Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-19

rest or Imprisonment, provided he should
at once join some .command ana go 70
were suspended in full as long as he re-
mained in the Confederate army.
THE #DEACONSSCOMB
remember two cases a young man
corn wlislxey in Gilmer county at the dis
tillery for dollar per gallon, and could
wagon it by the load across the mountain
to Gainesville at 25c. per gallon, and
s. to IS per gallon. But this poor coun-.
try boy had no money. To make 1t pro-
fitabe required an outlay of at least $500.
He had tried several friends. all to no
purpose He had not the Wherewithal.
Finally a good old deacon of the Baptist
church, noted for his loud a1nens, long
prayers, other external spiritual nantes
ment tending to put put down the nefarious
liquor traffic, heard Of this chance for a
good investment
He had always had an eye for the cent
Per cent. Quaming his conscience upon
the specious plea that the whiskey was
already made. and was bound to find a
market, whether he touched it or not.
and would eventually get to the consum-
er. he interested mutual friend by con-
shutting him the "go-between, under a
rigid injunction that under no circum-.
stances whatever should the good old
deacon's name ever come to the front in
the transaction. The arrangements were
all perfected, the deacon promptly fur
nishing the money. The young man made
the first trip success, promptly turn.
middle man, through whose fingers, in a
few days, one-half found it's way to the
deacon's pocket. a second trip was soon
made with the same result. BY this
time the deacon had had returned to him
in his share of the profits not only an
amount equal to the first investment, but
a handsome profit besides. fully so per
cent, and this. too, all within thirty days.
revolutionized the deacon's principles he
had begun to feel that the wholesale IL
quor traffic was not so demorallZlng at
ter all. Here on 5000 he had; within, thirty
days made a clean hundred dollars, and,
so far as he could learn, he had not
been instrumental in making a single man
drunkard So far he 1, had done mo- mo-
without his aid, would in all probability
not have made a cent, to make several
hundred dollars. or course, he expected
this trans-montane traffic to continue:
man having further part OF parcel in the
same.
The young men now concocted scheme
to shelve the good deacon. AS matters
then stood, they. each had a capital Of
$500. They pooled their assets, thus hav
ing plenty of money easily to carry on
the business on their own hook, without
letting third go any more to the deacon.
Besides, without any work on his part.
he had already gotten his first money
back, and so per cent. profit, all within
thirty days-fully as much money as he
could have made in five years at the
usual rate of usury he had been getting
from his good, "brethren' for the past
twenty years. The young men made some
three or four trips with fair success, not
quite SO good as at first. but with good
profits, however. BY this time the dea-
con had allowed his thirst for his part
Of the profit, so far kept from him, to
he employed an attorney to look after
the matter The young men soon got news
of what was going on and fearing pros
ecutioi decided to abandon the Whislley
business and join cavalry company then
forming having enough money by this
time to fit themselves in fine style. AZ
teT the war the deacon made another eff
fort to bring the young men to terms, but
such was public feeling in favor of the
old soldier he was forced to cease all
further action. Although for years after
the war he and one Of the young men
lived in the same small town, between
them there always existed want of coy
diality the cause of which but few OF
the neghbors ever knew. :.
The other young man, the go-betWeen
years, and nothing pleased him more tina
when with a, company of boon COM
panions to tell how he and his G1lmer
county whiskey-- co-partner did up the
deacon" But up to the last time I saw
him he has held in sacred trust the
deacon's name or the town in which he
lived He often saw the deacon after
the war. but between them the subject
was never mentioned.