The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-05-13
COUNTING THE MONEY.
Treasurer. VIII Do IL.
Correspondents New York Times. ]

How Mr.. New, the new United states
Treasurer, Will DO 1t.
Correspondence New York Times.l
WASHINGTON, April 15.-Mr. John G.
| New, who viii succeed Treasurer Spinner
at the end Of the present fiscal year, has
arranged to return to Washington about
the Middle of June to give his personal at
tentior TO counting the money on hand in
the Treasury preparatory to assuming re-
sponsihility and entering security. The
count will be thorough, and will embrace
an examination of every form OF money
for which the Treasurer of the United
States is held responsible. 1t will be made
under the direction of the Secretary and
the immediate supervision of officers de-
tailed from the Seeretary's Office, the
Registers office, and the Office Of the
Treasurer. AS this count will be made to
fix the legal responsibility for the Urea
surer, the outgoing and incoming Urea
surers may make such arrangements
touching the count as they may deem
proper. The new Treasurer is the party
more directly interested, and the thor
oughness of the count will depend entire
" upon him. II he should make the de-
cent notes to notes of the larger denOmi-
nation, will have to beseparately counted.
Such q count would involve an immense
amount of labor and occupy nearly three
months time.
The coin will probably be weighed and
receipted for without special examination.
The reserve, which is about 100000,
will, il is presumed, be counted and ac-
copied in bundles. The reserve is under
the direct custody of three officers de
tailed respectively from the Offices of the
Secretary, Treasurer and Register. Ii is
kept in safe secured by three locks of
different combinations, each of the three
officers having charge of the fand being
supplied with key to one lock. Thus
the presence of three persons at the same
time is necessary to open the safe.
These three officers meet daily at O'Clock
D.. M, and if the Treasurer wishes to
draw money from this so-called
reserve the amount is furnished
upon his requisition. The money i'll re-
serve is done up in packages of separate
denominations in amounts convenient to
the requirements of the daily business of
the Treasurer's Office, and those packages
are pot broken until they are transferred
TO tire custody of the Treasurer, and they
are not considered in his custody till re-
moved from the safe. A large amount of
this reserve is in fractional currency, and
should a thorough count of that be de-
manded by Mr.. New it will involve much
time and labor. 1t is expected that he
will be satisfied with verifying the amount
by packages, and will not require each
piece to be handled.
In the ordinary course of business the
packages are sent out and receipted for by
sub-treasurers and bank officers, and a
mistake was never known to have oc-
Cured in the treasury count. A count
was recently made in the office Ofthe SUBJ
treasurer at Philadelphia by experts de
tailed from the Treasury Department, and
in counting 100000 paper money, in
which were included notes of every de-
nomination, the difference between the
books OF the office and the experts was
found 10 be one ten cent note. With such
emphatic evidences of accuracy it is not
presumed Mr.. New will insist upon every
package being broken and counted in de-
tail. If he will accept the packages of the
reserve and other packages similarly pre-
pared ard marked, without requiring a
detailed count, the balances of Treasurer
Spinner can be verified and transferred in
from four to six weeks. 1t is an open
question whether the Treasurer can be
legally held responsible for the money
locked up in special charge of three of
ficers who have exclusive control of its
deposit and issue. The Treasurer's bond
is made to cover that fund, but many of
ficers of the department think he would
not be held by the courts for any de-
ficiency that might be discovered in that
fund as it is at present guarded. 1t may
also be said that it is very doubtful wheth-
er it would be possible for any money TO
be distracted from that fund.
The last count of the money in tile
Treasury was made about three years ago,
when a defalcation of an employee was
suspected, and was made at the request of
Treasurer Spinner. 1t was very thorough
count, and was conducted under the
supervision of officers of the Treasury,
George w. Riggs, and two or three other
bankers of Washington. It revealed the
amount of the Johnson-Marden defalca-
ton, which will be sufficiently recalled
without further mention. Gen. Spinner
was personally responsible for the amount,
but he was relieved of the loss by special
act of Congress. The business of the
Treasury will suffer no inconvenience by
the coming count. Before the LIST of July,
when Mr.. New will assume the duties of
Treasurer, sufficient progress will have
been made in counting to enable him to
continue the public business without any
interruption. Whatever Inconvenience
may be experienced will result from
changing the system of accounts which
General Spinner has introduced, and
which prevails in the office of the Treas
urer. That system may be changed by
Mr.. New, and until the other bureaus of
the Treasury Department become familiar
with the new order of things there may
L al.
will not be felt outside the department.
The various bureaus charged with the
manufacture, issue, and redemption of
money will so direct their operations from
now until the transfer is made as to ex-
pedite as much as possible that work.