| All others with three of the drawn numbers on, (being 110) each | 300 |
| Those 66 tickets having on them the 1st and 2d drawn numbers, each | 100 |
| Those 66 tickets having on them the 2d and 3d, each | 80 |
| Those 66 tickets having on them the 3d and 4th, each | 50 |
| Those 66 tickets having on them the 4th and 5th, each | 40 |
| Those 132 tickets having on them the 5th and 6th, or 6th and 7th, each | 30 |
| All others with two of the drawn numbers on, (being 3960,) each | 20 |
| And all tickets having one, only, of the drawn numbers on, each, (being 25,740,) | 10 |
Now, let us spend a few moments in examining this bill, and we shall see how much truth there is in it. It says, that the ticket having on it the three first drawn numbers will be entitled to the capital prize of $30,000. Now, in the whole scheme before us, there is no such ticket. The combination, 20, 51, 61, is not to be found in this arrangement. Consequently, there was no ticket whose numbers entitled it to this prize. Next, the bill says, the ticket having the fourth, fifth, and sixth drawn numbers, which would have been 24, 74, 77, would be entitled to a prize of $10,000. There is no such ticket in the combination. Consequently this also is false. Now, it is evident that the dealers, in publishing this bill, mean to impress the public with the idea, that tickets, containing the necessary numbers to draw these prizes, are in the lottery, and that somebody must, of course, draw them; but it is all false, and a very little investigation will convince any one, that a greater system of deception can hardly exist. Bear in mind, that the bill says these prizes were drawn. The third prize was $5,000, and the ticket which contained the seventh, eighth, and ninth numbers was to draw this prize. These numbers are 36, 46, 69. There is no such combination in the scheme-book—no such ticket was printed or sold. Consequently, here is another falsehood. The same can be said of the fourth prize—the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth numbers—being 3, 26, 29. There is no such combination in the book, and no such prize could be drawn. Of the next six prizes, of $1,500 each, said to have been drawn, there was not a single ticket in the whole scheme which contained the necessary numbers to draw any one of these six prizes!
It is next asserted, that there were in the lottery one hundred tickets, having three drawn numbers, and entitled each to a prize of $1,000. This I have examined, and I find that, instead of being one hundred, there are but two—the first in magnitude being one from package number six, of half tickets, bearing the numbers 20, 36, 51,—these being the first, second, and eighth of the drawn numbers, and would entitle the holder to one half of the $1,000, subject to a deduction of fifteen per cent. The other is a quarter ticket, bearing the numbers 46, 51, 74—from the twenty-seventh package, of quarters—being the second, fifth, and seventh of the drawn numbers, and would entitle the holder of it to one quarter of the $1,000, after deducting the fifteen per cent. But it is well known that, frequently, scarce one half of the tickets of any one class, intended for a particular drawing, are ever disposed of, and are consequently returned to the manager's office, to be destroyed. Then, what guaranty have we that the numbers entitled to the above pitiful prizes were sold? They are as likely to be among the tickets returned unsold, as among those sold. Next, the bill states that there were one hundred and ten others, each having three drawn numbers, and were entitled to a prize of $300 each. By a close investigation, I find but one single ticket of this kind in the whole scheme. This is the ticket in the twelfth package of quarters, bearing the numbers 61, 69, 77; and if it had been sold, it would have entitled the holder to one fourth of the $300, deducting 15 per cent. Next, the bill says, those sixty-six tickets having the first and second drawn numbers, will each be entitled to a prize of $100. In searching for these in the scheme-book, I find but one that bears the first and second numbers; that is, in package fourteen. The ticket having the numbers 20, 51, 66, is the only one having the two first numbers; and if sold, the holder was entitled to one half of the $100, it being a half ticket. Now, the reader may perceive that I have examined and laid open, so that he too may examine, this masterpiece of villany. I find that of the two hundred and eighty-six highest prizes, which, their own handbill states, existed in their lottery, and which, by their own figures, amounted to the enormous sum of $195,967, and, in order to be drawn, only required that the tickets should be bought,—I find, allowing every ticket to have been sold, and afterwards every holder presented his ticket for the sum to which it might be entitled, that of the two hundred and eighty-six said to be in the scheme, there are but five, and these very inconsiderable; and that the greatest amount of these five prizes, without deducting the fifteen per cent, is only $875, instead of the enormous sum of $195,967. Can it be possible that any person will be found to patronize lotteries, after considering these facts?
I pass over those small prizes named after the first sixty-six having the first and second drawn numbers on them, and will prove the balance to be falsehoods, as the greater portion of the first part of the bill is.
In the first place, let us see how many prizes are represented to exist, not to say any thing of the blanks. In counting up the prizes named on this bill, we find them to be 30,316; and I do not think they would pretend to say that more than one half of their tickets were prizes. Then we will say that they had an equal number of blanks. This would carry their scheme up to over sixty thousand tickets; and even if they were all prizes, and no blanks, (which they do not pretend,) who cannot see the extreme improbability of their disposing of 30,316 tickets in one week? for it must be remembered that these were all of one class, and for one particular week's drawing. But the last witness, whose overwhelming testimony will settle the question, is their own scheme-book, of which an accurate copy is here given, and which shows the number of tickets, for any one drawing, to be but 1,560, the half of which, by great exertion, they might succeed in selling; each successive drawing being another edition of these same combinations, with a different class number on them. Now, let me ask, where are their 30,316 prizes to come from? What a scheme of deception do we here behold! and one, too, that has been so long submitted to and patronized by the public of this and other countries.
Another method of still further swindling the buyers of tickets, is much practised in some parts of the country. The agents who sell the tickets are authorized to insure them. When a man buys one, the price, perhaps, might be ten dollars. The seller, if he has been authorized, will say, "Now, sir, for ten dollars, I will insure your ticket to draw a prize." This is enough for the buyer to have his ticket insured to draw a prize, and possibly the capital prize: he pays an additional fee, and the agent forwards the numbers of all the tickets, so insured, to the office where the drawing is to be held; and there they manage to have these tickets contain one (seldom more) of the drawn numbers. This entitles the buyer to receive back the price of his ticket, after taking out 15 per cent.; and as it was not a total blank, the insurer is safe, and retains the sum paid for insurance. The buyer remains swindled out of the insurance, and 15 per cent, of the cost. These swindling shops are numerous, and are sometimes called policy offices.
We sincerely hope that our readers will examine with some attention the developments we have made in relation to the deceptive schemes of the lottery managers; for we feel that they cannot fail to convince every man of common sense, who has a particle of moral principle and moral honesty left, that he who encourages this basest of all swindling, by purchasing tickets, is not alone an enemy to himself and family, but he countenances a species of gambling that is extensively mischievous and ruinous, and has for its victims many of our best citizens, young and old; while, at the same time, he unintentionally throws a veil over the villanous deeds of the lottery gambler and his unprincipled, as well as his inexperienced supporters. We once more invite our readers to examine our statements with attention.
The following tables represent, completely, the entire contents of a lottery dealer's scheme-book, made for the guidance of the printer, in printing tickets. At the close of the tables is represented a ticket, with its class and combination numbers.