Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-04-24
Burnt GreenbackS.

The identification and restoration OF
| notes which have been burnt is a difficult
| and interesting operation. Every one has
| observed that a printed paper after having
| been burnt, if not subjected to a strong
| draft or roughly handled, retains its origi-
nal form, and that the printing is distinct
| and legible, and appears as if it had been
| raised or embossed on the paper, but that
| if it is touched never so gently it crumbles
into dust. Notes in this condition are
| frequently received at the Department for
redemption. The counter subjects each
note and fragment of a note to a careful
| Inspection in a strong light, under Il
powerful glass, until she determines the
denomination and issue, and then pastes
it upon a piece of thin, tough paper, in
order that it may be safely handled But
ibis FASTING, by destroying the raised or
| embossed appearance, at once and forever
precludes all chance of again identifying
the kind or denomination of the note.
Henceforth it is but plain, black piece of
paper, giving no indication that it ever
represented money. 1t is therefore very
| necessary that the counter should be quite
sure that her judgment is correct before
| the note is pasted upon the paper She
| must also-a most difficult task-deter-
| terfet. And yet cou1terteits are discOv-
cred by these experts among the charred
remains of notes with almost as much GER
tainty as among perfect notes. Charred
notes of National Banks have occasionally
come into the possession Of the Depart
ment, and have been restored in this man
ner, and returned for redemption to the
banks which issued them, accompanied by
the aifidavitS OF the counters that they
were the remains Of notes of the banks to
which they were returned. In most cases
they were promptly and cheerfully re-
deemed. But occasionally a surly bank
officer, unable or unwilling to trace any re-
semblance to bank notes, or at least to the
notes of his bank, in the plain black pieces
of paper returned to him, and influenced
perhaps by desire to effect little saving
for the stockholders, refused to redeem,
and challenged the Department to the
proof. All positive ocular proof having
| been destroyed when the notes were re-
stored and pasted, the Department was
| compelled to submit to the loss.
Once some Of these experts were grant
| ed leaves Of absence, without pay from the
| Government, for the purpose OF restoring
a large quantity OF burnt money belonging
to Adams Express Company. This was
permitted partly because it was known
! that there was no one else who could per
| form the service, without which the Com
pany would be subjected to great loss, but
| principally because the company offered
to pay them much more for their time and
| labor than they were receiving from the
! Government, and it was thought that their
| long and faithful services justly entitled
| them to this addition to their meager sala-
ries The money was taken from safes re-
covered from the wreck of burnt steam
CT which had been lying for four or five
years at the bottom of the Mississippi
and the notes were so burnt, deCayed, and
damaged rs to be absolutely worthless,
unless identified and restored. Yet nearly
every note of the one hundred and eighty
one thousand dollars in United States and
National Bank notes recovered was re.
stored with unerring certainty and redeem
| ed at its full face value. The Chicago and
| Boston fires have for the last year and q
| half furnished burnt notes enough to keep
all the experts Of the office pretty con
stantly cmployed.-''1n Ho,r Am0ng TIT
Greenbacis," IN Scribner'S for AprI