Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1900-02-23
Washin9ton Standard
THE AMATEUR REFORMER.
Chicago Tribune.

leaning against the iron door frame,
he said:
care these ripe?'
"Sure," answered the man.
"What is the lot worth?"
"Sell you the case for dollar
The other reflected moment.
gathered pcrsimmons along the Mis-
sissippi river" he said, "but, if 1 re-
member rightly, they looked little
softer and little brOwner when they
were ripe than these do. Can't be
any mistake about these being ripe, /
SUPPOSE
"No, sir. They're all right
GAS general thing they don't
ripen till after frost, do they?"
"No."
"These come from somewhere
south OF here, presumed"
"Yes."
"They may have had more frost
there than We have had here. When
they're green they have kind Of
alumy, creepy, get-over-it taste,
haven't they?'
eyes; they're pretty bad when
they're green"
"Do you like them when they are
ripe?"
Better'n any fruit that grows. l
could eat half dozen boxes of 'em."
"And these, you say, are quite
ripe?"
"That's right"
"Well, I'll take the case"
"All right. Take them with you,
or have 'em sent
"On condition, l was about to say
that you eat box of them right
now"
"You be darned"
"You said you liked them, didn't
you? You said you could eat half 9
dozen boxes. All ask you to do is tt
eat one box of them at my expense
No, I'll make it half box. Ny
friend, would you let half box O
luscious ripe persimmons-you say
they are ripe, don't you?-stand be
tween you and sale? If buy then
can do as please with them, cam
I? can feed them to the hogs, or
can feed them to commission mer
chant, if I want to, can't 1? Here
your dollar. Tackle those persim
mons, will your"
"Pll see YOU
"Pll make it dollar and a half
I've collected a bad debt this morn
ing. and Pm in comparatively cas-,
circumstances"
"You 60 to-
1.-TWO dollarsp'
"You"-
1.-Two dollars, and you keep the per
simmons. 1 don't like them much
anyhow. Only half box, my dea
friend, and you keep those ripe, beau
tiful persimmons and sell them t,
somebody else. Does it go?"
"Look here, you ding DANCED old"-
"You won't do it, won't you?
hardly expected you would. Did 20,
ever hear of what is known in pollen
les as the Socratic method of demol
ishing an adversary? Well, hav'
been trying it on you, with variation
and adaptions suited to South Waite
street. It is an argumentative poll
that will knock whole case of per
simmons
"Pve run across all kinds of duml
fools in my time," interrupted tn,
man in the doorway, wrathfully, " bu
you're a new variety. Were you borl
so, or did you turn that way after 20,
grew up%
"When an animal gets caught in
steel trap. my friend, it won't get GU
of it by standing up OH its hind leg
and swearing at the trap. You still
refuse to sell me that case of persim
mons for dollar on condition tina
you eat half box Of them, do you
Very we'll. You refuse to take tw,
dollars, eat the half box of persim
mons and keep the case yourself, d.
you? All right. Then sir, you &C
knowledge that when you told M
those things were ripe you nigh
have made a mistake? You wouldn'
lie to sell a dollars worth of half.rip
fruit, would your"
al didn't ask you to buy those per
simmons, did II"
"What's this barrel of apple
WORTH"
"It's worth four dollars. but I don
want to sell it to you"
"Pll give you eight dollars for it
the centre of it isn't full OF little, con
sumptive, worthless apples that no in
telligent, discriminating hog WOULD
81 told you 1 didn't want to sci
anything, sir. Suppose you kind {
walk along. You're in everybody
way"
"Were you born a South Waite
street commission merchant, NAV
ask, or did you turn that way afte
you had grown up? You hardly loo
like a man who would deliberatel
sell lot of California peaches 70
choice Delaware fruit. You wouldn'
try to work off on me peck of year
before-last pecans for this wears cror