WAR LOTTERIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 22, 20 October 1917, Page 11

WAR LOTTERIES

0 Sir,—l think the illustration given in s fno comparison of the return m hard ' cash for war purposes by tho Commercial Travellers' surprise packet campaign 0 and the "Our Day" effort shows whirtl ? way the wind Move, or rather wMch way it can most readily and cheerfuK) be raised. It was a pretty fair test ol • tho innocent little speculation versus the direct appeal. With many others I am inclineiT to believe that with the weight of Taxation to be borne that response to the direct appeal must almost necessarily become nioro feeblo as tho war lens , thens out. Why not then tho little lottery, which really hurts no one, and yet raises tho needful money, ivhicl aftor all is the point. 'Tos," sajrs Mr. Steady Churchgoer, "but would it not bo gambling?" Of course it would—so was buying tho surprise packets the other day. It is only a matter of degree, I could name hundreds of steady churchgoers and thoso -who hold strict views on the broad question of gambling, who 'bought packets, and enjoyed the pleasurable excitement of seeing what they had bought. This war has unset rjlcft-* of long-cherised ideas and ideals, and the one that has been turned literally upside-down is the nation that investing in an art union (where little art is concerned), sweepstakes, surprise packets schemes, or raffles (got up to assist some deserving war fund), is gambling in the sinful sense of tho word, has been blown to smithereens. In six hours the commercial travellers raised over without the slightest difficulty. With a fat bigger , organisation, with treble tho workers on tho job, with stalls at every street corner, the sum of a little ovei .£IOOO was raised in a. whole day and night. Which, then, is tho quicker, surer, and therefore the most advisable method,of raising the necessary? Taking the answer for granted, I would suggest a scheme of war lotteries, by which I believe the War Funds Collecting Committee could raise in Wellington the sum of .£IO,OOO every three months for those war funds most urgently in need of support—the Eed Cross, Soldiers' and Sailors' Dependaufe, Blinded Soldiers and Sailors, our own Wat Relief Association and Convalescent Home, Y.M.C.A., Salvation. ,Army> Church Army, . and Trench Comforts Ihinds. Tho scheme, in brief, is as follows:—A war lottery of £-20,000 to be drawn on tho first day of each quarter; .CIO.OOO of the amount to be devoted to war funds, w610,000 to be divided in cash prizes as follows ■— Five prizes of JEIOOO each and ten prizes of £SW, less 21 per cent, for the expenses of running the lottery. Tickets in lottery, £\ each, restricted for sale to the provincial district concerned (other provinces could take up the idea if they felt disposed to do 6o). Should this be considered a derogation of the law (written or unwritten) against gambling by the squeamish, it could very simply (if somewhat hypocritically) be an art union (as is being done every day) by presenting each prize-winner with a picture of the Hon. Gf. W. Russell, whose conBent, as Minister of Internal Affairs, would have to be secured. I honestly believe that the scheme is a sound wartime measure, and perfectly legitimate under the extraordinary conditions under which we are now living. I commend it to public men of courage to advocate, and to the War Funds Collecting Committee to take in hand, beginning with the New Year. Tho result would make at. least five people fairly independent for life, and ten people very happy. And what a zest it would give the givers during the Christmas and New Year holidays, knowing the chance of landing a. handsome cash bonus that was theirs! —I am, etc., ANTI-GAMBLING.'