Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-02-10

UeemIng all WOfn-ojt money with
new is far from a simple process,
when we consider the desTuctible ma
ture of paper and the various cham
nels through which money must
pass. Indeed, the wonder is that it
should ever wander back in Il condi-
ton to be recognized as Il legitimate
offspring Of the Treasury of Uncle
Samuel.
In the ordinary routine, All frac-
tional currency is redeemed by the
Treasurer, cancelled and cut i'm half.
One half is sent to the Office OF the
Register OF the Treasury, and the
other half to the Secretary's office
the accounts OF the three balanced,
and the mutilated money destroyed
'by being reduced to ashes.n Ma
tional banks must each redeem its
own notes, after which they are sent
TO the Treasury. The Comptroller
of Currency records them, and they
are destroyed.in n similar manner.
Seven-thirty bonds aud all coup
ons pass four offices, each leaving its
mutilating-mark upon them, when
they are registered by their mum
bcrs, and kept on file in the Office Of
the Register Of the Treasury.
But almost daily money arrives for
redemption which tits impossible to
pass through this routine of count
ing, dividing, recounting, canceiling,
etc. Cases frequently occur where
rats and mice-eXtravagant creatures
have made their nests of paper
money, and 4 box Of feathery pow
dered paper is accompanied by af1i-
davitS of the circumstances 1t is
certainly cancelled and divided to
such an extent already, that there is
little danger of Treasury clerks run
ming off with it 1t is placed in the
hands of an experienced lady, who
must smooth out and match each of
these fragments till note is made
up, and not unfrequently viii she
make bank-nOte so clear and plain
that the most casual observer would
not recognize it. There havebeen sew
eral cases, too, where money has
been eaten by goats and pigs, the an
imals killed and the money taken
frOmthe stomach in the form of Il ball
ofpuIp. This must be soaked, the
atoms scanned and matched in their
respective places until greenbackS,
bank-notes, and fractional currency
are separated and made plain. |
have seen also q leatheln wallet con-
tanning money found by a boy in
field where there had been Il soldiers
encampment. The storm and sun
shine Of years had made the leather
and money close companions but
this, too, must be redeemed.
But the most difficult of this labor
is with money destroyed by fire.
And the variety of burned money TO
be found at the Treasury is, to say
the least, queer. IN one case, a man
in Missouri sent affidavits to the eff
feet that "tO hide some money from
his wife, he placed it in the oven Of
a stove seldom usedn till he could
get a chance to slyly spend 1t by
himself, | suppose). The wife un-
consciously built fire, and, as q
natural result, the money was burn
ed. But these are trifling cases COM
pared to the amounts destroyed in
great fires, where safes prove any
thing but safe. The most important
case now on hand is that Of the
Adams Express safe lost on the J a.
cob Carter, which burned to the wat
er's edge and went down on the Mis-
sissippi river, III 1856. The safe con-
tanned principally money, being
transported to L. $. Paymasters from
the Treasury. The wreck drifted
down the river nearly a half 4 mile
from where she sank, and being bur
led in the sand, it was exceeding
ly difficult TO recover the safe, the
divers. going down some four hun
dred times before raising it. When
opened, it was found filled with
mud, and nothing legible to be seen,
and the contractor for raising it
thought his bargain of cone third of
= II fnrfntlfD +nrt1Ina
What was TO be done with it? 1t
contained money Ofeyery denomina-
ton and description, as well as pa
pers and revenue-stamrs. As na-
tiOnal bank-nOteS must each be re-
deemed by its respective bank,
and by them sent to the Treasury for
new issue, and the idea ofseparating
the bank-nOtes from the legal tend
ers was utterly impossible, General
Spinner was called upon to devise
ways and means for the redemption.
Only this fact seemed reality-that
what was there was the genuine ar
ticie for it was being sent from the
United States Treasury itself Any
other thing in regard to it seemed to
the observer IN ere conjecture. Gen
eraI Spinner said he would call Il
committee of one expert from each
office through which money usually
passed, give them the safe, and al
low them to do the best they could.
The legal-tendcr notes and fraction-
al currency should be redeemed up
on their estimation but national
banks would use their own discre-
ton.
Four experienced lady clerks were
consequently called, and commenced
the labor Of washing and drying the
cakes as lhey came out, and careful
washing it must needs he, else a
hundred dollar greenback il washed
OF, too. The principal part was 4
perfect cinder, though some amount
toward the centre was perfectly
plain and passable in anymarket, but
being burned only by the heat Of the
iron safe, and without air, it was in
perfect Jumps of charcoal. The notes
IN burning, shrink nearly one-half !;
those parts covered with ink shrink
less than the clear paper, so that the
lettering stand slightly III relief In
clear air, strong sunlight VIII bring
TO view, with perfect certainty, cy-
cry feature OF the nOte; this Is then
separated with very thin. narrow
steel blade, and laid of, when the
next is exposed to view. Although
burned black there is something of
the texture OF paper often left, which
enables the clerk 10 separate and
paste the note on slip of paper, up
on which she writes the name and
denomination, without breaking.
But those packages which were near
the outside, and reduced to perfect
n q f.a0ol nj ennrc,a ara haJfv br0l-