The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-02-28


sell.
4 Then II was represented to him thar
\ by certain simple business reforms ba
might himself make his mine nav
more largely. All the ore taken from
Il was carried down the hill on mules
Why not build little railroad for the
i purpose, which could he operated mr.
much less expense? but what would
4 those do who now make their living
I by driving the mulesf" asked Pedro
/ The simple business scheme is re-
] fused. Wastefulness CONTINUES. Tha
owners employees draw immense sal.
aries, and how much they steal be.
sides does not appear, except I'm tho
opulent manner In which they live.
VIII the mine always stand this
waste, this drain? viii there NOT
come day when the vein will run
out? And then? Well, then the sill
yer king and those who are sucking
his wealth will collapse.
Among them all there is one who
! foresees such result. Pedro's wife
had drudged as peon until the mine
!
part OF her life and had no desire 10
return TO II. Why not from this river
! OF wealth on which they were floating
turn aside something to support them
In case the fountain should dry up?
| And so she did. Instead OF putting
away a few copper coins at time as
her fatherin-law had done with which
to buy his rock, she took $1,000 bills
and hid them For years she stored
away these bills. No one knew that
| they were being hidden. no one knew
their hiding place. The waste, the ex-
travaganee. the money sucking by en-
ployees, relations, dependents contin-
ued, but every now and again the for
mer peon woman hid away thousand
dollar bill.
True enough, what Sonora Alvarado
| foresaw at last came about. The
earth taken out Of the mine became
less rich. Instead Of producing $4,000
day 1t produced but few hundred
dollars TO the ton. All Il was worth
must be paid TO those who carried it
from the mine into the valley and for
getting the silver out OF II. Pedro had
seen his fortune loom up almost in
night; now he saw it sinking rapidly
away. Then to crown his loss water
appeared in his mine.
Water is the great danger, the great
| trouble when it comes, In mining. Tun-
nels must be built, expensive pumps
must be put in, either one or both.
Pedro had but one business idea in
his head. That was to hold on 70 his
property. But now even that idea had
ceased TO be practicable. His mine
was no longer valuable unless worked
on business principles. and Pedro was
not business man.
Since there had been nothing put
away, so there was nothing when the
end came. The man who had given
away and wasted millions now found
himself unable to give or waste any
longer. 1t was the old story of the
fairy who had raised palaces and 9th
er luxuries for the pauper, by mutter-
ing another incarnation caused them
TO vanish.
Then Sonora Alvarado, who had
been tucking away thousand dollar
bills very conveniently, died. In dis
tributing her effects maid who had
been a long while in her service was
asked II there was anything that had
belonged to her mistress she would
like to have. She said there was an
old quilt the sonora had always used
which II would crafty her to possess.
The beloved woman had slept under
II for many years and would never let
It go out OF her own keeping. Surely
this would be a treasured souvenir.
But Pedro demonstrated against the
faithful servitor having nothing but
an old quilt much worn and not over
clean. He urged the maid to name
something Of greater value. She. how
ever, chung to the quilt and would not
be comforted without this article so
intimately associated with her mis-
tress. -
Now, Pedro was aware that his wife
had not sympathized with him In his
extravaganza; indeed, she had repeat
eddy warned him that he would come
TO grief by II. Knowing this he Won
dered II the good woman had not put
something away for a rainy day. The
eagerness OF the maid TO possess the
quilt caused him to suspect that some
thing might be hidden in II. Instead
Of giving it he began TO rip IT, out
came thousand dollar bill. Ripping
on he found another. and so, as Pedro
had grown fabulously rich overnight in
finding silver under a rock, he now
gained n fortune In an old quit. He
took out 800 thousand dollar bills
quite enough to soothes him for the
running out of his mine and to enable
him to live handsomely for the rest Of
his days.
Pedro Alvarado yielding to the inev'
table turned over his mine to Hers.
Some Americans are the new owners
and are working It on modern princi-
piles. Meanwhile the owner lives on
the income OF the 500 one-thousand-
dollar bills that were successfully saw
cd up by his more farseeing wife in
the old quilt through a long term OF
years. 81
There Is an unexplained feature IN
- H. ~