The Washington times., 1906-07-22
BUYS FIRST PANAMA BOND
AS 4 GIFT TO GRANDSON,
BEARING PURCHASERS NAME
Willing to Pay Twenty Per
Cent Above It's Face
Value.
ELATED OVER HIS SUCCESS
Is Employed in Office of Register of
the United States
Treasury.

Ir1bued with a desire 70 secure a
unique present for his grandson. and
at {. same time get a souvenir Of the
Panama Canal DIT Hervel Al
den Dobson, a bookkeeper in the Office
OF the Register of the Treasury De-
partment. living at 100 Eleventh street
northeast. bid S25 for bond No. of the
$50 denomination Of Panama Canal
bonds. This was by all odds tine nigh
est bid submitted for any of the thou
sands Of bonds offered by Secretary
Shaw, and II was snapped up forth
with. MT DObson says he was SO so
licitous Of landing bond No. ] that he
felt rather shaky after bidding SO,
and wished he had bid a Few dollars
more
Thinking that perhaps the bid from
him might be miscOnstrued by some
persons. DIT DObsOn yesterday wrote
q letter TO Secretary Shaw, telling
him how he happened 70 bid for the
bond. and explaining why he wanted il,
Pausing in his gardening at his
home. Dr. DObsOn took a few moments
20 tell a reporter FOR The Times about
his bid for the bond. His story was as
follows:
Il intended keeping this a secret, but
now tuet the papers have printed my
name, and it may show me up in
wrong light I'll tell all about it.
As Gift to Grandson.
My son, Dr. William II. Dobson, sur
geon in charge of the Yeung-kong Hos
pital I'm China, recently returned to Los
Angeles. where he was presented with
a bouncing baby boy on June 1. The
youngster was named after me. Hervel
Alden DObs0n When / heard this
decided 20 give the little fellow a pres
ent and set about 10 think up an orig
inal one.
81 thought il would be a clever idea
70 secure for him the very FIRST bond
of the Panama canal issue. / do not
expect % 1--we TO see the canal built, SO
/ thought I would buy bond and in
that way aid in its construction, in
order that my children and grandchil-
dren might lay eyes on IL before they
died / know all about bonds and 1
know there are a number Of fanatics,
cranks, and souvenir hunters who
would be dead anxious 10 land bond No.
/. and either hold II as a souvenir OF
sell IL at an advance I'm price. For that
reason 1 bid high and / was willing 10
pay the Government S25 for the so reg
istered bond. II i set the bond, and
see no reason why should not 1t will
be registered on the books in the
Treasury IN my name. but the ink won't
be dry on the books before ! have II
transferred TO my grandson. because i
purchased Il for him and want him 10
have it as soon as possible.
Says Price Seems Absurd.
IT looks rather absurd 10 pay the
Government 50 more for "a thing than il
Is really worth today, but I'll have the
satisfaction OF having given a unique
present and landed coveted prize, II
this bond runs for the twenty years for
which il has been issued, II viii pay s.
interest. In that way my grandson Will
get 81 more out OF The bond than I put
in il. in addition 10 having the dis
tinction of possessing the very first
bond of the Panama series and having
the knowledge that his grandfather
helped build the canal"
The walls of DT. DObsOn's home are
literally covered with Oriental tapes
tries and testimonials from the officials
OF the Chinese government given 10 his
son Usually when a foreign devil
leaves China the Celestials are glad 10
sec him go. but each time DF, DobsNu,
ir.. left China he was showered with
favors, silks, and other testimonials Of
esteem.
The elder Dr.. DobsOn says he is the
only one-Iegged man who ever enlisted
IN the United States Army. lie was
mustered into the service from the
State of New York by a special order
from President Lincoln. DR.. DobsOn
says ne was in the thiCkest OF the fight
at Fort Stey ems. now the BTightwOod
road Il was driving an ambulance,
said Or Dobson, and bullets and
shrapnel cut of the twigs and branches
Of the trees around me so rapidly that
it seemed as though il were raining
green"