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Show How "Jitr.ey" Originated. When tlio Jitney hua became epidemic, evoryono began askinK the meaning and uerlvation of the name. Th:it "jitney" sis nil led a nickel was soon established, nut now tuo word came first to be used in that sense was not so easily discovered. discov-ered. All the authorities were at a loss, and even Tho Lexicographer waa compelled com-pelled to confess his inability to answer nit nn1 "'It"-,, Thu C'"'B News Is apparently ap-parently tho first one to sutrecst a solution solu-tion of the puzzle. According to a letter Jff'vft "V lht rvir from one who "Htev " T)! N- V-'U E X' the term liinej known and used in every cltv S,, r'f to San Francisco, was oriKinally coined within prison walls "In oehTwr j1,?6 I',efontory." In the words i, wrller. who continues: haccn CS Were VC'rV Bt,ltlt "bout tO- Iccferf 1 BS 5mokinS was easily delected de-lected and severely punished, the In mates' craving was universally satisfied with chewing 'tobacco; that Is. what they could get of it, which was mighty small compared to the, demand. "Nevertheless, a certain trusty, whose name was .lednev. would smupglo tobacco in for any inmate who furnished hnn the money to buy It uptown. H drove a drav for the prison, and in consideration considera-tion of the risk he took he kept halt the stuff as his commission. In this connection connec-tion I remember they used the expressions expres-sions '60-40' and '50-50,' describing the split. It was the first time 1 heard '60-50,' and that was sixteen years ago. "Finally, Jednev was paroied ano a iit-tK iit-tK stout, bow-legged colored boy got the drav, and I was standing by when a "runner'' came to this colored boy and showed him a dime he had had slipped to him by somebody going through on a visit of the grounds, and wanted to know if he would get him some tobacco. The colored boy, as heir to Jedneys perquisite per-quisite of office, accepted the proposition proposi-tion and established his basis of doing business with these words: 'Vou-all get a jitney's worth for this here dime, 50-60.' "From that time on a dime bought a 'Jitney's' worth of tobacco within the wdMls of that Institution. "And the. first one I heard use that word outside was a graduate of the re formatory, who spoke of going to a 'jitney' show when first started." That the negro boy confused "Jedney" . and "jitney" seems to be only an in- fcrence. A ccorcspondencc. writes uy that he remembers an old negro w':A used Die term many years go as n equiva lent for 5 cents, so the uuesi,,)! appear3 to be still open, I |