The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-03
EPISTLES TO ST. PAUL.

SUBSTANTIAL looking man went into the
Ryan hotel the night before last laid down
a. grip and dress suit case, registered and
asked for a room on the parlor floor Then
he rubbed his hands and looked about. as a
man will in a hotei. where he expects to see
some familiar faces but is not quite sure
of himself. Presently smother substantial
looking business S1nan, who is very well
known about town. got%up from a group and
approached the stranger And they greeted
each other like pair of long lost brothers.
1t was years since last they met and thew
proceeded to exchange condolences over GER
tain comforts that they had ordered.
What you at2'' asked the St Paul
man, you don't look like a stenographer any
more?"
'Well, I'm not" said the other 1.-THE fact
is that have stenographers of my own now. -
Let's see; why did you leave St. Paul?'
WELL" said the other 81 don't mind tel
ling you, though its an old story now"
You remember who | used to work for?
Yes. Well, you know that he had money to
burn, and got it all out of real estate One
day he called me into his private office and
started to dictate a letter. 1t was in boom
days, you know, and l used to pretty
big figures for real estate prices. The boss
dictated the letter to firm of brokers in
Chicago, and the burden of it was that he
to him about certain piece of ST Paul prop.
erty over and had concluded that he would
give them a certain figure for it, and they
could take it leave it. I'll give YOU
SAC, 00O for the property if you want it, he
dictated. if
when I went into my own room to write
the letter 1 was thinking about something
else, and when l came to the part referring
to the price 1 omitted a CIPHER and made it
$4,000. 1 then proceeded to forget all about
the incident. and succeeded.
"a few days later the old man read his
mail in the morning then rushed into my
room and said: Where's the letter book?'
Good, says l to myself, now you are I'D
against it. I gave him the book and watched
him while he turned to the page on which
1 had copied the letter to the Chicago peo-
pie. He looked perplexed and glanced at
me a couple of times. That moment It
flashed over me what Is had done in writing
that letter, and l was ready to get thrown
out when he turned around and offered me
a cigar and then went smiling into his own
room. When he went out 1 took a look at
the letter and saw. that I really had made
error of s36,o9O l. thought then that
the thing to do was. to- resign, but 1 had
nothing else in sight, and l stuck and he
said nothing.
"A rev Gays lager 10 saw IN the list of
transfers that the Old rran had bought the
piece Ct property din question. The price
stated was $4,000. He had made $50, 900 by
my error and came To the conclusion that
minute that If Ieould make that much
money for anothesf NAM by being an ass I
could lay up foztunesfor myself by being
sensible. l put my hat and told the old
man that 1 was through. Three days after
wards 1 got into a patent process for pre-
serving prunes and. do you know he con-
cluded sit is so much easier to make money
by looking wise and grasping the things that
come to you that now regard every stenog-
rapher with sort of surprise and pity
There are evidences of Spanish treachery
Sin cur midst Yesterday morning when
Gen. Muehlberg arrived at the capt.
toll he was astonished to find that the field
pieces that stare out so frowningly from the
corners of the grounds about the building
had been turned around and trained on the
capitol Itself so that if fred one of them
would have taken off Mr.. Dunn's roof. another
would have finished the usefulness of In