The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-12-07
"A CHRISTMAS
SURPRISE
BY EDWARD L. SCARRON
Copyright, lsl0, BY American Press
Association.

the father Of d sfA1l boy and know
! what it is TO have coal bills, doctors
bills. clothing bills, grocery bills in
deed. all kinds Of bills-coming in and
a small salary with which TO ray
them. My wife proved a financial
gem. or don't know how we should
have made ends meet I turned il all
over 20 her, and she brought the ends
together as well as she could. fefs
I. that nest egg should be started, but
every time we tried To start one some
OF our small family was taken III aud
doctor must be called in and paid or
extra clothing must be purchased or
some one of the many extra necessities
must be provided, aud it didn't look as
il that nest egg would ever be started
or If it We're started that it would he
continueS
I Then another child, girl came
along, and what before was an even
thing between salary and necessities
began to be gradual running behind.
One day gentleman came into the
telegraph office where | worked and
sat down ut desk 10 write a mes
sage. He seemed to be doing mere
thinking than writing After sitting
there an hour or more he got up and
went out In another hour he came
back, wrote out message and handed
Ii in TO ME,
Il should use cipher for that" he
said, but haven't one. You'll have
to send it in plain English, as l have
written it. There's no time to COM
munieate by mail"
l counted the words, told hirn the
cost, which he paid me, and took his
departure.
| saw that the message was an i'm
portant one, considered in a financial
sense. 1t was the announcement to
parties in New York that the sender
had completed the amalgamation of q
number OF companies into one trust
provided his action were ratified by
the New York parties In order 10
close the deal he must explain WHAT
was proposed and get their authority
10 do so. Ii occurred to me that an
operator In financial center might
sell out his secret for big price and
make Il lot of money out of it, II did
not occur 10 me to take adrautaga4n
my position to make money, for The
reason that have always been eiS
posed to making money dishonesty.
But saw no necessity for sending tile
message in such form that it could be
used 10y amy except The parties for
whom 1t was Intended We operators
are used to various devices for keeping
such kilograms from the public, and {
knew very simple method of sending
the message whereby only those for
whom it vas intended could benefit bS
1t. sent ii by this method
In tho afternoon the gentleman came
in aud asked IL had sent his telezs
gram. ~
Yes said. Il have, but not iust
the way you wrote it,
How did you send itg' he asFed,
bristling.
Il didn't think Of suggesting safe
way TIL you had gone out. SO acted
without your authorization.
"Well?n
II sent the first, the third. the fifth
word, and so on to the end, lby our
company and gave the second, the
fourth, the sixth, and so on by an
other company. OF course neither Of
the two dispatches alone means any
thing. Then l sent a third telegram
telling the parties howto>r the two
former ones. There IL a cost Of 90
cents for the third message"
He stood gaping at me for a few mo-
ments till he got the scheme through
his head then pulled GO cents cut Of
hrs pocket and gave 1t to me.
Much obliged, he said II wonder
| didn't think of that myself"
He was going out when he turned
and said "Give me your name.
reckon ! owe you a box of cigars for
that"
| wrote my name on telegraph
blank aud handed it to him, rejoicing
In the prospect of getting a box of eli
gars, If he remembered the matter. |
love cigars but couldn't afford to
smoke anything but pipe and poor
tobacco at that. S.
This was along In September
pulled away on my pipe for s0uple
Of months, hoping each day wuuidI
bring the, box of cigars. Bni they
didn't come. indeed, they never came.
Things looked rather blue for Christ.
mas that year. The children were get
ting old enough to expect gifts, and /
wished | could give something to nyI
wife as some return for doing all the
work in lieu Of servant. One morn
ing | received an envelope stamped
"Thc Consolidated Copper and Lead
Company | opened 1t and foa1d al
certificate for hundred shares of the
stock Of the said company made out
in my rame.
couldn't understand what 1t meant
or where il came from | inquired
what the stock of that company was
selling at and found the last quotation
to be 10. This made the shares worth
$1,000. wrote the-eompany for an
,1.,,a Ia,