The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-10-17
UNCLE SANS LOTTERY /.
CONDEMNED BY BAKER.
Robert Baker Of Brooklyn Enters
Vigorous Protest Against: ~--
Rosebud Lottery.
Insists THAT Government Should
Not Encourage Gambling in
Nations Lands.
Written to the Labor World.

Written to the Labor World.
BROOKLYN, Oct. 15.-Those good
people who imagine that because the
Federal government, broke up the
Louisiana lottery by denying it access
to the mails, and that public gambling
is. tabooed. will be surprised to learn
from today's papers that. Uncle Sam
Is running big gambling establish
ments at Dallas, and Gregory, S. ID.
- Wheel Of Fortune.
The wheel Of fortune is to be Off
cially operated at those places when
5000 out Of a prospective total of
100000 gamblers are to draw prices
100 acre farms. Instead of defending
the infamies Of "protection"--a sub
ject Of which seemingly he is wholly
ignorant-let Hughes turn his bat
teries on this public gambling by a
Republican administration. Like their
prototypes who used to gamble with
the Louisiana lottery the remaining
1850 will draw blanks, with this
difference however: pernicious as was
not require any stoppage of business
or surrender Of employment by it's
votaries, but to participate in Uncle
Sans gamble in Rosebud reservation
! lands the 10000 have had to pull up
stakes, sell their farms or their bust
! ness, or give up their employment.
Presence of Gamblers.
| But why, if the United States gov
eminent will "eoen" lands for settle
lnent by public gambling does it re-
quire the presence: of the gamblers?
Why not have it done by mail so
| that the New Y York tenement worker,
the: anthracite coal slave, the Massa-
| chusetts cotton operative, and the
New England, Ohio or Illinois farm
laborer may have the same chance at
the nations, wheel of fortune as those
of Minnesota: Nebraska, or Kansas,
who we are told are gathering out
side the reservation in such vast num-
bers?>: .-A
"a; : Short Term Leases.
| IT any were needed this Justified my
solitary opposition in the F'ifty-eighth
congress to such egregious folly. My
prediction has come true, and the 10
members who voted against my plan
of short-term leases with reappraisals,
! as a substitute for those stupid open
ings," are shown to have been as wise
as the proverbial OWL By my method
the Federal government, or it's wards,
the: Indians--from whom this land is
taken-would reap the. annual harvest
of, unearned increment, instead of the
lucky gamblers who draw prizes at
this government lottery, many of
whom will at once sell the prizes thus
obtained to some of the luckless 1885,
600 alta cent per cent profit-a for
tune thus being made in a. sday:<
Why Presence Required.
But why insist upon the presence
Of the 10000 gamblers? The answer
is easy: The. energetic, :""farseeing,"
"sagacious,' 'astute": gentlemen own
Ing land adjacent to- the Rosebud
preservation well ,know-as did Con-
gressmen Burke and Martin, who en-
gineered the natter-that a 70 public
gamble would attract Gas it had: done
in the case of Olzlahoma) scores Of
thousands, most of whom would re
main to. form the nuclus Of a large
permanent population, thus, creating
millions of dollars Of land values for
the :forestallers to reap. - -
j.. If the ~prophesy that Dallas and
I'Gregory, S. D., are by this "open-
ing of public lands to increase in
population from a few hundreds to
cities Of $4,000 to $4,000, then the
"sagacious" gentlemen who cornered
the land there will become million
|'aires, while hundreds Of others will
gather. in scores Of thousands of dol
lars from the toilers in those places
in the sape of unearned increment: !
This Is another illustration that the
greatest of all gambling evils, that
Of gambling in the source Of all wealth
the land-is encouraged by the gov
eminent, national, state and local, by
our unfair, unnatural and illegal
| methods Of taxa ton.
| .>., ROBERT BAKER.