Evening star., 1934-02-27
Jim Lindsay's Spending
Spree Points a Moral

To the Editor of The Star:
A news story in The Star of recent
issue states that there are $1,000 ,000.- :
900 to be spent by the Government
by the end of June to fulfill Presi-
dent Roosevelt's budget estimate. 1t
goes on to state that doubt exists in
some quarters as to whether the Gov
ernment can actually spend as much
money as estimated"
When I was a boy there was a COL
ored citizen of my home town, on the
Eastern Shore Of Maryland, named
Jim Lindsay. He was a veteran of
the Civil War and had lost an arm in
battle. When Jim had reached the
age Of about so years leading citi-
zen" for whom the veteran often did
odd jobs conceived the brilliant idea
that maybe Jim had not been treated
exactly right in the matter OF PEN
sion. He forthwith took 1t up with
the Government and the resul. was
that Jim was paid 1000 in back pay
and also granted a substantial in
crease in his quarterly pension check
To Jim that $4,000 looked like the
81 900 900. 900 looks ''in some quar-
terS.' He spoke OF it as 'mah barrel
OF money" He went on a spending
orgy. For instance, he was always
firmly convinced that Memorial day
had never been fittingly observed in
that town and he proposed to remedy
that little matter. He organized a
drum and fife corps of twelve little
colored boys. Nothing the local tailor
had In stock was good enough for uni
forms for his corps, so he went to
Baltimore and had them made. They
were gorgeOuS-One trouSer leg red
and the other blue. a white jacket
with brass buttons. The ensemble
was completed with an admiral's hat
OF deep purple trimmed with a long
yellow ostrich plume. He had an old
crony named Obediah who had also
served in the war, possibly as some
ones cook. for his knowledge of drill
technique was decidedly limited. For
Obedlah and himself he purchased
uniforms that would have made King
Solomon's royal trappings look like
mourning regalia The great day ar
rived and the citizens will never for
get the sight Of Jim and Obediah on
their livery stable horses, swords held
rigidly at salute, leading the fife and
drum corps. And the way Jim would
scold when one of his loudly barked
orders was not obeyed promptly by
some member of his corps! The only
thing to equal it is the way Gen.
johnson looks when some one talks
out of turn about the N. r. A. Bring
Ing up the rear Of the parade was
Aunt Ca'line, Jims 200-pound wife,
lolling in regal splendor on the back
seat OF the only barouche the livery
stable owned
All this set Jim back a pretty penny.
but he had just started. He bought a
fine shotgun for himself and ditto for
Obediah. In fact, every time he
bought something for himself he
duplicated it for Obediah. He bought
much fine raiment for Aunt Ca line
and topped off his extravagant gifts
to her with a beautiful piano. True,
she couldn't play il, but Jim got a
lot Of fun out Of telling how she got
tight and walked on the keyboard in
her bare feet. Things went along very
pleasantly with the newly rich veteran
and his satellites for about three
months Then a black day came
when the boss man at the bank"
told Jim his $4,000 was gone. He
Just could not believe that his bar
rel was empty. He had nobody he
could tax to raise another $4,000 and
he was heartbroken.
Moral: There is bottom to even a
barrel of $1,000 600 oOO May the tax
payers prepare themselves for the
heartbreak and headache when the
bottom is reached.
S. H MUMFORD.