Year: 1874




felt considerably lighter. but his con.


science was clear. OF the tIife
overt two dollars which he had left he


laid aside two dollars to deposit in the
savings bank, where there was already
quite respectable sum TO his credit.
! Meanwhile the various divisions OF


his ten dollar greenback, now scattered
| about in different hands, began to
| chuckle. They said, with one voice


I" This is what I like. III see something
of the world, and in all probability do
some good.


| Let US see how it was. The three
| dollars and forty cents which he had
| left at Skettle's grocery went to help
make up the quarterly rent which Sket-
tie owed, and which was due that very
night. He paid it to Mr.. Balcolm, who,
| in turn, promptly handed it over to
some Workmen who had been making
repairs. It so happened that portion
Eof it went to a carpenter who had a
sick child, and who was thus enabled to
purchase some needed delicacies, there
by perhaps, saving the child's life. A
dollar and half of it went to hod-
carrier, who Immediately took it and
bought of Skettle sundry small pack
ages of sugar, coffee, -four, etc. Sket-
| tie took this same dollar and half and
gave 1t to his wife, who wished to pay q
woman for doing some little jobs of
| cleaning and scrubbing. Now, this Wo-
man was the hod-carriers wife; and so
this dollar and half of Luke's green
back went first to Skettle, and then to
| the hod-earrier, then back to Skettle
again, then to his wife, and then to the
| hOd-carrier's wife. It is not presum-
ioI,J T,oA 1oxy 1(,y,rr i6ln hn7- hands
Curious, wasn't it?


And the two dollars and ten cents
that went to the butcher? Why, this
was paid to the boy who tended shop,
who handed it to his mother, who in
turn paid it to Carpenter Bailey for
some repairs done on her little cottage.
Bailey settled up his coal bill, the coal
merchant paid one of his teamsters, the
teamster walked straight to the butcher
shop and paid for his weeks meat, and
the butcher put the money with another
pile and paid it to farmer for good,
fat COW. And what did the farmer do !?
Why, he went and bought a wagon at
the factory that had paid the ten-dollar
bill to Luke Preston over its black
walnut desk.


And the dollar that went to old Gar
land He did as he had told Luke he
should-paid it to John Brady as part
of the borrowed sum. John Brady said
he had need of the whole amount, but
would get along the best he could. OF
the dollar, fifty cents went for pro-
visions, and the other fifty to a poor old
cobbIer for mending Johnny's shoes.
This had to be expended at the hard
ware store to replace q broken awl, and
the hardware dealer paid it to boy for
shoveling the snow off his sidewalk.
The boy ran home in e1ultation to his
rheumatic mother to inform her of his
good luck.


And the dollar that went to Editor
Quill? He paid it to his g devil, - from
whose hands it went to a poor woman
who had been making him a coat, and
who held body and soul together by
the earnings of her needle. The beg
gar girl to whom Luke had given ten
cents bought loaf of bread, and thus
allayed the pangs of hunger that were
torturing half a dozen brothers and
sisters.


And the thirty-odd cents expended at
the newsroom went into box of small
change which was subsequently counted
over and pinned In neat packages of one
dollar each and sent to the news COM
pany where the supplies of papers and





sums from five to forty cents enabled
the dealer to maintain his little stand,
greatly to the convenience of those who
depended on it for their periodical sup
plies of reading matter.


The two dollars remaining Luke de-
posted, as has been mentioned before,
in the savings bank.


"Ah, hap exclaims some surly,
short-sighted reader, who begins to see
the point of this sketch, so Luke
Preston boards up money too. Isn't it
just as bad, in proportion, for him to
consign his two dollars to idleness as
for the 'fat old fraud to keep his
money so close ?"


But pause and consider for a moment.
The savings bank pays Luke five per
cent. interest on his deposits, and how
could it do that if the money lay idle
in its vaults? No, such is not the case.
The savings bank took Luke's money,
put it with that of a few other deposit
tors, and lent it to a well-to-dO farmer
who wished to make some improvements
In the way of building fences and barns
and purchasing choice breeds of stock.
The farmer laid out the money to good
advantage and paid the bank seven per
cent. interest, the extra two per cent.





the institution and affording its stock
holders a small dividend.


Now about the time the farmer was
ready to begin his improvements bust
ness was slack in the establishment
where Luke worked, and there was
prospect of his being thrown out of
employment for month or more. But
he CHANGED to learn that the farmer re-
quired some labor that was in his line,
and straightwaY entered into an engage
ment with him. And so the money that
he had put in the savings bank was
loaned to the farmer and by him paid
into Luke's own hands again, and Luke
still receiving interest on it all the
time.


And now we must leave Luke Pres
toms greenback sto its fate. We have
of course related only a tithe of its en-
tire history, but we have seen it fairly
| launched on the tide of life, and
the prospect Is that its career viii
continue busy one.


| Now let US take a look at the idle
grreenback that lay in the desk of the
SC fat old fraud. The individual was
/ none other than the same Squire Clinch
| that had refused to pay old Garland for
saving his wood. If he had paid this
debt promptly, Farland could have
paid Brady IN full and on time, and
bought the boots he so much needed.
As 1t was, he had to go without the
boots and, in consequence, his feet were
| severely frost-bitt while on a bitter
cold day he was engaged in saving
wood. This was great misfortune,
for he was disabled, except to limited
exte0t, from following his usual avnoa-
ton, and forced idleness brought with
it winter of hardship and dependence
on charity.


But the ten-dollar greenback. along