The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-02-19
LOTTERIES PLAY
HAVOC IN ISTHMUS
CANAL EMPLOYEES, FILLED WITH
GAMBLING FEVER, WASTE
ALL THEIR EARNINGS.

Panama, Feb. 19.-Efforts are beinr
made to prevent canal workers from
buying the tickets OF the Panama lot.
terry. Under the laws in force in tho
canal zone, no tickets can be sold with
in that territory, but as soon as the
canal employee crosses the line between
Ancon and Panama city, or between
Cristobal and Colon, he meets the tick.
ct sellers everywhere. II is known
! that many of the canal employees are
wasting their money on the lottery
but as yet there has been no way to
| protect them.
1t Is likely that action may vet be
taken which will prohibit the buyers OF
tickets from carrying them into the
canal zone, but even this would scarce
| ly overcome the evil. The lottery has
eight more years to run under the
charter given 1t by the government OF
| Colombia.
The Panama lottery has its home i'm
the bishops palace and is within a
stones throw of the cathedral itself
In fact, one can stand in front of the
counter at the Panama lottery and
| look into the sacred precincts of the
cathedral when its doors are opened.
| Some Of the best patrons of the lottery
are priests. While many of the padras
of Panama are as clean physically and
have as high ideals as the best church.
men in more northern countries, there
are some who see no harm in buying a
| lottery ticket or making wager on a
cock fight. OF course 1t is nothing
more than a difference in the moral
view. The Spanish speaking countries
are simply one hundred years behind
the times.
Washington Favored Lotteries.
George Washington, that paragon Of
patriotic devotion 10 the public well
fare, in his day, thought nothing of
buying a lottery ticket or of presiding
at a drawing. One may read in his pri-
vate diary where he paid so pounds
sterling for his share of 100 tickets in
one lottery, and where at another time
he presided at Colonel Moores draw
ing. When Westover, Colonel William
Byrd's famous estate on the James
river, was about to be sold for debts,
a lottery was conceived and the finan.
ces of the Byrd estate were put into a
healthy condition as a result of the ex-
pertinent. Washington took several
chances on Westover.
In a single session of the Virginia
legislature. 1898, there were twelve
new lotteries authorized. In Connect
cut one was authorized for the build
ing of an insane asylum. In Massachu-
sets, famous Plymouth beach was re-
paired by funds raised from a lottery,
and even the descendants OF the Puri-
tans did not look askance at il. In
Missouri one of the first acts of the
legislature was the authorization of a
lottery to raise funds for a hospital
Churches were built everywhere with
money raised in this way.
Erect Building by Lotteries.
Even the city of Washington itself
owes some of it's beauties to a lottery
In 1898 one was authorized to recruit
the depleted funds for the erection of
public buildings. The grand prize was
advertised as "a superb hotel, with
baths, outhouses, ETC., valued at $780,
000." 1t would take that amount today
to equip the kitchen of one OF Wash
ingtons most modern hotels, but at
that time a $4,000 hotel was consider
ed palatial. There were to be two
drawings, but for some reason the Sec
ond one never was held.
From this it is evident that the
morality of the lottery Is merely a
question of progress. The Panamanians
are simply behind the times when they
permit one to be operated. Their lot
terry is a legacy of the French regime
on the isthmus, it having been charter
ed at the time when De Lesseps was
there. Speculation and gambling were
everywhere in evidence then, and ii
had a prosperity that rivaled the old
Louisiana lottery in its palmiest days.
Even now when the United States
is doing everything in its power to keep
the faint of the establishment from
coming even indirectly into the canal
zone, it has a splendid prosperity for,
after paying all prizes, all expenses
of operation and all tributes to the
state and church, there is nearly $780,
900 in annual profits to be divided
among the stockholders
Each ordinary drawing brings into
the Golfers of the lottery $4,000, 81
each for the 10000 tickets sold. These
tickets, in turn, are cut up into five
coupons and each coupon sells for 20
OCtASs III IAAG LAShCA WAAAo anu 0AiC tikcNA
holds all its parts he gets the whole
prize for which it calls, or If he holds
only part of the coupons he gets one
fifth of the prize for each coupon he
holds. Out of the $4,000 received
from the sale of tickets $6,420 is re-
turned. in prizes. In addition to this
the ticket sellers get per cent and
the government per cent on all sales
of tickets, so that in completely sub
scribed drawing the gross profit to the
lottery company is $3.50.
Tickets Sell Easily.
In spite of the fact that the ticket
buyers stands 100 chances of losing to
sixty four of winning the tickets find
a ready sale. There are all sorts of
systems proposed for beating the game. |
but it is usually noticed that the man
who has a guaranteed system of get |
ting ahead is the fellow who is always
broke Most of the tickets are sold !
by 20-cent coupons, the poor people be- |
ing the regular patrons.
All sorts of stories of good and bad
luck are rife on the isthmus. Sometimes
an American gets the grand prize.
Usually he becomes such a feverish |
gamester that his usefulness to the I
canal is ended and sooner or later he
is down and out. Sometimes he varies
this program by throwing up his job
and returning to the states. In one
instance a winner of the grand prize
threw up his job and prepared to re-
turn home He became so drunk on i
board the ship that he locked himself |
IN his stateroom and died. His re-
mains were buried at sea. A member