Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1924-07-31

Revolution by lottery authorized by
the Continental Congress. Both states
and private lotteries have been forbid
den bv law in Great Britain and in
nearly all Of the United States, LOUIS
lana and Kentucky being the two no
table exceptions.
In a remarkably lucid chapter on
lotteries" William M. Mckinney IN
Vol. II of Ruling Case Law uses the
following language:
at has been said that the word lot
terry is generic. No sooner is it defined
by court than ingenuity evolves some
scheme within the mischief discussed.
though not quite within the letter OF
the definition given; but an examina-
ton of the many cases onthe subJect
will show that it is very difficult, II
not impossible for the most ingenious
and subtle mind to devise any scheme
or plan, short of gratuitous distrlb-
ution of property, which has not been
| held bv the courts in this country to-
| be in violation of the lottery or gam
ing laws in force in the various states
| of the Union; and the court Will IN
ouire. not into the name, but into the
game, however, skillfully disguised, IN
order to ascertain if it is prohibited, or
| if it has in it the elemenht of chance. A
gift enterprise, has been defined as
scheme for the division or distribution
fof certain articles of property, to be
determined by chance, among those
who have taken shares in the scheme
and as a sporting artifice by which tor
example, a merchant sells his goods
for market value and by way OF ill-
ducement given to each purchaser a
ticket which entities him to a chance
to win certain prizes to be determined
by lottery. And lit has been declared
that the: words "gift enterprise" have
attained such notoriety that the courts
will take judicial notice of what IS
meant thereby. Furthermore, it Will ap
pear that all gift enterprises which
come within the meaning of the two
foregoing descriptions are lotteries.
Every lottery has three essential ell
ements: first: consideration; second
chance; third: prize. To make lott
erv the three constitutes names most
ALWAYS be present. Chance will not do
so alone nor will chance coupled with
consideration alone The element OF
consideration seems to be the most dit
ficult for the average person to de-
| tect.
| According to the best authorities
consideration may be of two kinds;
first it may arise from some benefit
accruing to the party promising or to
third person by virtue OF an act OF
the promise suffering some loss or IN
convenience subjecting himself to any
charge or obligation, however, ncon-
seuuential the charge or loss or lncon-
venience may be, provided it be not
utterly worthless in fact or in law. IT
is essential that the consideration shall
be of some slight value only or to be
such that it could be of value to the
party promising.
| Wherever customer receives
ticket emitting him to chance IN a
drawing with a purchase of stated
amount of merchandise there is no
question as to the consideration be-
cause the price paid for the merchan,-
disc represents the aggregate consid.
Grafton of both the merchandise and
the ticket. This has been held by the
courts time and again. Moreover where
person is required Ito go to a store
and register his name in order to re-
ceive a ticket or to send a request by
mail on a post card furnished him tor
that purpose, we have the element OF
consideration. He is put to some in
convenience in-order to do this, and
however slight it may be according to
| the best authorities, such constituents
consideration. In practically all OF
such schemes that have been promoted
iby merchants in the state within the
past several months, the promoters
have urged that chances being gwen
with the purchase of given amount
of merchandise, without increase OF
cost there could be no consideration.
Such view is wholly out of harmony
with universal authorities. In one OF
1.-The most recent decisions IN our own
state the Supreme Court declared that
lottery of gift enterprise added to
| legitimate business to draw custom
| ers or buyers by appealing to the hope
OF drawing something by chance, be-
lyond the article actually bought, does
not sanctify such an appeal to the
gambling disposition so common IN
human nature, or make the agreement
lawful" If no consideration is derived
directly or indirectly from the party
receiving what may appear on its face
to be gratitous distribution is freq
uently merely a device to evade the
law. r
Chance. as one of the elements ot
lottery is that which is employed
in connection with such schemes where
the attempt to attain certain ends, not
by skill or fixed rule, but by the hap
ening of a subsequent event, which IS
! incapable of ascertainment by means
of human foresight or ingenuity. Ii
| the result of a given transaction can
| be foretold or accomplished by the
exercise of human ingenuity and SKILL
| its entertainment could not be attr1b-
uted to chance, and in the absence 81
the element of chance there would
be no lottery. However, it should be
remembered that it is not necessary
that this element be one of pure chance
or chance alone, it may be accompan-
led by an element of calculation, the
language of the law being dependant
in whole or in part upon lot or chance. :;
An element of chance in part WouiI
be present in guessing contest-suc:n
as guessing at the number OF Deans N ~
a glass globe or at the number %
Votes that would be cast at certain
election. The established rule seelhs
to be that where the element OF cnaIlce
predominates there is lottery. put
where skill and judgment and ingen-
uity is the dominating element hneie
is none.
AS for the element of prize IT IS not
the value of the thing to be obtained
that makes it prize but the 1act Una.
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