St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-04-04
Mutilated Notes in the Treasury De-
partment.

Farther on we come to the room de
voted To the counting of the mutilatcd
money received 10y mail. tor. in addi-
ton to the receipts 10y express. an aV-
cragc of one hundred packages is re-
ceived each day 10y mail. The money
so received i in much worse condition
than that which comes 10y express, for
the reason that currency which i mutt
lated is rrdrcmahlc only 10y the Treas
urer. and usually comes in small amounts
by mail while the various assistant
treasurers, Gepositarica. and depo>itaIy
banks are agents for the redemption i
currency merely >nilcd and drtdccd.
which j. forwarded 10y them to the
Treasurer by express. The money re
ceived 10y mail comes i'll all sorts Of
damaged conditions. and hats all imaG-
Unable kinds of horrible or ludiCrou>
histories. Sometimes it has been Swal-
lowed 10y a calf "r Il goat. which. find
ing ii pockct-bUok carclc>sly left within
its reach. proceeded to rcgalc itself with
the salt which the leather had absorbed
from the pcr>piration. until the book
was forced open and the contents eX-
posed. The green notes had an mvi-
ting and familiar appearance. and the
confiding animal eagerly swallowed
them and So sealed his own dcath-war-
rant for the owner. returning and sec
ing the wreck of the porkct-hook. right
" conjcctuIcd where his money had
disappeared. put the inviting thief to
death and recovered the half digeSted
notes. Others have been found on the
bodies of drowned or murdered men.
L., i.
Quentlv they have been 81 burned that
nothing remains but the charrcd re-
semblancc of notes. 50 trail and brittle
that Il slight touch will change them to
clndeTS. Sometimes Il note Is sent
which some drunken fool. lord for the
hour of untold riches. to show his diSrc-
gard for money, has used to light his
cigar, but which, upon the return of
reason, he has FASTENED TO send to the
Treasurer, with an humble and pcnitcnt
request that it he exchanged for il new
note with which to pay for food and
lodging. Or il may he that it i one
which Il tcrmagant wife has thrown in
to the fire to spite her hcu-pcckcd mate.
who has rescued ii before it was entire
ly devouTcd by the flames: or one tina!
some luxurious mouse has stolen from
the money drawer and used to line his
nest. Once Il poor FTcnchman sent Il
handful of minute fragments of notes.
with the statement that they had met
with the accident of little dog" Our
Fenlan friends are prone to put lighted
pipes III the same packets in which they
carry money. The consequence is that
the Treasurer receives for redemption il
great many grCcmhackS with round
holes burnt through them here and
there, and lookin" for all the world like
bullct-rlddlcd cn>ignS of the Irish Re
public. some stories are 50 frequently
repeated AZ t" excite grave douhtS of
their entire truthtuluc-s. For instance.
note which Is 81 badly damaged as to
call for Il severe stretch of the rules in
order to make it worth anything. i
pretty sure to he Saidto belong to Il poor.
Woodworking widow with ana<tuniShimm
number "i children. for whom the writer.
i'll the fullnc>s of his charitable heart.
has forwarded 1t for redemption.
All these Notes. 50 VallouSly mItila-
ted, must he restored a. nearly as may
be to their original shapes before THEN
value can Ice definitely aSccrtainc.l.
Here again the Skilltul fingers of wu-
men are called into rcqui>ition. Some
Of the women employed in this work
have. Icy long experience. become eX-
ceedingly expert in FASTING and rrstor-
ing notes. Fragments which are 50
burned a. t" seem :" others only char
red pieces Of paper. or 50 minute as to
he almost indiStinglIishahlc. under their
patient hands again assume the sem
blance of notes, So that their kinds and
denominations can bc readily diStin-
guished. Notes which have been Nib
bled by mice into such tiny fragments
that most persons would say that il WAS
beyond human power to restore them
to their original shapes. are arranged
and restored bit 10y hit. until after per
hapS a labor of days they begin to as
sumo their former forms. and at last are
restored with sufficient perfection tn
warrant their redemption. These Ia
dies have made an art in which they
have no rivals. 1t would require year,
to educate Others To the same degree of
skill and knowledge. and it would I've
difficult To estimate the embarrassment
which their loss would entail on the De
partmcnt.
BURNT GREENBACKs
The identification and restoration OF
notes which have been burnt is a diff
cult and interesting operation. Every
one has observed that Il printed pap /
after having been burnt. if not suhiert-
ed to Il strong draft orrourhlv handled
retains its original form. and that th,
printing * distinct and lewihle. and np-
pears aS if ii had been raised or cmbns-
sed on the paper. hut that if it is touch
Ell never So gently it crumbles into dust
Notes i'll this condition are freuuentI,
received at the Department for rrd,.mn.
tloli' The counter subjects each note
ana fragment of a note To a careful in.
specuon III Il strong light. under a DOW
eriul glass, until She determines the do.
nomination and issue. and then n,St..
1t upon piece of thin, tough paprr IN
order that 1t may lie safely handled
But this FASTING. by DESTROYING IN,
raised or embossed appearance. AT one,
and forever prerludes all chance q
again identifying the kind or dcnoui
nation of the note. Hcnccforthj il i hn
a plain, black piece of paper. giving II,
indication that ii ever represented mon
ey. 1t is therefore very necessary tha
the counter should be quite sure tina
her Judgment is correct before the NOT