Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1885 — A Lesson in Arithmetic. [ARTICLE]

A Lesson in Arithmetic.

A story is told of a German who owned some land in the oil regions, and who allbwed a company to sink a well on his property, for which he was to receive one-eighth of the product if oil was struck. The well was a success, and each day the Teutonic gentleman would come down to the place, and every time eight barrels were filled, one would be rolled aside for him. This arrangement did not seem to satisfy him, and he informed the company that thereafter he would want onetwelfth. This was readily acceded to, and the next morning he was on hand early to see the result of the new plan. As he watched the men roll aside but one barrel out of twelve, his astonishment knew no bounds, and, turning to the chief operator, he exclaimed: “Dot’s the first time I know dot eight’ was more as twelf!”— Pittsburgh Commercial. -