The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-09-16
r. s. OPERATED LOTTERY.
Was Great Gamble Involving Terri
tory Worth Millions.

Although Uncle Sam is sternly op-
posed to lotteries and games OF chance
the old gentleman conducted the
other day land gamble compared
with which the operations of ordl-
nary lotteries are small potatoes. y
The prizes distributed to the lucky
winners were valued at more than
s5O,O0O,0O0. There were about TO-
coo winners, each gaining a prize
valued at from $4,000 upward. 90
losers there were some 276.000,
which makes the gambling percent
age about % to l. The percentage
might be considered high for phi
lanthropic gamester like Uncle Sam
to offer, if it were not that the
stakes of entrants were absurdedly
lows cents for each person.
The technical name for the gov
ernment lottery, which was the big
gest ever held in this country, was
land drawing. Everything was law
full and official, so that the Goddess
of Chance would have no fault to
find. Bookmakers, faro dealers and
three-card monte men went as they
saw thousands of persons journeylng
to Spokane, Wash, and Occur Alene,
Idaho, where the drawings were held.
Not that the government was raking
in all the easy money, but the same
was being absorbed to the tune OF
several millions by railroads and ho-
tells, and it was useless to talk any
thing but sagebrush acreage to the
land hungry hordes. The notaries
public had a good thing on the 25-
cent fees they charged for making
out applications for lottery tickets.
Some of the notaries averaged each
$3.50 a day in fees for 20 days.
The lands distributed consisted of
100000 acres of former Indian res
ervations in the States of Washing
ton, Idaho, and Montana. The In
dams were not allowed to take part
in the contest. Only white men who
were citizens or who intended to be-
come citizens, who did not own more
than 160 acres of land and who
wished to acquire homestead for
personal use being permitted to take
a chance at a quarter section plot.
1t was a rare sight to see the
chicken wired, open air platform at
Occur d'Alene, Idaho, heaped with
white envelopes which men poured
out of steel cans, and surrounded by
thousands of breathleSs persons, who
hoped that their envelopes would be
picked out first by the white frocked
young daughters of leading citizens.
Thousands of other persons in all
parts of the country who had sent in
applications, were breathless, also, as
the drawing hour approached, and
many of them learned their luck or
failure by telegraph. Judge James
w. Wilton acted as Uncle Sans per-
sonal representative at the drawing
and assured verybody that the God
dess of Chance had no ''phony' en-
velopes in her voluminous sleeves.
Little boys mixed the envelopes on
the platform with wire potato scoops.
Filings on the lands allotted will
begin on April 1, 1910. Meanwhile
the winners may pick out the plots
they want. One hundred clerks at
Occur d'Alene are hustling to sort
out the wagonloads of applications,
which will be further scrutinized at
Washington to make sure that no
one has gained an undue advantage
by registering more than once. Eas-
terners won about one-third of the
farms, Illinois leading the other
States. Mechanics, laborers,, widows
and school teachers constitute the
of winners.