The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-03-26
Mutilated Notes In the Treasury De-
partment.

Farther on we come to the room devoted
| to the counting of the mutilated money re-
| ceived by mail, for, in addition 10 the receipts
by express, an avera.e OF one hundred pack
ages is received each day by mail. The
money so received is in much worse condi-
tion than that which comes by express, for
the reason that currency which is mutilated
is redeemabe only by the Treasurer, and
usually comes in small amounts by mail
while the various assistant treasuIers, de-
posltaries, and depositary banks are agents
for the redemption of currency merely sohed
and deiaced, which is forwarded Dy them 70
the Treasurer by express. The money re-
ceived by mail comes in all sorts OF damaged
conditions, and has all imaginary kinds of
horrible or ludicrous histories. Some
times it has been swallowed by a calf
or goat, which, finding pocket-book care
lessly lett within its reach, proceeded to re-
gale itself with the salt which the leather had
absorbed from the perspiration until the book
was forced open and the contents exposed
II green notes had an inviting and familiar
appearance, and the confiding animal eagerly
swallowed them and so sealed his own death
warrant; for the owner, returning and see
ing the wreck OF the pocket-book, rig htly
conJectured where the money had disap-
peared, put the unwilling thief to death and
recovered the half digested notes. Others
nave been found on the bodies of drowned or
murdered men, weeks perchance after their
death. Frequently they have been so burned
that nothing remains but the charred resem-
blance of notes, so frail and brittle that
slight touch will change them to cinders.
Sometimes note is sent which some drunk
en- fool, lord for the hour of untold riches, to
show his disregard for money, has used to
light his cigar, but which, upon the return of
reason, he has hastened to send to the Treas
urer, with an humble and penitsnt request
that it be exchanged for new note with
which to pay for food and lodging. Or it
may be that it is one which termagant wife
has thrown into the fire to spite her
hen-pecked mate, who has rescued it
before it was entirely devoured
by The flames; or one that some lux
uriOus mouse has stolen from the money
drawer and used to line his nest. Once a
a poor FrenChman sent a handful of minute
fragments oi notes, with the statement that
they had ''met with the accident of a little
dog" Our Fenian frierds are prone to put
lighted pipes in the same pockets in which
they carry money. The consequence Is that
the Treasurer receives for redemption great
many greenbacks with round holes rnt
through them here and there, and looking for
all the word like buliet-riddled ensiens Of the
Irish Republic. Some stories are so frequent
ly repeated as to excite grave doubts of their
entire truthfulness. For instance, a note
WutCu 10 81 bdLly udiildyeu dS 10 call IOr a Sc
we're stretch of the rules in order to make 1t
worth anything, is pretty sure to be said to
belong to a poor, hard-working widow with
an astonishing number of children, for whom
the writer, in the fullness of his charitable
heart, has forwarded it for redemption.
All these notes, so variously mutilated,
must be restored as nearly as may be to their
original shapes before their value can be de-
finitely ascertained. Here again the skillful
fingers of women are called into requisition.
Some of the women employed in this work
have, by long experience, become exceeding
ly expert in pasting and restoring notes.
Fragments which are so burned as to seem to
Others only charred pieces of paper, or so
minute as to be almost indstinguishable, un-
der their patient hands again assume the SEM
blance of notes, SO that their kinds and de-
nominations can be readily distinguished.
Notes which have been nibbled my mice into
such tiny fragments that most persons would
say that it was beyond human power TO re-
store them to their original shapes, are ar
ranged and restored bit by bit, Until after per-
haps labor Of days they begin to assume
their former forms, and at last are restored
with sufficient perfection to warrant their re-
demption. These ladies have made an at in
which they have no rivals. 1t would require
years to educate others to the same degree OF
skill and kno Wedge, and it would be difficult
to estimate the embarrassment which their
loss would entail on the Experimentation
"An Hour Among the Greenbacks," an iilas-
trdted article in Scribner's 8. for Aprii.. I'll t.'