Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-07-28
WHO LOST THE $40?
An Old Financial Canundrum Which Has
Done More Than Delirlum Tremens to
Send Men to the Grave.
piitsbtLrO TiIles

Done More Than Delirlum Tremens to
Send Men to the Grave.
PiGsbur0 Times.
Once there was man who had misfor-
tune. This further he went the worse he
Jared. When he struck Ell Paso he had
iuet one round white silver dollar left to
his name, and he went and bought drink
with it.
1.-THE barkeeper took his American dol
lar and handed him Mexicsn dollar in
change. A Mexican dollar at that time
wac worth only So cents in United States
money. There were rumors of trouble be-
tween the two republics, growing out OF IL
dian raids, and the pursuit of the robbers
from one country into the other. a Next
can dollar was osly worth IS cents II
Texas, and the United States dollar was
worth but IS cents in Mexico. 1t YVES
early in the morning. He had nothing TO
do with the rest of the dsy, or with the
rest of bis life, for that matter. The Mex
lean eagle on his last remaining coin sug-
gested something to his desperate fancy,
and he wandered across to Ell Paso del
Norte ON the Mexican side. He bought
drink of meecal there for Is cents, laid
down his Mexican dollar and received an
American dollar in change, equivalent TO
85 cents in Mexican money. He looked
at the coin and an idea struck him. 1t
appealed to his speculative humor.
HE rctraced his steps to the American
aide, walked into q saloon, called for a
drink of whisky, paid for it with his soli-
taIy American dollar, which he had re-
ceived in change on the other side and got
Mexican dollar in change. This he
promptly carried over the line, bought
drink of meecal and got United States
dollar in change. Then he got to think
ing. Here WAC the situation. He bad
preci,ely the same capital he started with
an hour before, ard had distributed sixty
cents worth of liquor through his system
in the way of dividends. The whisky
and mescal was gone. 1t was no iur.her
use to anybody. The visible supply OF
exhilarating beverage had been absolutely
diminished to that extent. be had
bought it at the market price. He had paid
for it in cash. He had all mis- original cap
ital still in his pocket. True, he had con-
tributed the labor Of walking back and
forth from the Mexican to the Texan side,
a1d vice versa, but that, az be shrewdIy
decided, was productive labor, so far
as the interests of the public was con-
cerned. 1t earned nothing, for it added
nothing to the supply Of anything Re
might have walked back and forth until
the river run dry without anybody being
the better off.
"Here was chance to get even with the
section Of country which bad indirectly
been the cause of his bankruptcy. He
walked back to the Texas side, bought an
other drink, got a Mexican dollar in change,
went back to the Mexican town, got an
other drink and United States dollar il
change. he kept it mp all day. He picked
ND stick and cut q notch in it for every
drink, as the old Indisn fighter used to
keep score of the scalps he took. He kept
it up pretty steadily all that day until
closiDg-up time, and set at it again the
next dsy as soon as he could zee. He
waxed enthusiastic over his speculation,
giving q war-whoOp at every notch IN the
stick.
"But at lsugth he got to wondering who
waF losing all this money. Apparently not
the harkeepers. They were getting the
market rate for their liquors. Surely not
he, for he was holding his own. The prob
lem bothered him. He Was naturally a
curious man. The more he thought of IT
the more he drank, the more his head
swan around with perplexity, and the
more the subject in question became COM
plicated with extraordinary things which
reminded him of the menagerie he had
gone to see when he was boy. At length,
when he had consumed $5.05 worth of
Texas whisky, and SIS worth of Mexican
mescal, he died in front of the saloon
where he got the first drink, and with a
silver dollar in United States coin in his
pocket died Of wondering who had lost
the $1O.O5 worth Of two kinds of liquor
which he had consumed, although the
local coroner said it WAS delirium treme1s.
But neither the coroner nor bis jury
explained who lost the $l0O5, and that's
what want to know"