The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-11-17

W pawn COOlS ana cIOCheS, n tor three
nights past I've had no bed"
mo friends in Milwaukee,"
None able to help me to a dollar
You told that man a poor story for
one with facts to back it up"
II suppose so, but to day I used the
last cent l had to get a bowl of soup,
and that was my first experience in
begging"
And now what?'
He waited a long minute before
replying.
1t had grown dark, and the wind
was blowing up cold and drear. He
looked about in a helpless way, dropped
his chin into his hands and quietly but
bitterly replied:
"What a fool a man sometimes is
about things! He loses his nerve just
when he wants it most"
do you want nerve to rob some
One?'
mo! l want it to go down to the
river and take a header into the drink.
That's exactly what a man ought to do
who is down and is going lower. That
would settle everything in short order.
It's Just what a nervy man would do,
but l can't get my sand up yet. Per
haps it'll come tomorrow, however,"
you've been fshing?7 [ asked.
Yes. What of it?'
"Nothing, except going fishing
exhibits one Of the curious traits in
human character. A man goes and
buys an outfit costing, perhaps, $40,
and it costs him $40 more to get to the
fishing place and back, and yet you
never hear him complain nor figure
that he is out a cent even if he doesn't
get a nibble."
"That's So"
But turn it around. A man invests
a dollar on a tramp, and if that dollar
doesn't brace the poor devil up and
make a great statesman or capitalist
out of him inside of a month the giver
regards it as a dead loss and shuts his
purse to all future calls"
THAT'S mighty true"
"A we'll off, respectable man beats
us out of $500, and we make no kick
and V wonders how he is going to
use the money. If we give a vag a
dime and he spends it for wh1skey we
feel awfully cut up"
That's it,"
Hundreds of men in this town are
losing from 81 to $50 per day on the
races. You hear no signing Or com
planning. Let one of 'em lose so cents
on a tramp and he'd go about declaring
that he no longer had any confidence
in human nature"
He would, for sure"
"Once more. Men are willing and
anxious to take chances on lotteries,
races, games, the gaming table, and so
on Why not take a chance on a fell
low-human being now and then2"
what do you mean?" he asked.
Just this. In a week you hand
will be we'll enough to enable you to go
to work. I'll pay your board for the
week, and I'll take your tools and
clothes out of pawn. You can pay me
so much a week after you get work.
You may beat me. If so, 1 have
simply played a horse or bought a
lottery ticket and lost"
He looked at me a long time in a
puzzled way, and then laughed as he
said:
1--WE been wondering"
whether I'm a fool or a philoso-
pher2"
Yes"
"Wen, we'll try it on either line you
choose. Come on"
We went to a Bowery hotel and I
got him fair board and lodging for 81
per day. Then l invested SO cents for
a lotion for his o n hand, paid S. to
get his clothes and 81 to get his tools,
making a total of SIG SO. This was on
a Monday evening. The Monday week
he went to work at 1926 per day, and
when I asked his boss what sort of a
workman he was he replied:
He's an A 1 hand. We haven't got
a better man in the shop. I'm going
to tell him Saturday night that he can
have steady work all winter"
On the first Saturday night my
experiment" paid me back 81; on
the second IS, and last night I gave
him a receipt in full and he tried hard
to make me take 50 for interest. The
hand was all right, his job was all
right, and as we sat down in the park
again he said: