Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 202, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1919 — MICE ANO MISERS [ARTICLE]

MICE ANO MISERS

Two Would Seem to Have Some Sort of Affinity. And Uncle Sam Is Frequently Called Upon to Make Good the Depredations Made in Hidden Hoards by the Rodents. e Uncle Sam is so broad minded that he goes out of his way to help the miser. The treasury in Washington often receives wads of greenbacks or banknotes that misers have buried or otherwise hidden in places where they rotted or were chewed up by mice, anl in such cases the money, if enough is left of it to be recognizable, is repaid to the owner in crisp new bills. It is a curious fact about misers that nearly alwaj’S they do not hide their money in one place, but scatter it about in all sorts, of odd spots —the idea doubtless being that in case of theft only a minor fraction of the hoard is likely to be discovered by the robber. Thus it has happened many a time that a miser’s house, after his demise, had to be literally torn to pieces in order to recover his wealth. Indeed, in such instances it Is often found expedient to break up the furniture and rip the seams of every article of clothing'and bedding. The miser is popularly supposed to entertain a marked preference for gold. But gold is hard to get nowadays ; and, anyway, misers in these times would rather have paper money, which is more easily and safely hidden.” - Unfortunately, mice think highly of banknotes and greenbacks for nestmaking purposes, tearing them into tiny scraps, the putting together of which (for identification and redemption at the treasury) is a task surpassing in difficulty the most complicated picture puzzles. Paper money, by the way, cannot be so torn by human hands as to imitate successfully notes, chewed by mice. Their work cannot be counterfeited —a fact that has revealed a number of attempted frauds on the government. The really up-to-date miser, however, does not hide his money at-all, but puts it away in savings banks, where it cannot be stolen and draws compound Interest. He scatters it among a number of such institutions, the bank books doubtless fbrnishing satisfactory material for those “gloats” in which the miser is supposed privately to indulge.