South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-12-20
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: THE FIRST DOLLAR | y
: EVER EARNED. x
MARK WEBSTER.
BY VII SHELLEY.
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The conventional first rung on the
ladder Of success in these parts seems
to have been planting corn. Judging
from the number of men who earned
their first dollar that way. there must
have been rattlin' big annual corn
crop fOrty-fifty-six years ago. A
few of them. TO be sure. carried water.
and we know of one who sawed a cord
Of wood, but the great majority pulled
down their first money in the old reli-
able corn-dropping job.
Mark Webster, writing bailiff at the
superior court is another one. Marks
subsequent transactions with the
money thus earned, however, were
unique, and read much like that old
German story-only the reverse of it
in which the youth started out with
q bag OF gold and through a series
Of unfortunate swaps ended up with
milestone, which, If 1 recall correct
ly, he tied TO his neck and jumped
into the pond.
Mark Webster started out with rs
cents which with careful investment
brought him $50. 1t was thuswise:
With the rs cents for his first job
tightly clutched in his chubby fist, he
made his whistling way homeward
along the country lane and CHANGED
to meet a poor widow woman leading
a very young calf.
Good morrow, fair dame" quoth
Mark, politely doffing his cap,
''wouldst sell yon calf?'
Indeed 1 would, my lad, for l am
in sore need of money"
And prithee, what is the lowest fig
ure on said calf? He looks like a
gangly critter to me. Can't be worth
much"
lone dollar is all 1 ask. and it
would cause me much humiliation TO
take such paltry sum. But l gotta
do it,
81 have not so great a sum-" re-
piled Mark, "75 cents is my entire
wealth"
And the widow woman finally ac-
cepted the 70 cents and turned the
calf over TO Mark
Times Have Changed.
Parenthically, if one approached
stockman or butcher nowadays and
asked for rs cents worth of calf he
would receive but a small portion of
shank. I wean.
However, Mark had the calf. and
after more or less difficulty leading IL
home. showed it to his dad who was so
pleased with his business instinct that
he gave the boy another 10 match 1t.
Mark kept the calves for two years,
at which time, after the manner of all
calves, they became steers, and a right
likely pair they were, too. They had
cost him nothing for feed as ne raised
all this on a patch of ground his
father had let him use for the pur-
pose.
The steers were in fine condition by
this time, but Mark was ambitious TO
own a horse, and one day, without the
knowledge Of his parents, he traded
them for colt. That is. it was sort
of a colt-a rangy moth-eaten animal
that looked like it might grow up to
be a camel or some other ungalnly
beast.
His father and his friends made
great sport of his last transaction and
assured him that he had got the worst
end of the bargain that time, sure.
But Mark, with due disregard for the
uncovered canine tooth" was not in
the least perturbed by these jibes. He
took the best of care of the animal,
fed ii carefully rubbed it down and
curried it nearly every day.
Hence, in due time, like the ugly
duckling 1t became a beautiful AMI
NAL. sound of limb and wind, and he
finally sold It for $3.50, which We all
will agree, is a mighty good return
for the original sum invested.
Get her" a pair Of Red Cross Shoes
for $500 at Beitner's. AdVt.