The Portland daily press., 1873-09-12


self, ''tremble, Bustara."
1t appeard, from this, that a number of men
clubbed together, and pnt in pool So much
money each, every year, and never took moth
ing out ceptn at stated periods. say every ten
years. Those who died inside of that time and
those who, for any reason, got tired of pa,in,
did not hev any claim whatever on what wos in
the pool, the whole of it being divided up
among those held out faithful to the end,
said to myself, what can be done in New
York. in marble palace can be done in Bour-
bonville, in a slab-shanty, and done on the
same equitable system. And who knows but
what, with such promising plan, the slab
shanty may grow into a marble pala.e. This
soil is as good for mushrooms as that further
east. determined to start Tontine gros-
cry.
The first thing wos name; and to the end
that its objects might be understood by every
body, called it the Canteen grosery
called on three of Bustard's customers. who
wos in the same fix | wos in, and developed
the skeem to them, to which they assented, re-
marking philosophically, that they'd go into
anyhow, as they had every thin to make and
nothin to lose
We organized by electing the following
officers:
President-Samuel Sharkey.
Treasurer-Jems Pettibone.
Secretary-Aleek Billson
Consulting Actuary-
"What in thunders Consulting Actooary?''
asks Bnlson
"A Consulting Actooary, my child" said 1,
beaming onto him, pityinly, sis a gentleman
employed by insurance companies, who has
gone into figgers as fur as the rule of three and
whose principal dooty is to make up tables,
showing that the company he works for is SOL
vent, and to certify that any new Llan submit
ted to him is good thing, and to wonder that
it was never diskvered before. We must hev
Consulting Actooary-every well-regulated
insurance company has one We can't keep
house without a Consulting Actooary."
1t bothered US somewhat to find the man. but
finally Sam Bilson, Alexis brother. was
chosen, as he knowd the multiplication table.
Our organizashun complete, we issued our pros
pectus.
We stated that Canteen grosery wos pure
ly benevolent project to give its members an
opportunity to provide in their youth for sure
supply of likker in their old age Members
were required to contribute twenty five cents a
week, which would be expended joodishously.
but firmly, in new corn-whisky, at the lowest
cash price. This whisky should be put into
the Canteen barrel, and there stay for month.
At the expiration of month, the likker is di-
vided among the survivin members.
The ignorant po1ulis he'd some trouble to
understand how they wos TO be benefited by
this process, but | made it clear to them. In
the first place, half of our original members
will either die, or get tired, aud resign, before
the month is up, and the shares Of sich become
the property of them who stick. In other Life
assurances the death of member is agin the
company; in the Canteen plan its in the COM
pany's favor. A jealous Canteen President
ought really to go out and kill enough members
each month to make a big divvy at the end of
Canteen period. Second, new whisky i'm
proves and strengthens with age. A barrel o..
new whisky will stand four buckets of ", .o,
every month, thus largely increasing -. ,oI-
ume Then the likker is bought at "a corts
gallon, which is cheaper than hV tho s;noIo
drink There is Ga drinks in gs Ion for ,vhioI,
at Bustard's price, cents. Won nav $500
iggerd it this way. Il ought to have been con.
suitlng Actooary.) For convenience, we put
the price at S1.On gallon.
100 members. paying % cents per
week, will give money enough in
month to buy gallon each, ag-
Sregatin.. ...................1 100 callss
Add gallons NV water a month to
each barrel Nv "A gallons. 10 gals.
Total likker on hand as found at
end OF Canteen period. 110 calls
There is about GA average drinks in a gallon
this ITO gallons makes, therefore, 7,O4O drinks.
which, at Bustard's, would cost 1852.
But the advantage don't end here It is safe
to estimate that, of the number who were in
originally, one-half of them will drop ont.
which redooces the membership TO 50; and at
the expirashun of the first Canteen period the
account would leave ITO gallons to be divided
among nifty members, who he'd paid only 81
each' giving each one of EN- nearly q gallons.
For obvious reasons, 1 didn't say anythin
about rent NV offices, salaries NV officers. COM
mittees, and so on, for the time hedn't come
for that
The idea took gloriously. We put ND a boar,
which we lettered: Depository NV the Cante en- !
Association" and before night we had one |
hundred members, each of whom had chucked |
in his quarter, and was reglarly enrolled as a |
member
This gives us fund of S25 to start on. and
we held meeting to determine as to our mode
Nv operation There wos great deal to do. |
In the first place, we hednt determined as to
what we wos entitled to for commissions on
the policies; then came a question as to who
wos to go to Cincinnati to buy the liquor, and
as to what brokerage wos to be paid whoever
was selected; and then, finally, we he'd to de-
termine wat salaries was to be paid the officers.
This we shall do tomorrow. But the Can
teen Association of Bourbonville, is fixed
fact. 1t is in good runnn order. We shall all
start out to get new members, so that the flow
of money shall be kept up regular and uninter-
rupted. SAM'L SHARKEy