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Show A HARD LUCK STORY. Two mouths ago Mayor W. W. Pearee of Waukegau, 111., ran a drug store and was at peace with the world. Today Mayor Fearce still runs a drug store, but he is no longer at peace with the world, uor with anything in it, animate cm- inanimate; least, of all is he at peace with himself. When a mau misses a chance to make $C4,995 ho is likely to cultivate a grouch. However, when that chauce is missed through motives of patriotic and individual honesty, tho ill-temper of the moment may quickly pass iuto a state of exaltation. One day there came into Mayoi 1'earce's drug store a man who bought a toothbrush. In payment he tendered a federal reserve bank noto of the ap parent denomination of took hi: change and went his way. When Mayoi lYaree- checked up his cash register thai night he was ''over.'' lie countcc hi.-s receipts again, and there was a per led harmony between register and cash Thou lie tried it once more and he hai , .5 too naicli. and the next time tin amounts tal'icd again. It was a myste rions -n..ie w itbal. c Uie scrutiny of his currency lo'" M:ivur Fearce the tartling discovery Ilia;, while his federal reserve ban', note was of the denomination on on side, on the other it was of the dcnoini nation $10. Tiie existence of the freak note quick lv became known to nuuiiMuatist-s, am tin1 eiwcrms wilii which thev pursue-j pursue-j the iie-l mayor and his bank note lo' Mr. Fearce to iVept a policy of caution ilea the ofter for the bank note h.'e clre.be. 1 to -".' 'H, Mayur Fearce toe' couiiM'i of Lim.-elf. What houl 1 he d. with the misprinted note.' Clearly i v;b worth in) such sunt as v."-. and even if he should sell it, would lie b cheatiirj somebody the ;cninicn! perhaps.' It was growing more famea each day, was that note. He e.nifidc in the United Mates secret service dc 'lartment, and was ordered to forward1 the note to Washington. The secret. ! service officials promised to lerurn it; i at least Mayor Fearee thinks they did. 'He unhesitatingly complied with the I instructions, and then he heard nothing j more. Finally he wrote to Washington about it, and received in due course a j brand new crisp $3 bill, together with the announcement that his precious note had been taken up by the government aud would never again see the light of j day. "The possibility that this nolo! 'might be imposed on innocent persons for a $10 note justifies the government in retaining possession of it," Mayor ' Pearco was informed, j Moralizing briefly upon the matter, who, if anybody, would have been in-ijured in-ijured if Mayor Pearee had sold his j noto for $25,000? Certainly not Mr.-Pearce; Mr.-Pearce; certainly not the broker who bought it, for he would have instantly 'turned it over to his client, who would have accounted himself extraordinarily fortunate in procuring the note; certainly cer-tainly not the government, for, once the collector has secured the prize, it is safe to say it would never again have returned to circulation. No doubt the treasury department gave Mayor Pearee an exact measure of justice; btit was an exact measure of justice sufficient under un-der the circumstances'? |