“Roy McElhaney had a little experience with professional beggars last week that has caused him to lose considerable faith in the goodness of humankind. Last Wednesday as he was at work in his shop on Market street, he was approached by a poorly dressed, forlorn looking young woman who handed him a note, which stated that she had been deserted by her husband and was trying to get enough money to pay her way back to Maysville, Kentucky, where her people lived. The note was signed Ellen Noble. McElhaney being a tender-hearted young man, shelled out the cash quite liberally. The matter passed out of McElhaney’s mind until Saturday afternoon, when he was approached by an old lady some 30 years older than the other who handed him a note, the contents of which was precisely the same as the previous note, and which was also signed Ellen Noble. McElhaney kicked himself right good to see that he had not been indulging in a Rip Van Winkle sleep, and then enlisted the attention of Ellen Noble No. 3 to the fact that she had a double. No. 3, however, denied all knowledge of No. 1, but did not stop to argue the point, beating a hasty retreat from the shop. The police should look after these beggars.”1
