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Show APPENDIX H 307 "Don't be petty," said Mr. Straus critically. "What's the treasury for?" "I'm beginning to wonder," Mr Ant said frankly. Mr. Straus' face brightened. "But I haven't told you about the fish yet. Boy, fish are wonderful things for write-offs." "What kind of fish?" Mr. Ant asked, somewhat recovering his sense of reasoning. Mr. Straus waved his arms. "Fish, fish, gefilte fish. Who cares? In a write-off a fish is a fish. We wrote off about three million for fish for Bridge Canyon Dam." "They may not like it," suggested Mr. Ant. "Never mind that," said Mr. Straus. "We like it. There will be a lake behind the dam, you know. The people who come there to recreate will catch fish." "Three million dollars worth?" asked Mr. Ant. "That would be good fishing. But maybe they won't like to fish?" "They have to like it," said Mr. Straus with finality. "Maybe the people would rather go some place else," said Mr. Ant. "They won't be allowed to," said Mr. Straus pounding his desk. "Look here, don't you start to sabotage this scheme. This is a benefit to the nation." Mr. Ant appeared to have found new courage. "I was just thinking that if the people didn't go to Bridge Canyon Dam to spend their money, they might spend it some place else, or they might buy shoes, or maybe cigars, and that would be a national benefit, too." "Rubbish," scoffed Mr. Straus. "Well," said Mr. Ant. "Something is bothering me. You say the fish are worth three million in the lake. How do you figure how many fish will be in the lake if they are not all caught?" "More rubbish," said Mr. Straus. "We figured how many fish will be in the top foot of water. That's conservative figuring. We know that these fish will be worth about 50 cents a pound. There you have your total." "You mean if a visitor catches a fish he can sell it to the government and get his money back?" asked Mr. Ant. Mr. Straus jumped up. "I've had enough of this nonsense," he roared. "Here we are trying to benefit the nation, and |
