The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-30
OUR THRIFTY JOSEPH.

OUR THRIFTY JOSEPH.
We have had occasion heretofore to
note the enterprise and thrift of our
Joseph and to dwell with pride on the
completeness with which he typifies
that alert, shrewd, thrifty, vigorous
individual, the MiddleWest Yankee.
This is one of the compensations of
newspaper work, these opportunities
that come to it of discovering and pre-
! senting to the public, making it &C
quainted with the great intellects that,
without the aid of the press would
live and die village Hampdens, "un
wept, unhonored and unsung." Duty,
usually so grim of feature, beams with
pleasure in such instances, as she per-
forms her delightful task. We have
noted the rise of our Joseph with espe-
cial pride. He is so exceptionally en-
terprising and sagacious. He pursues
the fugitive siXpence SO industriously,
and he appears to be capturing it so
successfully, thus vindicating the repu-
tation of his countrymen and laying up
ample store against the rainy days of
old age, that we come to note his latest
exploit in financing with qualification
and pride. We need not say who our
Joseph is, for, through the medium of
the press, every one who reads knows
that there is but one Joseph in our land,
as there is but one in Egyptian his
tory, and that ours is he whom fate
tried to conceal by naming him
Smith," but whom our president res
cued by making him director of the
bureau of American republics.
r. AS the incumbent of this Office it is
the task of Joseph to foster, encourage
and stimulate exchange of products be-
tween the Latins and the mixture of
Angles, SaXons and Teutons who in
habit the United States. That is what
his bureau is for, and that is what
he gets $4,000 year for. Recently it
occurred to Joseph that it was desirable
that those who buy and sell in these
various countries should have di-
rectory, a sort of general introduction
to each other, and it likewise, apparent
ly, occurred to him that he could make
it a good thing for Joseph. So he pre-
pared a circular, which he couched in
alluring terms, adjoining his PROPOSE
ton to prepare a directory that should
contain the name of every prominent
manufacturer in the United States.
placed in a group of all engaged in
similar line of productions; "Agricul-
tural Implements" for instance, in
Guiding all in that vocation. For the
distinction of having the name thus
listed and the advantage of being in
troduced by the director of the bureau
of American republics to the Latins of
Central and South America engaged in
business, including a copy of the di-
rectory, the domestic manufacturer was
asked to pay to Joseph the paltry sum
of $25. This circular was sown by our
Joseph among the manufacturers of
the country, and the publication of the
directory has been recently duly an
nounced by Josephs friends on the
press.
1t was recently our privilege to exam
inc a copy of this great work owned by
a manufacturer of farm implements
who had accepted the offer and signed
the agreement to take the book and
pay the $25 in consideration of the in
ducements held out in Joseph's circular.
1t is a pretentious volume of about a
thousand pages, giving a list in each
city, of each South American state. of
those engaged in business, and there
are lengthy articles in English and
Spanish descriptive Of the various
countries and other matter compiled
from consular reports and other official
sources. But the manufacturer in ques-
ton searched the volume through and
through in vain quest Of mention of
his line of business and the name of
his company, and he replied to Jo-
seph's polite request to remit the s25
that he would be happy to do so if
Joseph would kindly indicate where in
the volume was the group of manu-
facturers Of agricultural implements
that contained the name of his COM
pany. How extensively Joseph has
worked this little scheme; how many
$25 he has raked in; how much the |
publication of the book cost him and
how much the treasury of the United |
States, and how much Joseph has thus |
made ION the side" in addition to his |
salary of $4,000, is information which, |
we doubt not, Joseph will consider as |
among those state secrets that are to |
be kept from the public eye and ear.
In fact, we think he is justified in con- /