Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 February 1910 — He Is in Doubt. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He Is in Doubt.

“Do you believe that story • about George Washington cutting down the cherry tree with his little hatchet?" was asked of the farmer who had a seat in the smoking car. “Wall, I’ll be hanged if I know whether to believe it or not,” he replied. “How do you mean?” “Wall, when me’n Martha was married we went to Mount Vernon on a trip, and we saw the family residence and the tomb. I asked one of the fellers about that cherry tree, and be took me out back of the house and showed mejthe stump of It.” “Did, eh? Then, I don’t see how you can doubt.” “No, mebbe I hadn’t orter; but, you see, I brought a sliver of that stump home with me, and when I came to look at it more closely, I found the wood was elm instead of cherry. Mebbe the feller showed me the wrong stump, mebbe he was a liar, and meb-

be I was so in love with Martha at .the time that the elms and cherry trees got all mixed up. I haln’t sayia* which way it was, but jest contendin’ that Washington was a mighty good man and alius heaped up the measure when he sold ’taters.”

SHOWED ME THE STUMP.