Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-07-11
DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND.
An Encounter With Tricky Money
u CHANGERS In China.

l. -
Changers In China.
In the great interland Of China
the region that lies south Of Siberis
land far to the west of Peking. there
is a mixed population among which
the chief commercial element Is thu
Chinese. These "Kitats," as they art
called, are continually on the look
out for some opportunity to fleece
the ignorant Tartars who stray ir
from the country. Fathers Hue ant
CADET, French priests, who in th'
course of their travels in 1S45 hac
reached blue Town." were from
their dress mistaken for Tartar la
mas, and when they sought to have
silver ingot changed to copper cash
found the change short.
The weight showed by the scales
was correct, but when the chief cleri
took the swanpan, or counting frame
and added the amounts the result
seemed small.
This is an exchange Office sale
the travellers I'VE are the sellers
you the buyers. You have made
your calculations; give US pencil ane
paper, and we will make ours"
Nothing could be more just. Yol
have laid down a fundamental princi
pie Of the law Of commerce." re-
piled the Chinese clerk, confident OF
their ignorance, as he gave them the
articles very short calculation
sufficed to show the Frenchmen tina
they were to be cheated of a thous
and sapeks.
superintendent Of the bank" they
said, your swanpan is in error by
thousand sapeks."
impossible! Do you think that al
Of sudden I've forgotten how tt
use my swanpan? Let me go ovel
1t again.
He proceeded with an air Of grea
anxiety to do so and attained hi!
previous result.
Il knew 1 was right" he declared
passing the frame to a colleague
See, brother" The colleague calcu
lated and attained the same result
You see," said the principal
there Is no error. How Is 1t tha
our calculation does not agree with
what you have written?"
1T is unimportant to inquire why
your calculation does not agree with
what is written" replied the French
man suavely. This Is certain
yours is wrong and ours Is right
These figures that we have traced
upon this paper are very differen
from your swanpan. 1t Is impossi
BILE for them to be wrong. Were
all the calculators in the world tt
work all their lives on this simple
operation the result could be M
different than to affirm that you arr
wrong by a thousand sapeks."
The money changers were ex
tremely embarrassed and began tt
turn very red when a bystander
seeing how awkward was the situa'
ton, proposed himself as umpire
IN reckon it up for you," he said
And his result agreed with that Of
the Fren2hmen. The superintendent
of the bank made profound bow
"Sir lamas," said he, your math
ematics are better than mine"
| "Oh, not at ALL" replied th'
Frenchmen in the polite terms re
quired by Chinese etiquette. "You
swanpan Is excellent, but who eve
heard of one always free from error
People like you may we'll make mis-
takes once in awhile. when poor
ignorant folks like US make then
tens Of thousands Of times. Ou
swanpan, however. Is infallible, be
ing composed Of the very figures b!
which the royal astronomer of tn
most high emperor at Peking reck
ons the times and the pathways o
the sun, moon and stars. Such fig
ures could not be In error. Now
however thanks to the pains yo,
have taken, we have fortunately con
Cured in our reckoning"
And so, with malice toward none
and the full value Of their ingot
they left the shop.-Youth's Com
panion.