Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-03-16
CARD PLAYING FOR PRIZES
(From the Living church,

we can nardlv DeneVe II possible
as reported, that the post office de-
partment has ruled that card parties
at which nriZes are offered to the
winners are to be construed as
gambling and the invitations to them
to be unavailable. 1t is true that one
sometimes hears this doctrine preach
ed particularly by those religious
teachers who view cards as the instru-
ment of the devil and whose knowl-
edge of card parties is as vague as
their knowledge Of the new Jerusalem.
Yet not only is the idea absurd III
itself, but the confusion of thought
which leads to it must greatly ham
per>those Christian workers who are
trying to drive gambling out of the
communities in which the vice has be-
come intrenched. The church has TOO
profound a duty with respect to this
moral question to rest oblivious to
bureaucratic decree that confuses NOR
al issues and must seriously embar-
rass her own moral leadership.
The essence of gambling is not, as
is sometimes said, the fact of re-
ceiving something for nothing" II
it were, the receipt of every gift made
Ill tlle rue SPIN II VI 6lFlAS Noiiu W
an act of gambling The free gift of
Jesus Christ to the world is the pat
tern which impels us to give gifts to
each other and Christmas time is a
poor time in which to suggest that the
act of giving, which necessarily in
wolves the act of receiving the gift, is
intrinsically wrong.
To give prize is to offer gift I'M
der conditions which involve some de-
gree of a contest as to the recipient;
the giver divests himself of his natural
right to choose the recipient of his gift
and instead, formulates conditions up
| on which it shall be given. A prize for
attendance or for proficiency at Sun
! day or day school rests either upon
F, precisely the same plane as prize for
the winner at cards. If the govern
ment intends to penalize one sort of
/ prize giving, it must logically penalize
F, every sort.
! The essence of gambling is in the
attempt, through covetousness, to Sc
| cure from another that which the
other does not offer as a free gift. A
lottery is an indirect form of gambling
in which the "Drize" is of such value
GS W pllC CoPSlouSAStSo eIilu l1lS Wi
| test for it is direct challenge to that
sin. The purchase of a lottery ticket
or a Chance" is an attempt to secure
a valuable article for ones self with
/ the assistance of money payments
from other people such as; are not in
tended as gifts. 1t involves willing
ness to win, by means of the losses Of
other people. There are no prizes
in a lottery; there is the sale of ar
article denominated a prize" IN
which many join to pay an extrava
CANT purchase price, but only one re
ceives that which all jointly have
purchased.
But the prize offered by hostess
to the winner at a card contest IN
wolves none of these principles. The
hostess is not competing for the
prize against her guests; 1t is her free
will gift, in which, the only elemen
of uncertainty is as 10 the recipient
And it does not involve the principle
of the lottery for the prize-is not wo1
by means of the losses of other PEG
pie. 1t is not bought; there is NJ
loser who has made an investment ii
the hope of winning a thousandfoit
llloI q lHdll llS luHGSLSu, IL 10 q u ctboelt
ton in which no party has been il,
jured, and in which the imDelling me
tive has been. not covetousness hll
mental relaxation. The prize is tn
expression Of good will on the part o
the hostess to all her guests alike, al
, Of whom are treated equally.
There are, of course, abnorma
players, abnormal card parties an
abnormal prizes. To offer a priz
of such relative intrinsic value as t
afford temptation to covetousnes
is both the height of vulgarity and
temptation to others to sin. To throy
ones whole soul into playing, t
seek to win regardless of everything
to lose ones temper at what may b
unfortunate plays OF others, to lie
glect duties in order that one ma
play-these are to make of card play
ing a sin. If one cannot play ten
/ perately and not recollectedly, h
: should touch not, taste, handle not,
} precisely as any other Incorporate d.
: sire should impel one to total al
2 stinence from that which proves to
} great a temptation for him. And ther