New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1904-07-09
THE FIRST Bit:

''Oh. Elsie, give me pI'e VI 'o"i
applet" begged little girl OF her
scboolmate.
No" Elsie answered. owe
Frances the first bite. y
Never mindr' coaxed the other.
Frances isn't here She can have
the second. -
The small maid shook her head de-
cidedly. You never can tell how
mucb will be left when it gets to GO
ing, - she said. 81 owe the first bite
to Frances. and shes hall have 1t. III
give YOU the next, size added gen
erously.
II guess Frances won't leave
much. the other pouted think
your real meant
But the honest owner OF the little
red apple kept to the thorny path OF
integrity, and Frances had 1.-THE first
bite. y
A subscription paper was presented
TO a merchant He was known 10 he
a promoter Of the cause for which the
money was wanted and generous
sum expected from him. As he glanced
over the list of doners, he saw the
names Of several who wertfn his debt,
and for whom only the day before his
collector had returned with empty
pockets. The sum of fifty dollars
stood opposite one signature; another
man was pledged for seventy -hve'
His mind ran over his present bank
account. In justice to his employees
and his family, he could not spare a
cent outside. His wife was in urgent
need of winter cloak. his children
must have new shoes and warmer
clothing. he was averse to running in
debt, With troubled face, he re-
turned the paper TO the waiting wo-
man.
II am very sorry" he said: but
I cannot see my way clear to giving
ANYTHING Just now. / could not do ii
without depriving Others of what il
rightfully theirs.
The woman frowned her disapprov
al. Il had counted on you, she
said, "for had supposed you were III
strong sympathy with u.s." and she
proceeded to set forth the urgent needs
of her society, and the privilege OF
donating to so worthy an object.
The man listened patiently, but at
the end his reply was substantially the
same that it had been at first, and the
woman bowed herself out, disagree
able curl Oh her lips.
The evening papers made prominent
note Of the men who had subscribed
SO literally to the city's pet charity.
The merchant whose nam was not
there smiled grimly to himself at his
reflections.
He knew that he was undoubtedly
being denounced that night as stingy
man, while the money that rightfully
belonged to him, and in the possession
of which he would have been glad to
sign his name to that paper for con-
siderable sum, was credited to those
others.
/ All this brings us to the question.
When are we entitled to the privilege
OF giving? As long as we are in debt,
have we any moral right to give of
that which is i'm orr possession? We
must have the necessities of life, OF
we might never be able to pay that
which we owe; but it is nice ques.
ton to decide how far those necessities
should 60. Shall we indulge in pud-
ding for dinner. while our washerwo-
man--whose bill we have not paid
sits down to meal Of only BUTTERFLIES
bread and potatoesg Certainly it can
not be honest to take that poor wo-
mans money and give it in support of
even q most worthy charity. Would
that be less than an actual theft.
For the person in debt there is al
ways somebody who is entitled to the
first bite, and just who that may bs
every debtor must decided for himself.
-Young's People Weekly.
800
The Erie railroad has discharged
1900 employees this spring and
round steak is l8 cents pound