The sun., 1919-07-28
ARGENTINA HAS HOLIDAY
FOR LOTTERY ORA WINGS
Government Exercises Strict Supervision to Insure
Square Deal-Affair Involves 100000 Pesos
and All Have Chance
Written especially for the Ldtin-Amerl
CON Section Of TILE Srrnr

Written especially for the Ldttn- A mort.
con Section Of THE SUN.
BuENos AYREs, July 2s.-There are
few cities in the world that close up
shop as often as Buenos Ayres to cell
citrate church feast days and patriotic
holidays, and there are few cities which
enter into these celebrations with as
much spirit as the Argentine; yet there
Is one day of the year that stands out
above all church days and all holidays
the one day In the year that L. looked
forward to by a million and a quarter
people OF Buenos Ayres This Is tho
day on which tho million peso lottery
Is played.
The Argentine people annually spend
100000 pesos on lotteries and receive
back in prizes about so per cent of this
amount, the remaining 40 per cent. going
to hospitals.
These lotteries are sanctioned by the
Government and controlled by strict
legislation. The National Lottery of
Buenos Ayres really Is a part OF the
national Government. its director being
Presidential appointee with an annual
salary. Two Provinces. Buenos Ayres
and Toouman. also conduct lotteries, but
their yearly drawings amount to a large
sum.
An idea OF the magnitude and popu-
lar1ty OF these lotteries may be gained
from the fact that the face value of
tho tickets OF the national lottery alone
amounts to 100000 pesos or 81, OIL
500 every year. OF this amount 19.s00,-
900 pesos is returned In prizes and 49,
100000 pesos is donated to hospitals
and charitable institutions after deduct
ing the expenses of administration.
Great Prizes n Lure.
The national lottery has a drawing
every week with alternating capital
prizes OF 100000 pesos and 10000
pesos Three or four times n year the
on May rs and July 8. the two national
holidays. the drawings are for 100000
pesos
But the big event OF the year Is the
million peso lottery which IL drawn in
tho week preceding Christmas. Many In
teresting stories are told OF people who
have won IN this lottery. The tickets are
good for one-tenth of the million and It
often happens that one OF these tepths,
good for 100, 900 pesos, is held by some
pauper who has saved all year to get
the 20 or 80 pesos to pay for this one
small piece OF paper which may bring
him fortune.
The drawings are public and arc al
ways attended by as many people ~
cam be seated in the room. The police
regulations forbid standing at q lottery
drawing. Small wooden balls numbered
Tor the prizes are put into one large glass
globe and other balls numbered for tick
cts are put into another globe. Both
globes are on the same axis. which Is re-
volved by electricity. After several revo-
lutions the globes are stopped and one
bali drops from each globe. running
through a tube in opposite directions so
that the prize ball drops into a cup at
one end of the table and the ticket ball
into a cup at the other end.
A little street urchin watches each cup
and calls out the number of each ball
that drops into his cup The correspond
ing numbers. tickets and prizes are then
posted On . large blackboard