sanction given this company
by the Stale enabled the promoters of
the new gambling concern 80 operate
their same in the beginning without In
curing ANY odlum- None of the original
promoters of the scheme. however. had
any practical experience in the lottery
business and the result was virtual fall
are No money was made. although an
estimated Sl0lQ19 was invested I'm the
venture. Norris and his associates were
on the verge of quitting, in fact had de-
cided 10 quit. when man who had been
working for the concern I'm a minor
capacity sought an audience with Morris
This man was Dr. D8uphin, an Austrian
physician of very weak body but Of very
shroWd mind.
Il can make the lottery pay he told
Norris 'if You viii put $4,000 more into
it as working capital % he used rs /
direct
DauDhin's Wits ut Work.
There was some hesitation on Norris
part. but he finally decided 20 give Dr.
Dauphin a chance. The feeble but MINI
bIe-witted Austrian physician revised the
plan ON which the company had been
running. lie brought 10 bear all the lot
terry lore he had brought with him TO
America from Europe From the day D-.
Dauphin assumed direction Of affairs The
Louisiana State Lottery became gold
mine for its owners. The authorized cap
itaI of the company was $l3.Gu1U01, but
how much of this stock ever was issued
Is not known 10 the outside world. rs the
concern was and, until Uncle sam dealt
81 its death blow. always remained 81
close corporation. Il is known. however
that under the direction of Dr. Dauphin
the shares of a par value of 500 rose TO
the fabulous quotation OF $40. Through
tie most ridiculous acknowledgement iu
late years this stock declined % as low
as ST a share, at which price Mrs. Dau-
phin, widow of the real originator Of the
scheme. sold q large block 20 a certain
New Orleans banker who since has been
prominently identified with the affairs
OF The company. II IS not believed JEIt
more than S5f00J1 ever was paid into the
treasury in the form of actual cash for
stock.
The charter Of the Louisiana company
gave il a monopoly not only of the lot
terry business. but OF the policy" business
In New Orleans. This policy privilege was
OF enormous value. but in the end proved
the undoiug Of the lottery company
Policy in substantially The same form as
It existed in Chicago ~ 90 the citizens
association crusade OF two years ago. had
existed In New Orleans Tor years. AIS it
existed i'm all cities where any consider
able proportion of the population was
negro.
Many Victims Of Policy.
Under tAe new charter the Louisiana
company organized The policy game I'm a
way that save il tremendous impetus.
Before long the city was policy mad Wis
itors to- Now Orleans thirty years ago re-
member well the open policy booths ia the
main business streets of the city. and the
lines and crowds Of negroes and white
trash" that throngcd the books" seeking
to bet their uickeis and dimes on tile in
Vulnerable combinations of figures which
their superstitious fancy dictated There
We're policy booths i'm front of banks, mer-
camille houses. and hotels There were in
stances where as much as 5000 would be
paid for a stand if the location were
favorable enough, which might not be
more than four feet square of space, with
"a small table and chair. The profits
from the policy game, in which there were
two drawings daily, We're large enough to
pay al the expenses OF the lottery proper,
in which the drawing was monthly. leav-
ing the profits from the national business.
over the payment OF prizes, clear gain.
During the late SOS the feeling against
the policy part Of the scheme had grown
strong in New Orleans. Policy gambling
had run riot for years. It had taken such
4 hold on the servant and poorer classes
that they could not DE trusted with either
their own or other peoples money A
maid sent to the store for supplies stopped
ON the way 10 play policy with the money
given her by her mistress. The city was
dem0rsliZod. 1t was at this time. under
the Howard administration, that the lot
p terry got into politics The lottery and
"dnti-lottery' parties spranS into being.
The leader of the latter vas United States