The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-07-16
HE MADE A


Better Be Imposed on by Frauds Than Do
an Honest Person an Injustice.
''Yes, he may be a fraud-probably
is one," replied the man under the
white plug hat as he replaced his change,
''but 1 made a mistake on the wrong
side of the ledger once and 1 don't
want to get caught that way again"
"How was it?"
well, I'm neither a Christian nor a
philanthropist. Fact is, I'm a pretty
hard-hearted man on the average, but l
used to. be a little worse thar 1 am now.
One evening, five or six years ago, right
in front of this very store, a boy about
twelve years of age hit me for a dime.
He had tears in his eyes, a drawl to his
voice. and 1 spotted him at once for an
impostor. He went on to say that his
father was sick and unable to work,
and that he himself had been down
with a fever and had no strength to
look for a job. and laughed in derision
and told him to clear out or I'd give
him in charge"
Its an old dodge" observed the
man who was smoking q corn-cob
pipe.
Exactly, but it may not always be a
dodge. l had a pocket full of silver,
and I was too ornery mean to hand over
a dime. Suppose the boy was lying?
Suppose he wanted the money for him
self? How contempt; BILE in me to be-
grudge that trifing sum to a little chap
who was certainly all skin and bone and
evidently needed a square meal"
but it would have been encouraging
vice." said the mar with the check
shirt front.
..Bosh! There are men in this city
who are looked upon as shining exam
out of a thousand dollars where vice
gets a~.shilling. This little incident 1
have been relating went out of my
mind in an hour, but next day, as I was
looking over an old tenement with the
owner, who wanted me to figure on re-
pairs. who should / come across but the
boy of the night before. He was in bed
and raving with fever. In bed? Well,
he was tossing around on q heap of
rags. In the same room was the moth
er, trying to earn a few cents at the
wash-tub. but not having the strength
~ WI " luOlO blldl v hitlluUC dU d
time. Also. the father-iust alive with
consumption. and occupying a bed no
better than the boys"
Same boy, eh?" queried the corn
cob-pipe man, as the hard lines in his
face began to melt.
The very same. There was a quaver
in his voice nc one could forget in aday.
He was raving away of this or that, but
the father was quiet and inclined to be
cheerful. As l sat down beside him for
a moment after leaving a S. bill in his
skeleton hand, he said:
God bless you for a good man!
When little Ben started out last night
we hadn't either light, fuel or food in
the house. He met some ~kind-hearted
man who gave him a dollar. 1t might
have been you. But fo- that money God
knows how we must have suffered"
might have been me! When 1 re-
membered how l had repulsed that boy
the thought stabbed me like a knife!
was trying to say something to cheer
the dying man, when that fever-stricken
lad sprang up. evidently recognizing
my voice, and cried out:
PLEASE, mister. don't have me ar
rested! Don't let 'em lock me up! I'm
telling the trnth-I amt lying!'
"He came right over and got hold OF
me, and l tell you if ever a man was
broken down it was this verv individual.
1 left twenty-five dollars there when ]
went away, and 1 sent a doctor around.
but inside of a week father and son
were dead. One died blessing me, and
the last words of the other were al en-.
treaty to me not to call him a fraud and
have him locked up. That's why my
hand goes down for the chink wher
man or boy strikes me for change. IG
rather give a thousand dollars to frauds
than to have another honest boy die
with my refusal grinding into his SOUL
Detroit Free Press.