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corporated by the State Legislature of Louisiana for charitable and educational purposes,' we may suppose that a certain portion of the sum paid in monthly will be set aside to represent the proceeds of the concern, and justify the use of so degrading a method of obtaining money. Probably it might be supposed that 24 per cent. per annum, or 2 per cent. per month, would be a fair return in this way, the system being entirely free from risk. This would amount to 9,800 dollars., or say 10,000 dollars.,
monthly. Those who manage the lottery are not content, however, with any such sum as this, which would leave 480,000 dollars, to be distributed in prizes. They distribute 215,000 dollars. less, the total amount given in prizes amounting to only 265,000 dollars. If the 100,000 tickets are all sold--and it is said that few are ever left -the monthly profit on the transaction is not less than 225,000 dollars., or 45 per cent. on the total amount received per month. This would correspond to 540 per cent. per annum if it were paid on a capital of 500,000 dollars. But in reality it amounts to much more, as the lottery company runs no risk whatsoever. The Louisiana Lottery is a gross swindle, besides being disreputable in the sense in which all lotteries are so. What would be thought if a man held an open lottery, to which each of one hundred persons admitted paid 5/., and taking the sum of 500/. thus collected, were to, say: 'The lottery, gentlemen gamblers, will now proceed; 265% of the sum before me I will distribute in prizes, as follows' (indicating the number of prizes and their several amounts); 'the rest, this sum of 2351., which I have here separated, I will put into my own pocket' (suiting the action to the word) ' for my trouble in getting up this lottery' ? The Louisiana Lottery is a transaction of the same rascally type--not rendered more respectable by being on a very much larger scale. If the spirit of rash speculation will let men submit to swindling so gross as this, we can scarcely see any
limit to its operation. Yet hundreds of thousands yield
to the temptation thus offered, to gain suddenly a large
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