The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-02
ANOTHER VARIETY OF FREAK.
People Who like to Draw Checks to
Order of Distinguished Citizens.

From the New York Sun.
As Sun reporter was meandering slow
ly DER that part of the lea contiguous to
City Hall park he picked up a pocketbook
much to his delight and unexpected luck,
but ere he had time to transfer its con-
tents to his inside pocket policeman APP
peared on the scene, Just as policeman al
ways do when there is no call for them,
and don't, vice versa.
"Ahem?" observed the reporter, also
observing the policeman.
"Um?' remarked the policeman, also
remarking the pocket book in the willing
hands of the reporter.
"Well?' observed the reporter. inject
ing kind of a what-are-you-g oing-to-do
about-it tone into the verbiage of his
communication with the guardian Of the
peace.
1T belongs to you, I suppose?" said the
policeman insnuatingly
''What?" inquired the reporter with
such lamblike innocence that the wool in
the policemans coat actually began to
curl.
That" and the policeman nodded to-
ward the pocketbook.
"Oh, an. excuse me. 1 beg your par
dom" hastily responded the reporter, Il
was thinking about something else"
Found another oneg suggested the
policeman with pleasant insouciance.
mo, OF course not. However since you
have asked II this belongs to me, I'll take
a look through IL and see" and the re-
porter opened up his find
A careful examination, made with the in
sistent assistance of the policeman, re-
vealed only card and bit of unchewed
chewing gumg and these the reporter
turned over to the guardian for safe
keeping.
II made queer find the other day." said
the policeman, as the reporter paused to
inquire about the general moral tone of
the city in that nelghborhood during the
past twelve hours 1T wasn't a pocket
book but it was the next thing to it."
Money!" inquired the reporter, who
thought money ought to be the next thing
to a pocketbook. though he didn't remem-
Der to have had any personal knowledge
of such things.
Next thing to that" continued the po-
liceman. 1T was a bank book which the
owner had dropped just after having had
It made up at the bank, for the book had
all the checks entered and was balanced,
though the Cancelled checks were not
there"
He had probably sent the Cancelled
checks I'm to have the coupons cut Off,
suggested the reporter.
''The queer part of it," proceeded the po-
liceman without noticing what the re-
porter said, was the people who had
got the money. The name Of the man on
the book is a very well known one and
what it is?' asked the reported natur-
ally
Nay, nay, Pauline Hall" negatived the
policeman. "You known him better than
do. and | don't want to give him away
Sell him?" limited the reporter.
CHATS all right" grinned the police
man. 81 opened the bank book out OF
curiosity, and was surprised TO nnd that
he had as much as a hundred dollars 10
his credit, but more surprising was tne
list of names on the book OF the people
who had apparently got money from our
friend for nobody i'm these parts would ever
suspect him of being on terms with that
kind of people. For instance, there was
a check for $11.35 paid to Tom watson
another for S. 25 TO Arthur Sewall, another
for S23 As TO Grover Cleveland, another Tor
81 80 to William Mckinley, another to Tim
Campbell for $67S, another to Cornelius
N Bliss for S3.45, another to Mayor Strong
for $3.50. another to Chauncey M. Depew,
for 49, % another to Levi p. Morton for
&. 70. another TO Satolli for 1881. another TO
DIR. Parkhurst for $l2A. another
to Mark Hanna for an even $lO another
to Teddyodore"-and the policeman dodg-
ed ROOSHNelI LOT o. dHONlNA " NHb5A'
Cline for $13, another to -" Here the
policeman shut up his notebook, from
which he had been quoting. ''Well, they
were to almost every leading citizen of
the United States, including w. Jennings
Bryan and | couldn't understand It, |
knew It wasn't a fake because the book
was all regular, and | knew pretty nearly
as surely that those people hadn't been
getting small amounts of money like that
"a / going TO hand IL
over to him and ask him about 1t, but
thought he would lie to me anyhow, so
/ went TO the bank and called out one Of
the clerks i had had some dealings with,
and / asked him what 1t stood for. He
gave me a tiny bit of haw-haw, not much,
but enough, and told me the world was
full Of cranks and this fellow was sew
eral of them, with a leading fad to make
his personal checks out to the name OF
some distinguished citizen or other, or
bearer, and draw the money himself. il
was a harmless kind OF case, the clerk
said, and as long as he didn't make
check out for something that he didn't
have In the bank, 1t wasn't doing any
harm to anybody. Then / handed over
the book to him." concluded the police-
man, land went out wondering what the
next would be-" and SO did the reporter
Half an hour later the reporter met a
bank clerk OF his acquaintance.
Say" the clerk said, do you want a
queer bit of stuff for your paper?"
That's the kind the reporter was look
ing for, and he nodded afIirmatively.
well" continued the clerk, "a man
came into our bank to-day and had a
check cashed for $1,000. made payable to
God Almighty, or bearer"
Great CaesarY' almost shouted the re-
porter, "is there another one?" and a
careful comparison of names and persons
showed conclusively that there was.
THREE HELPINGs OF CHICKEN.