The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1877-03-01
VOLUME 29-NUMBER %.
Written FOR the IitusviIle Herald I
A Dirty, Mean rrIek.

written Ior the IitusVille Herald
ADTriy, Mean rrIcK.
"a dirty, mean trick.1 so saws Mr..
- VINO uses gas in his house, but
prefers kernssne oil in his tea estSb-
hene uOSn town Mr.. Y. had re-
eelved MS gas bill for the month. BE
took TINS oill hone, compared it with
the meter dials. made 3 few curt in
/ qulrles, am after anAthematfzinR thu
extravagsns habits of the family ReD-
er Hy, Stated for the gas mans Of
nee. Mr. x. found the gas man nm.
dergoing . viRdietiveIy classical
oiaekguarding BY consumer whose
gas had been stopped, il consequences
/ OF the nOn-payment Of several months
bills, this terminating BY the gas man
being told 70 charge the account TO
I profit and loss. Mr.. Y. presented his
Uill to the official recipient Of chronic
abuse and requested to have il read
aloud ID him. The gas man Rad
- 2OO feet from :, 500 feet Is 500 feet /:
500 feet at s. 50 per l, 900 is 81 10 and
80 cents Oft for prompt payment
leaves 81 So Shall ], receipt it,. sir ?''
Receipt paradise >" said Mr.. X
''That bills 800 feet more than last
months, and last months was q
heavenly sight more than IL ought to
have been; it is too sanctified bad, by
Pluto I'd rather burn oil 3 blessed
fslgnts go patfouiziug the gas CON-
Pany and doing my best to help 'em
along, and bere il is, here's what
get, one month doubling another right
straight slong, and heaven tn pay
( generally" :
Thsgas mao suggested that possi-
oily the long nights had something To
do with the increased consumption,
possibly extra company, probsbly the
family sat up later holidays, perhaps
the family used gas these dark morn
lngs; might not tae gas have been
left burning through the night; had
they new servant, etc with other
suppOsitions that might account for
an extra bill, and finally that the bill
was light one anyway for Mr.. KS
premises and the number of lets in
use, and that IL Mr.. Y desired be
could have the meter tested to his
satisfaction.
Mr.. Y blessed the meter and assev-
Grated that his family retired regular
ly, aud early at that, never break
tasted before $50 mornings, didn't
have any company, didn't observe
holidays, always turned the gas OF
himself, had no servant, more than
this be had been econOmizing, didnit
use the ball light unless somebody
called, furthermore he had bought
three extra oil lamps with q still fur
ther vlsw OF cutting down the gas
bill, entsiling the consumption OF two
gallons more kerosene than in the
previous month, and that anyway by
the finite pGliywog the gas was too
blest poor TO be seen without the aid
Of bali dozen oil lamps, aud finally
he had shut OF the gas himself, and
tost tue gas company could 90 to
glory or collect the bill whichever
they best pleased, and be meant busi-
ness, and Mr.. Y took his departure.
The gas man was accustomed Co
this sort Of pleasantly. He never an
tieipated any other sentiment on the
part Of the consumer. Once and once
Only, it is stated, q consumer re-
marked that bis bill was less than be
anticipated, IN short, be had nothing
to complain of there. The astOnished
gas man doubted his senses be
wasn't himself all that day but it
made q new man of him-he connect
ed himself With that church of which
the conscientious consumer was an
active member, and assisted in the
Sabbath School from that time for
ward.
But now for the meaBness The
gas man dealt with Mr.. X the gas
man had ordered, some time during
the past month, pound of the best
imperial tes /; early in the present
month the gas man dropped into Mr..
KS establishment and desired to
know the amount OF the Indebtedness;
Mr.. X presented a bill for SI.75 for
one pound Of best imperial tea the
gas man dem0rred to the amount !
charged for; Mr.. X stated the bill |
was all right and the tea had been de- |
livered st the gas mans house the |
gas man protested that be could not
have received the amount Of tea, as
IL had not held out as long as the last |
pound Of tea that the family were |
out OF green tea already, whereas, by |
rights, there should have been enough |
to last week or ten days longer. |
Mr.. X answered that he had moth
ing to do with tnat, q pound OF tea /
was q pound of tea anyway, snd /
would hold out only as long as q
pound Of tea, and that the gas mans 1
family must have been using more
than usual, wasting or spIlling il
anyway, he did not himself propose
keeping track Of goods after they had
been fairly weighed and delivered to
the customer; IL made no odds TO
him how the gas mans family used
it ; the gas man must look after his
own affairs and be Mr.. Y had no
doubt that IL tue gas mans wife
looked after things herself instead OF
trusting to parcel OF hired help, II
might De saving in more things
than tea. The gas man persisted that
be kept no hired help, that his IsmiIy
had been out Of town great part of
The month, that during that tins be
took his meals down street, that when
1t home they had been unusually
in the use Of imperial,
hat ths ion mperial was not ss good as
Il ought to be, in fact hs mad bought
) pound OF black tea to impart tone
and color to what otherwise would
lhNO Dceu uuulSiiuBuISuhOlc ITOm I
Warm water, and add to this that it
had cost the family more for coffee
that month than In any pre-
yious two; he didn't care for
.ea himself personally, but main
" desired the welfare Of Mr..
Y . business and was anxious to
give him a lift, and finally as it was
o be supposed that neither Mr.. X
nor the gas man were dishonest or
Intended to lie, that Mr.. X must take
ne gas mans word 10 regard to the
ga account and the gas man wo3id
AXE Mr. KS word as to the gas state
nent ana call the account square.
which would leave Mr.. Y five cents
Ihead. Mr.. X promptly ans were1,
1T was too blessed thin and he
,Ouldn't see it,"
AS there have been no further ne
,OtistiOns on the subject it Is still in
tdtU quo, but Mr. X goes around the
'illzge denouneing the gas man as
lead beat, and charaeterizing the
proposition 60 square of accounts a.
dirty, mean trick" The gas man
not again, but is supposed
o have some opinions Of his own on