The San Francisco call., 1910-10-16
By F. ]. CaughIin
OTTERY - known la das

OTTERY was known i'm days gone
by as a public gambling scheme
conducted under the supervision
and guaranty of government, and
the proceeds OF which were devoted to
public objects
Almost all modern states have at
some period OF their history employed
lotteries as a means Of revenue. But
though they supply a ready mode of
replenishing the treasury. they have
always been found TO exert a mischiev-
Gus influence upon the people. The
poor are invited by them rather than
the rich They are diverted from per-
sistent labor and patient thrift, by the
hope Of sudden and splendid gains;
and as It is the professed principle of
these schemes TO withhold a large
part Of their receipts, a necessary loss
falls upon a class which of all in the
community can least afford to bear it.
Between the years 1916 and 1928 the
French government derived from lot
teries an annual income of $4,000 GOO.
In several European states govern
ment lotteries are still maintained
They have become an almost indis-
pensable source of revenue There
were lotteries in Rome and in England
as early as 1859. In the United States
the lottery has been from the earliest
settlement Of the country a familiar
means Of raising funds, which IN this
country could have been secured in no
other mode so easily, if at all.
The Virginia company derived a
large profit from English lotteries, and
the influence Of them extended grad
ually 10 the eastern colonies, for it is
reported that an assembly of ministers
at Boston, in 1888. denounced the lot
terry as "a cheat" and its agents as
"pillagefs Of the people" Generally,
however, lotteries enjoyed fair repu-
tation, and certainly were soon ex-
tensively employed throughout the
country In the eighteenth century
they were extraordinarily popular in
America.
Legislatures authorized lotteries for
every species of public Improvement.
for the building OF churches and col
leges, for the repair OF losses to in
dividuals by fire and otherwise. For
example, Faneuil hall, after the fire of
1851, was rebuilt by lottery. The con-
tinental congress tried TO raise money
by lottery in l777.
The money annually employed by
Americans in lottery speculation prob
ably amounted to more than s1oo0.0oo.
The last lottery supported by govern
mental encouragement was the Louis
lana state lottery. An act of congress.
passed in 1890. attempted to crush 1T
by forbidding 1t the use OF the United
States mails, which act compelled its
removal to Honduras. But with the
passing OF the public lotteries its place
was Immediately taken by privately
owned lotteries. The most conspicuous
Of these is the Chinese lottery. which in
some places is run by white men, but
in most western towns by Chinese, and
It is said that $4,000 people living on
the shores Of San Francisco bay try
their luck at Chinese lottery every day.
Most OF these people, perhaps, never
are to win, and ] think 1T is also safe
to say that not one Of them knows ex-
sctly what percentage is against them,
and that is the problem that I will
analyze in this article.
There are various ways OF playing
Chinese lottery. such as straight
tickets" mine spot lottery way tick
cts" king tickets and "high-low"
tickets.
Ninety per cent of all those who play
the lottery game mark straight tickets,
and the majority of the remainder play
nine spot tickets. so these are the kind
OF tickets we will discuss. We win
first take the straight ticket.
A ticket in Chinese lottery consists
OF so characters or numbers, as we
viii call them. 20 OF which are win
ming numbers at each drawing. The