The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-09-14
TOWN TALK
BY THE MAN ABOUT TOWN.

one proprietor taking a nap; one sober
barkeep; one bride and groom; one
groom-to-be; one old batch an ancient
maid; a couple; a man in love with
another mans wife; a wife who reCi-
procates above sentiment; a necessarily
jealous husbands a kid; a grandfather
Goxy); longshOremen; one doctor;
one reporter drinking milk; another re
porter paying his bill at the desk; one
patient and overworked stewardess;
one police officer and two lonely clergy
men.
The big man has the tally habit.
Everytime he shaves he cuts a mark
in the handle of his razor and for
every meal he eats he takes a tooth
pick, so that someday he will be able
to start a lumber yard.
9 e )
District Attorney Breckons is quite
a Sherlock Holmes. An ordinary
period, just is a very small thing
on printed document, yet its pres
ence, discovered by Breckons on some
Standard Oil receipts, served to abb
solutely prove the forgery of receipts
or rather that receipts for May orders
were not filled out until last month.
The company had two lots of receipts
printed. In the first lot the NO tor
number has no period. In the second
printed by The Star last month, the
period appears These receipts were
not printed till after the fire, which
occurred August IS, and yet some of
the receipts for oil purporting to have
been signed long before that, are on
these receipts. There is no getting
round evidence like that. 1t is de-
monstration itself.
he period story reminds one of the
work of Detective Burns, who landed
the San Francisco supervisors, in con-
nection with the case of poor old
Senator Mitchell Mitchell was ac-
cused of using his position as SEN
ator to gain profit from land deals.
1t was clear that the firm of which
he was a member had made big money
by deals which the senator helped in
Congress. But into the Grand July
in Portland went the senator's partner
with a typewriter agreement, dissolv-
ing the partnership as far as all land
matters were concerned, dated at the
time when Mitchell became senator,
long before the land deals. This was
a clincher as a defense, but it didn't
stop Burns. He took the contract
and began to investigate The result
was finding that the paper on which
the agreement was written could be
proved by it's water mark to have not
been made until long after the daGe
of the agreement, and then he found
the stenographer, located the typewrit-
ing machine and proved its date,-and
the agreement was shown to be fake.
That ended poor old Mitchell, who
died in prison supposedly of hemorr-
hage from a tooth. l think if one
should inquire among those who ought
to know in Portland, however, that
he might be told that the broken down
old man committed suicide.
Speaking of detective work and the
effect of small things, it may be said
that small hole,-a mere pin hole
in an oil can where our oil warehouse
fire was started, would have ended all
troubles for Lionel Hart or anyone
else. Whoever the incendiary was he
was certainly fool at his job. The
fire he started burned oil cases with
full cans inside. Fifteen or twenty
cans were scorched black, but the heat
wasn't quite enough to cause explo-
sion. Had there been a little leak,
which Mr.. Blank might have made
with nail, and one can would have
eXploded,-and good bye warehouse,
evidence of shortage and all. All
that Honolulu would have known
about would have been a fire that
would certainly have startled the town
and Lionel might have had his job
yet, waiting for a new warehouse.
IT'S the little things that count"
: = :.
He was a very solemn man,-solemn
because the Anti-Saloon League is
having a hard tussel,-and l had a
bunch to make him happy.
Have cigar" asked.
Il never smoke" said he.
Have a drink" l inquired.
Il never drink" said he.
Have game of crib?" asked l.