Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1874-03-21

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laid aside two dollars to deposit in the
savings bank, where there was already
quite respectable sum to his credit.
Meanwhile the various divisions of
his ten dollar greenbaek, now scattered
about in different hands, began to
chuckle. They said, with one voice
" This IS what like I'll see something
OF the world, and in all probability do
some good.
Let us see how it was. The three
dollars and forty cents which ho had
left at Skettle's grocery went to help
make up the quarterly rent which Sket-
Tie owed, and which was due that very
night. He paid it to Mr.. BalcOlm, who,
in turn, promptly handed it over to
some workmen who had been making
repairs. 1t SO happened that a portion
Of 1t went to a carpenter who had Il
sick child, and who was thus enabled to
purchase some needed delicacies, there.
by, perhaps, saving the child's life. A
dollar and half of it went to a hod-
carrier, who Immediately took it and
bought of Skcttle sundry small pack
ages of sugar, coffee, -four, etc. Sket-
tie took this same dollar and half and
gave it to his wife, who wished to pay
woman for doing some little Jobs of
cleaning and scrubbing. Now, this wo.
man was the hod-carrier's wife; and so
this dollar and a half of Luke's green
back went first to Skcttle, and then to
the hod-carrier, then back to Skettle
again, then to his wife, and then to the
hod-caTier's wife. 1t is not presnm-
able that it lay long idle in her hands.
Curious, wasn't it?
And the two dollars and ten cents
that went to the butcher? Why, this
vas paid to the boy who tended shop, |
who handed it to his mother, who in |
turn paid it to Carpenter Bailey for
some repairs done on her little cottage.
Bailey settled up his coal bill, the coal
merchant paid one of bis teamsters, the
teamster walked straight to the butcher
shop and paid for his weeks meat, and |
the butcher put the money with another
pile and paid it to a farmer for u good,
fat COW. And what did the farmer do?
Why, he went and bought Il wagon at
the factory that had paid the ten-dollar
bill to Luke Preston over its black
walnut desk.
And the dollar that went to old Gar
land? He did as he had told Luke he
should-paid it to John Brady as part
Of the borrowed sum. John Brady said
he had need of the whole amount, but
would get along the best be could. OF
the dollar, fifty cents went for pro-
visions, and the other fifty to a poor old
cobbler for mending Johnny's shoes.
This had to be expended at the hard
ware store to replace 4 broken awl, and
the hardware dealer paid it 20 a boy for
the snow off his sidewalk.
The boy ran home in eZultation to his
rheumatic mother to inform her Of his
good luck
And the dollar that went to Editor
Quill? He paid it to his "deyil, from
whose hands it went to poor woman
who had been making him a coat and
who held body and soul together by
the earnings of her needle. The beg
ger girl to whom Luke had given ten
cents bought q loaf of bread, and thus
lllayed the pangs Of hunger that were
5olturing half dozen brothers and
sisters. ,,
And the thirty-odd cents expended at ..
.he newsroom went into a box of small :
change which was subsequently counted
22veo1r and pipped in neat packages of one
l5aH lwmure the snppneaOl papers any, t
came from. These small '
sums from five to forty cents enabled +
the dealer to maintain his little stand, :
greatly to the convenience Of those who {
depended on it for their periodical sup !
plies of reading matter. {
The two dollars remaining Luke de- |
posted, as has been mentioned before, :
in the savings bank.
"Ah, hap exclaims some surly
reader, who begins to see
the point of this sketch, $50 Luke
Preston boards up money too. Isn't 1t
lust as bad, in proportion, for him to
consign his two dollars to idleness as
for the fat old fraud to keep hlsi
money so close ??
But pause and consider for moment.
The savings bank pays Luke five per
cent. interest on his deposits, and how
could it do that if the money lay idle
in its vaults? No, such is not the case
The savings bank took lluke's money,
mt it with that of few other deposl
tors, and lent it to well.to-do farmer
who wished to make some improvements
in the way of building fences and barns
and purchasing choice breeds of stock.
The farmer laid ont the money to good
advantage and paid the bank seven per
cent. interest, the extra two per cent,
going to defray the running expenses OF
fbe institution and afIording its stock
holders a small dividend.
Now about the time the farmer was
ready to begin his improvements bust |
ness was slack in the establishment
where Luke worked, and there was a
prospect of his being thrown out OF
employment for a month or more. But
he chance to learn that the farmer re-
ouired some labor that was in his lne'
and straightway entered into an engage
ment with him. And so the money that
he had put in the savings bank was
loaned to the farmer and by him paid
into Luke's own hands again, and Luke
still receiving interest on it all the
| time
And now we must leave Luke Pres
tons greenback to its fate. We have
of course related onlya tithe of its en-
tire history, but We have seen it fairly
launched on the tide of life, and
the prospect is that its career will
continue busy one. -,
Now let lis take look at the idle
grreenback that lay in the desk of the
"fat old fraud" The individual was
none other than the same Squire Clinch
that had refused to pay old Garland for
saving his wood If he had paid this
debt promptly, Farland could have
paid Brady in full and on time, and
bought the boots he so much needed,
AS It was, he had to go without the
boots and, in consequences, his feet were
severely frost-bitt while on a bitter
cold day he was engaged in saving
wood. This was great misfortune,
for he was disabled, except to a limited
extent, from following his usual Nvooa-
tion. and forced idleness brought with
it winter OF hardship and dependence
on charity. -,
Rut the ten.dollar greenback, along