The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-01-09
A Farmers
Son
His Father and Mother
Stood by Him With
Parental Affection
Blu GREGORY MOORE

see HOIo VI HUMANITY as IL Is imam any
other class Of men, but 1 question If
the endless panorama of incidents
typifying the different phases of hu-
man life is witnessed by any class that
every day passes before bankers.
Sometimes whole stories are enacted
before us spread over term of years.
I am the repository of one such story
that l watched from its beginning to
its climax.
One afternoon a weather beaten old
farmer with silky white hair scattered
over his head came to my desk and,
pulling out a wallet, asked for q draft
on Denver for 5000 In favor of Thomas
| Williams. He counted out the money,
and then, having nothing to do while
| the draft was being prepared, began
to tell me the beginning of this story.
I'm sendin. the money" he said,
ito my boy out in Colorado. He went
out there year ago, takin' some
money with him that 1 give him, but
he hasn't had much luck, and it's all
| gone. First he got sick; then when he
got well he went prospectin' and
struck somepin that looked good, but
some other fellers jumped his claim,
whatever that means, and took it all
away from him.
''Then Tom got sick ag'in and went
to horsepittle and stayed there three
months. Now he's got out of the
horsepittle and loo1in', about for some
pin. I'm sendin' this money to give
him chanct Toms his mothers pet,
and she lays awake nights worryin
about him. I'm mighty fond Of the
boy myself somehow.
when he got old enough to work
wanted him to help me on the farm.
He tried 1t for awhile, but / see purity
quick he didn't take to 1t. He was
too smart to be contented to follow a
| plow same g his father, who didn't
never get no dedication. So says
to him one day: Tommy, reckon you'd
better go to the city and work that
away. This don't suit you He was
mighty well pleased at that. 1t al
most broke mas heart to part with
him, but she knOwed it was better for
him and let him go.
"TOm didn't like it in town so well
as he thought he would. Leastaways
he didn't stay long in the place he
went into. They must a thought
heap of him, though, for they raised
his salary twice, SO he wrote me. But
he got into a fight with one of the head
clerks and got himself discharged. He
said the head clerk accused him of
stealth some money.
"Tom was allus an ambitious little
chap, and after leavin' his place he
concluded he'd go west and try and
do somepin big, for ma and me agin
we got too old to work. So we scraped
up $500 and give it to him, and he
At this moment a clerk laid the
farmers draft on my desk, and the
first chapter Of his story was finished,
for he began to count over his soiled
and torn bills, now and again wetting
his thumb on his lip as he turned them
up. Then, leaving them to me and
carefully folding his draft, he put 1t In
his wallet, crammed the wallet down
INV thC OOJLOhA VI 1lo PONhCJ anu VIII
"Goodby, Mr.. Cashier" left the bank
The second chapter of the story is
very short. There is hardly enough in
1t to make a. chapter but there is a
good deal beneath the few words re-
CURED to tell it. A girl of eighteen
came to the bank, laid down $24, near
ly all in silver coin, and asked for a
dra Fl 70 covar tha amount
ITO whom will you have 1t made
payable?" asked.
'Tom Williams" in soft voice, al
most whisper.
ordered the draft made out, and
the girl stood waiting Unlike the
farmer, she didn't tell all would have
liked to know, so l asked:
rs Tom Williams your brotherT
NO" she replied, looking down on
the floor.
l had not liked the indications as to
Toms character as they appeared in
his fathers account of him, and now
that money was going to him from his
sweetheart | began to despise him.
handed the girl the draft and had a
never once looked up at me. She went
out with it Rugged up against her
heart, as though she loved it because
she had saved it for Tom.
My next visitor in behalf of Tom
was his mother. She stood by my
desk emptying on it from a carpetbag
lot of bills and silver and copper
coins. Not knowing who she was l
asked what l should do with the mon
ey, and she said, "Send it to Tom"
By this time was not likely to forget
Tom and asked if she wished a draft
for Thomas Williams. She said she
did. l turned her funds over to
clerk to count, and he reported that
they amounted to $64347. I ordered
the draft to be made out, placed
chair before the old lady and said,
with view to my enlightenment:
'Mr. Williams pretty busy nova
daysT
mo, pa amt busy. He's sick. L wish
we had our boy here to help US. He's
out in Colorado perspectin' He says
he's struck mine or a-goin' to strike
a mine or somepin and wants some
money for grubstakin' or somepin like
that. We're sendin' him all we kin
Jest now, but hope to send him some
more bime by. We had some money
saved up for old age, but we've been
a-drawin on it for Tom, and this is
all there is left"
When she went out with her draft
/ found myself boiling with indigna-
ton at this worthless scamp who was
sucking the lifeblood out of his old
father and mother-even bis sweet
heart.
There was a visit from the sweet
heart after this to ask for a draft of
$3.50, which convinced me that Tom
had accepted the last amount she had
sent him. Then one day the old farm
er came in pale and trembling, evident
~ just out of a sickbed, with the check
of mortgage company for 81 600 He
asked for draft In exchange for It
payable to this vampire of son. We
bankers make 1t a rule to mind our
own business, but l had reached a
point where l could no longer refrain
from warning this poor old man.
so you have mortgaged your farm
to send money to your SOM" l said.
Eyes; Toms in powerful need OF
money. The mine he thought was GO
In TO turn out SO fine petered out. He
says 1t closed up as he went down IN
stead of openin."
"And you lost all the money you sent
him for the Development"
Eyes, we lost it." replied the old man,
with tremulous voice.
Aren't you afraid you'll lose this