The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-01-27
GOAL OIL JOHNNY
AND HIS MONEY

AMI nlc MONE1
Out of the mass OF free advertis-
ing" mail received, The Silver State
has dug out one piece Of govern
ment publicity which 10 worth print
ing. because 1t tells an interesting
story Of the ups and downs Of Goal
OIL Johnny"-it has news value" Its
purpose Ia to advertise government
securities and thrift stamps, but most
of this has been eliminated by the
editor, leaving fair moral editorial.
Coal OH Johnny" Is dead. The
most widely advertised spendthrift
the country ever knew died In poverty
at Fort Crook, Nebraska where he was
station agent for the Chicago, Bur-
lington and Quincy railroad. In the
days Of his prosperity he spent as
much as 100000 day. And the days
came around as regularly as the
sun. When he. died he made about
SIS a day and the pay car only came
around once month.
Neither the oil that produced his
fortune. nor his money, nor the way
he spent II brought him luck or hap
piness. He spent the last fifty years of
his life paying for the follies of his
youth, in poverty and toll.
John w. Steele, for that was his
real name, was born on a farm near
Sheakleyville. Pennsylvania, and, as
he was orphaned in his youth, he went
to live with his aunt, the Widow Nc
Clintock, in vezango County, Penn
sylvania. Oil was struck on the Nc
Clintock farm and the flow was leas-
ed on o royalty basis. The Widow Nc
Clintock knew farms but not oil and
lived as she always had lived. putting
the money which rolled in into big
safe in her dining room. One day
when Johnny failed to provide kind
ling, she threw dipper full of the
fateful oil on the kitchen fire and her
interest In earthly affairs ceased at
once.
Johnny was sole heir and when tho
big safe was opened he had over
100000 in cash to play with He
ran through his find faster than the
oil gushed from the wells. He prac-
ticed every form of extravaganza. He
bought hotels for night He declined
to ride in any vehicle which he did
not own and the country was studded
with cabs he had bought and given
back to their drivers after he was
through with them. He owned a min
strel show and spent thousands en-
tertaining members of the company.
But he did not have a good time. He
admitted it himself. In one instance
he spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars to have hotel clerk dis
charged and after his money was
gone, the hotel clerk got his job back
again. When his oil ran out, his
money ran out too and he spent the
remainder of his life in hard, grind
ing toll. paying for the fun" he had
not had.
Coal OIL Johnny's motto was: THE
only use for money Is to spend It,
But the motto lasted no longer than
the money. for after his brief splurge
he could not get 1t to spend. The best
use for money is to save and invest
it. Had he, put even a part of his for
tune or of his daily savings into sound
Government securities or savings, he.
would have assured for himself a
future free from toll and the scorn of
those with whom he associated.
Fewer chances to save money and
invest it safely and profitably existed
In Coal OIL Johnny's youth than exist
today. Now Government Savings
securities offer a safe and profitable
means of providing for the future and
making it both safe and happy.
a