The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1911-03-09
Great Men Have Known
AND YOU HAVE KNOWN MEN LIKE THEM

member us kids agreed to pray Tor
the Lord to change him, cause we
couldn't like him very well like he
was, and mother said that was the
right spirit.
l have said that we were poor, and
we were, but there was property
enough so there was no need OF SUI
fering. We were short of ready money
though. We were to have some from
| the estate in the spring, and mean
while one of my older brothers was
trying to keep us running.
There came a cold snap, We ran
out of some provisions and there
wasn't any money in the house. There
wasn't much prospect of the older
brother reaching us for several days
for it was too far to drive in sucn
weather. Mother decided to ask
Thompson for credit,-we had alway S
paid for things We got-and | went
to the store with her.
| He smirked and he smiled He
folded his thin arms under his white
| dDIOu ONeI Ilo PuuhSis ACAA 'i0
smirked and smiled some more. !
cant at this late date repeat his ex-
act words, though l have never been
so Inundated since, but he told IT'S
| that it was taking desperate chances
that he always made it a practice
not to trust widows or families where
there was no one big enough to work
steadily. He feared that to extend
us credit would but be adding TO our
worries, and all that sort OF rot. He
wound up by saying:
However If you are clear out OF
coal and meat, l might let you nave
leetle bit, very leetle bit
l had been nudging mother for
minute or more. l was afraid she
wouldn't rise to the occasion, but
she did. She was nice about it, but
she informed Bro. Thompson tAst
We had made a mistake-and We, did
too. We burned scrapA of wood ,hai
mother and | could wrestle from the
beach, and we got down to beans be
fore my brother came, but We didn
owe Bro. Thompson a cent. Ny bro
ther fixed things up someway, l don't
know how. We had to trade at Thomp
sons for it was the only store then.
l remember shortly afterwards lit
tie occurance.
l had a dime l don't remember
where l got it but l had it and
was to spend it as l pleased. For
years it seemed to ME, had want
ed to have a whole dimes worth Of
candy. Well l went into Thompson's
store and after much deliberation
picked out what | wanted-those
lare square pieces of brown pasty
stuff, don't remember what We call
ed them, but they are good yet-and
then | hunted up Bro. Thompson
and told him what l wanted. He
looked real shocked and asked me
il my mother had sent for that. !
told hin: no. that it was my own
money. Then he stated to lecture me
on the sin of wasting money. He
told me that a poor boy, whose
mother WAS a widow, ought not to
yield to the temptation of buying
candy, and he advised me to spend
my money for tea or for coffee or
for sugar, and finally ! did-bought
dimes worth Of tea for mother.
Now reckon maybe Bro. Thompson
| was honest in that advice, but it
was mighty hard advice to give 10
a boy that had as few dimes as
| had had. and since then l have Of
ten wondered If there wasn't more
| profit in the tea than in the candy.
During vacation | worked out and
when it came time to buy pair of
| boots | went after them all alone.
wanted a pair with red tops, on
which were pictures of boy riding
running horse. Bro. Thompson had
widows son. Those boots cost too
much: Now he had some other boots
there that had been slightly dam
aged. and while they were actually
worth 1926 he would sell them 10
ME for So. Well he had his way.
They were leaky boots, and We found
out later that they had paper soles
When we complained he shrugged
his shoulders and smiled:
| I'm sorry. but if they had been
| first-class boots | could have sold
them for s3?"
! / have heard other people say that
there was sand in the sugar he sold
don't know about that, but do
know there was hypocracy in the
prayers he publicly offered. But, he
was great He made money. He
made more money than one out of
900 would have made with his same
opportunities.
l can see~him even now with his
little pot belly sticking out, his arms
folded under the white apron, and
that silly, smirking, decieving smile
upon his mouth. | presume he is
l - z