The Press., 1889-08-01
Pittsburg Times.) i. WHO LOST THE $lOf

Once there was man who had misfor- tune. The further he went the worse he fared. When he struck El Paso he had just one round white silver dollar left to
 hts name, and he went and bought drink
 with it.
 The barkeeper took his American dollar
 and handed him Mexican dollar in change.
 Mexican dollar at that time was worth
 only S5 cents in United States money.
 There were rumors of trouble between
 the two republics, growing out of Indian
 raids, and the pursuit of the robbers from
 one country into the other. A Mexican
 dollar was only worth S5 cents in Texas.
 and the United States dollar was worth
 put go cents in Mexico. It was early in
 the morning. He had nothing to do with the rest of the day, or with the rest of his life for that matter. The Mexican, eagle on his last remaining coin suggested some. thing to his desperate fancy, and he wan
 dered across to El Paso del Norte on the Mexican side. He bought drink of mescal there for 15 cents, laid down his Mexican dollar and received an American dollar m change, equivalent to 85 cents in Mexican money. He looked at the coin and an idea struck him. It appealed to his speculative humor. .-,a 4ga!,' l4 He retraced his steps to the American slde, walked into saloon, called for
 drlnk of whiskey, paid for it with his soli. l tary American dollar, which, he had re-
 ceived Tn change on the other side and got Ia Mexican dollar in change. This he
 promptly carried over the line. bought
 drink of mescal and got United States
 dollar in change Then he got to thinking. Here was the situation. He had precisely the same capital he started with an hour before, and had distributed 60 cents worth
 ot 4quor through his system in the way of dividends. The whiskey and mescal was gone. It was no further use to anybody, The visible supply of exhilarating beverage had been absolutely diminished to that ex.
 tent. He had bought it at the market price. He had paid for it in cash, He had all his original capital still in his pock- et. True, he had contributed the labor of walking back and forth from the Mexican
 to the Texan side, and vice versa, but that,
 as he shrewdly decided, was non- product rye labor, so far as the interests of the pub
 nc was concerned. It earned nothing, for it added nothing to the supply of anything. He might have walked back and forth un- til the river run dry without anybody be- ing the better off. ps'. ''e.h '3 ' 'I Here was chance to get even with the section of country which had indirectly been the cause of his bankruptcy. He walked back to the Texas side, bought another drink, got Mexican dollar in
 change, went back to the Mexican town, : got another drink and United States dol lar in change. He kept it up all day. He
 picked up stick and cut notch in it fol a every drink, as the old Indian fighters used ? to keeep score of the scalps they took. He kept 1t up pretty steadily all that day until :. closing.up time, and set at it again the : next day as soon as he could see. He wax ed enthusiastic over hls speculation, giving 1, a war-whoop at every notch in the stick. But at length he got to wondering who - was losing ali this money. Apparently aa not the barkeepers. They were getting 2 the market rate for their liquors. Surely not he, for he was holding his own. The problem bothered him. He was naturally !, g curious man. The more he thought O . 1t, the more he drank, the moro his heai ' swam around with perplexity, and tn, more the subject in question became com l. plicated with extraordinary things whicl e reminded him of the naenagerie he has l. gone to see vhen he' 'usss b6y. q AtleS6 2 when he had ooElsllmsd s1S i16 Ha ' Ie5as xhiahsE sla st
 3, where Sha( G. lkd llfsg ulll|. l.. lI|llV|
 g silver dollar in United States coin L.
 pocket-died of wondering who had le the $l0. 05 worth of two kinds of liqi le which he had consumed, although the Id 3. cal corner said it wasn't delirium tremens le But neither the coroner nor his jury ex 2. plained who lost the $1O.O5, and that s what want to know. HH tta Q