The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1905-04-27

science, and presented your letter or
| introduction. Said he still couldn't
| understand just how 1t happened, be-
cause lie had figured IT out by Logo
rthms and trigonometry and differen.
tial calculus and u lot of other high
priced studies that he'd taken away
| from Harvard and that 1t was cinch
on paper. Was so sure that he could
| have proved his theory right IL he'd
only had little more money that 1t
| hardly seemed worth while to tell him
that the only thing he could really
prove with his system was old Pro.
| fessor Darwin's theory that men and
monkeys began life in the same cage.
| II never struck me before, but I'll bet
the professor got that idea while he
! was talking with some of his students
Personally don't know a great deal
about gambling, because all ] ever
spent FOR information on the subject
was S27J-my fool horse broke in the
strctch-and that was forty years ago.
But first and last I've heard lot of
men explain how 1t happened that
they hadn't made hog killing. OF
course there must be n winning end to
gambling. but all that these men have
been able to tell about is the losing
end. And | gather from their expert.
ences that when fellow does little
gambling on the side it's usually on the
wrong side.
| The fact of the matter is that the
race horse, the faro tiger and the
poker kitty have bigger appetites than
any healthy critter has a right to have,
/ and after you've fed tapeworm
there's mighty little left for you. Fol.
lowing the horses may he pleasant eX-
ercse at the start, but they're apt to
lead you to the door Of the poorhouse
or the Jail at the finish.
TO get back to Clarence, he took
about an hour to dock his cargo of
hard luck and another to tell me how
strange it was that there was no draft
from his London bankers waiting to
welcome him. Naturally | haven't
lived for sixty years among a lot of
fellows who've been trying to drive Il
cold chisel between me and my bank
account without being able to smell a
touch coming a long time before II
overtakes me. and Clarence's inten-
lions permeated his CHEEKY conversa-
ton about as thoroughly as n fertilizer
factory does warm summer night.
or course he gave me every opportu.
nifty to prove that ! was gentleman
and to suggest delicately that | should
be glad If he would let me act as his
banker in this sudden emergency, but
as | didn't show any signs OF being n
gentleman and banker he was finally
forced to come out and ask me In
coarse commercial words to lend him
hundred. Said II hurt him to have to
do 1t on such short acquaintance, but |
couldn't see that he was suffering any
real pain.
Frankly, shouldn't have lent Clar-
ence dollar on his looks or his story,
for they both struck me as doubtful
collateral, but so long as he had a
letter from you asking me to do any
thing in my power to oblige him or to
make his stay in Carlsbad pleasant,
let him have the money on your ac-
count, to which | have written the
cashier to charge it. OF course hope
Clarence will pay you back, but think
you will save bookkeeping by charg'
ing 1t off to experience. I've usually
found that these quick, glad borrowers
are slow, sad payers. And when fell
low tells you that 1t hurts him to
have to borrow you can bet that the
thought of having to pay is going to
tie him up into bowknot of pain.
Right here | want to caution yor
against giving away your signature t
every Clarence and Willie that happens
along. When your name is on note
1t stands only for money, but wher
it's on letter of Introduction or rec
ommendation 1t stands for your judg
ment Of ability and character, and you
can't call it in at the end of thirty
days, either. Giving letter Of intro
ductlon is simply lending your name
with man as collateral, and If he's
no good you can't have the satisfaction
/ of redeemlng your Endorsement even
! and you're discredited The first thinl
I that young merchant must learn Il
4 that his brand must never appear on {
note or ham or n man that isn't good
2 I reckon that the devil invented thu
: habit of indorsing notes and givinl
letters to catch the fellows he couldn'
reach with whisky and gambling.
: or course letters Of introduction
: have their proper use, but about min
{ out of ten of them are simply licens
to some Clarence TO waste an hour o
!, your time and to graft on you for tn
= luncheon and cigars. It's getting s.
: that fellow who's almost strange
: to me doesn't think anything OF askln
: for a letter of introduction TO on
+ who's a total stranger. You can't eS
d plain to these men, because when 80
v try to let them down easy by tellin
/ them that you haven't had any rea
!, opportunity to know what their specia
~ abilities are they always come bac
Z with an, "Oh, that's all rght-just sa
word and refer to anything you Xix
about me-"
n give them the letter then unsealet
and, though of course they're not SUI
- posed to read it, have reason to thin
l. that they d., because I've never hear
OF one of those letters being presented
use the same form on all Of then