THROWING MONEY AWAY

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 13 July 1912, Page 9

THROWING MONEY AWAY

| In April an eccentric person named Charles Green was arrested by the , police for causing a block in the traffic in Fleet street, London. He suddenly began flinging sovereigns to the passersby, and there was intense excitement until the distribution was stopped. Baulked by the police of any desire to continue showering gold and silver in the streets, Mr Green next offered a prize of £200 for the best method of distributing wealth without coming into collision with the law. One essential of any suggested schema was that MiGreen should give, the inotiey away personally in small amounts, not exceeding a sovereign. Since at his hotel, the '•philanthropist's" secretary said that his employer had been giving away gold and silver for years. He had indulged his habit all over the world, and recently caused some excitement in Brighton and Liverpool. The secretary admitted, however, that his greatest sensation had been made in London, < and it was the only occasion where he had afterwards to make his appearance in a police court. The notoriety lie gained led to his being inundated witn appplications, personal and otherwise, from persons willing to relieve him of as much spare cash as he cares to bestow.

"Mr Green was Born at Newcastle," the secretary added; "but has been'in America for many years. The money has been left him. He doesn't knowwhere it comes from, although he has an idea of it. All I can say is it comes m large quantities. /'No, there is no stipulation tnat he must give the money away as he does. It is his hobby to give the money away personally, because he likes to see the surprise and delight on the faces of the poor people who receive it."

The Empire Music Hall, Shoreditch, was one night transformed by Green into a veritable Klondike. He asked the manager to be allowed to scatter money from the stage. His request was instantly granted, and he appeared on the stage, clad in his charming green suit with an emerald pin in his green tie, a diamond and emerald ring on his ri^ht hand, and a bundle of cheques in lis pockets. Never was there so popular a turn. x

Rushing up and down the stage he emptied pocket after pocket, and scattered showers of cheques everywhere. He gave batches of cheques to attendants, with instructions to distribute them, and he threw handfuls of cheques into the stalls, in& the balcony and into the gallery. He also told the gallery occupants that all of them would receive their admission money back as they went out. During the ten minutes he occupied the stage he distributed more than £100 worth of cheques, and finally he had to be forced ort the stage, because the people in all parts of the house were leaving their seats and rushing forward, holding out their hats, to catch the flying cheques, as it they were butterfly-hunting His generosity was not even satisfied by this, for he also distributed £80 in "old and silver on the Embankment