he pulled from his ragged coat a sharp knife and thrust it into the heart of his employer, who threw up his hands, uttered a shriek and fell backward dead. The fifty cents cost him his life, which, in his condition, was good for twenty of his best years. Just think of a man worth a million dollars fighting with a tramp for fifty cents, giving his life, which he valued at just a half dollar. It was his duty at his age and in his circumstances to have taken the unfortunate fellow down town, purchase him a bath, shave and haircut, bought him a good business suit, together with an extra change of underwear and furnishings, hat and shoes, and a new ten-dollar bill, with a little good advice, accompanied by a steady job, and started him off in the right direction, the total cost of which would have been less than $50; and the money invested by most men would no doubt have been much more satisfactory than the disputed half a dollar.

On the same side of the city, and only a short distance from the Scotchman, lived a man whose fortune was estimated at Ten to Twelve million dollars, and who employed over six thousand men, and whose income was more than one million dollars per year. In passing his mansion, which occupies one-half a block, one pleasant summer day, I noticed a dead tree thirty-five feet high and twelve inches in diameter, directly in front of the

house. I went in and up the brown stone steps and rang the bell, was ushered in by a servant to whom I gave my business card; in the course of a half hour the wife appeared and stated that they must have that tree replaced and asked the price, which I gave at $30. She then requested me to call down town and see her husband, which I did, and after a half hour's consultation he sent me to the Board of Trade to see his son WILLIE, as he called him. I trudged on to the gambling shop, and after some parleying with the usher I found WILLIE, who consumed another half hour of my valuable time; he then sent me back to father; from there I was sent to mother, who took twenty minutes more and concluded to think about it. The following fall one evening about nine o'clock I received a message by 'phone that those people wanted to see me at once at their residence in regard to replacing that dead tree. It being my busy season, with an office filled with help getting out work for the next day, they living five or six miles away, I protested about going. My head office man begged me to go, saying that they were very wealthy people and work from them would be of value to us. I left my work and in one hour was there and was admitted by a stylish butler and seated in the library, where I was left waiting for nearly an hour, when in came FATHER, MOTHER and WILLIE, and the same conversation was again

gone over which we had threshed out six times the summer before. They then insisted that one of my competitors would set a tree to compare with the others for $25. I explained that his trees were artificial, simply timber trees with the tops cut off and new crown grown out, while mine were taken from the fields and had their full and natural crowns. I finally agreed to take out and cart away their old one and furnish and warrant the new one for two years for $25, as requested. After talking for another hour, they agreed to think it over. Being now thoroughly tired and disgusted with such people, I plainly told them to GO TO HELL and get their trees; that I guaranteed mine to grow, and with such miserly, mean, contemptible folks, the trees would not live anyhow!

Several years later I met a man who gave me his experience with that same family, who applied as a nurse, together with several others, among whom the wife selected him. She then sent him to see the husband, and he in turn sent him to see WILLIAM, who had now grown older, who sent him back to father, and from there he was sent to headquarters again. This kept up for two weeks, until the poor fellow was nearly starved waiting for this splendid position. Up to this time the man had been receiving from decent people $2.50 per day. Those millionaires had by investigation

found the man contained as much magnetism as a professor whose headquarters was at Central Music Hall, to whom they paid $10 per hour. They then sent for the man, who was all in, and made a contract with him, hiring him for a year, with an express agreement that each day he must rub father, the patient, for three hours, and for those services, besides the rest of the work, he should receive $1.50 per day. It was now work or die, as his bills had commenced to pile up, and he must secure the job. If I had taken that situation at that price I would have rubbed the old man with the coarsest kind of sandpaper. Some time later they concluded to go to Europe; they then requested him to change the contract while he was away and work for his board and lodging, telling him that the trip, the sights he would see and the honor of going abroad would be worth more to him than pay, and that they could get plenty of men to go for their board. He explained that he had a wife and three children for whom he must provide; they then suggested that he leave them with his wife's mother or with his people while away, so that he could be a free slave; to which he still objected. He being such a valuable man, they finally concluded to take him along with an especial agreement that he rub the whole family while away, at the stipulated price of $1.50 per day. Such people awfully hate to give up money.

See Page 415.

THE HEARTLESS RICH.

The city of Chicago can boast of a millionaire who has passed the four score mark and who carries the title of doctor and professes religion, claiming to be one of God's men. To look at him, wearing a silk hat and a Prince Albert coat, one would take him for a Presbyterian minister. This man makes his home in one of our suburbs and keeps his office in the city in one of our large modern buildings. When the assessor calls at his home he is told that he has nothing of value there; that he has called at his bedroom and is shown through an old-style commodious house filled with antique furniture, for which he receives a very low assessment. When the city assessor calls at his office he is told that he pays his taxes in his home town; so you see this old rascal plays fast and loose at the same time. This year the assessor assessed his office and personal property at $7.50, to which he put up a great howl and went over before the board of review with a loud protest, claiming that his desk and safe, the contents of his office, were not worth $10, and made an affidavit to that effect which resulted in his having his assessment stricken off, while the poor washwomen and laboring men were turned away by that same board and made to "cough up," when