Small Town Boy

Henry Armstrong was past being a spring chicken, still believes in
Santa Claus and the maxim that "honesty is the best policy", but lack
of money keeps him from marrying Molly and buying a little home, and
his is threatened with the loss of the petty job he has had for four
years with old Curtis French, Molly's uncle, because he can not sell
enough insurance policies. And, then, he finds a thousand dollar bill.
His honesty makes him advertise the find, but no one claims the money.
When he is convinced that the owner will not turn up and that the
money is his to keep, he becomes a changed, more aggressive and
self-confident person. He begins to make sales as fast as he can make
the pitch and he insists that he and Molly be married at once. While
getting dressed for the ceremony, he places the $1000 bill in one of
his father's old suits, and Pa Armstrong, trying to raise money to buy
his son a wedding present, sells the suit to a passing junk man. The
wedding is held up while Henry and his father set out to reclaim the
suit. They trace the suit to a second-hand store, where it has just
been stolen by a couple of tramps. Henry locates the tramp who has the
suit, and trades him his new coat for it and is relieved to find the
bill still in the pocket. Shortly afterward, the clothing store man
arrives with the police and charges Henry with theft. Broght before
the justice of peace, Henry explains about the bill and turns it over
to him. The latter examines the bill and discovers it to be a fake and
just an imitation put out by a furniture store as an advertisement.
Henry takes the news philosophically, and decides that since he was
successful when he "thought" he had a thousand dollars, he can retain
the traits he had acquired.