Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-01-29

For the Telegraph.
Dear Tsl.-MY attention has been called to
''The Liquor Agents Problem in your paper of
the sth inst, together with the several nominal
answers since Published. IhaVe also had the op.
portunity Of examining about hundred other ef-
forte at solution and, though "of humble fortune,
and to fame unknown" baVe no hesitation in
pronouncing them all erroneous, however spe-
cious some OF them may appear.
1t is common saying among those who handle
lumber, in this meek Of woods" that you 'scan-
not speak Of hemlock without getting silver in
your tongue" II like manner, it would seem i'm
possible 10 speak or think on the subject Of alco
holic liquors without becoming fuddled, so far,
at least as to lose sight Of the true relations of
numbers; even our good temperance ladies have
become intoxicated in their zeal to suppress the
traffic. There is no neutral ground in mathemat-
les. The solution Of a problem, like the demon
stratIon Of theorem, must be either right or
wrong. fright, it can be proved /; If wrong, it
may be disproved. No other 'infalli BILE authority
on the subject" need be sought. Your Saybrook
correspondent, whom I suspect bears the ear
mark Of "Dan," is capital for the town, but hard
for the agent. He thinks sit was strange that
fifteen or twenty Of the clerks or business men Of
your town did not scratch of and hand in the true
reckoning" For the honor of your young city
and its intelligent and enterpising merchants
and courteous clerks, am glad that onlS one was
found to endorse his error Al ifCapt. Richards
does not keep his own accounts more accurately
than he has solved this problem, he will wake up
some fine morning to find his cash "short'' and
his books in a state of finextricab.e confusion.
THE TRUE SOLUTION IN NUT SHELL,
will now be shown by the cash account which
was, or ought to have been, kept By the agent, as
follows:
CASH. DIR.
To amt reed from town. s 50 10
Proceeds OF sale ...-....-.......-..-..... 1O2 81
Total amt of cash handled ......... s1s5 16
Amt of liquors purchased. .... $50 Of
Salary retained. ed................... % OO-$s4 81
Net cash balance due the town.. 80 25
To which, add balance of liquors
on hand ......... .............. d 81
Total amt due town BY agent Ss1 SO
1.-THE sage Of Ssybrook, who sneeringly re-
marks, at was not surprising that lot Of school
teachers should get confused by such problem"
had been added to the one hundred teachers to
whom this problem was submitted, there would
have been one more who did not solve 1t correct
ly And now, dear Telegraph, as the above So
luton accounts for all the cash arising from, or
connected with the business, well as the liquors
remaining unused, will the Kingsvile Farmer"
or any of your mathematic!ans, pleas tell where
the agent got the other S9S H. which Is necessary
to make up the S76 ~ due the town BY the agent,
according to their solutions, and oblige
Morgan, Jan. %, 1875.
CAPT. BALDwN's SOLUTION.
Agents resources at the close Of the year, as
follows
By cash Of town. n.......................... 80 10
Cash from sales les....................... tO2 o.
Stock on hand. nd.,.,........,........,,.., 81 81
SlB %