The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-12-16
THE PENNY.
ITS RECEPTION In ST. LOUIs-ITs
MANY ADVANTAGES.
Fraud in It's COnstructiOn-An
Night Cars. Etc.

L&FSs ELC.
Especial Correspondence N. o. Democrat
ST. LOUIS, Dec. ID, 1877.
An attempt is being made here to bring
THE PENNY CURRENCY
of the East into general circulation in st. Louis.
VIM. Barr q Co. and Scruggs, Vandervoort d
Barney, leading retail dry goods merchants on
Fourth street, commenced paying out one two
and three cent pieces in change to their custo-
mers about month ago, and since then dozen
or more smaller stores have adopted the small
coin currency Several prominent manufac-
turers OF the city. including Charles Belcher,
Gerard b. Allen and Giles Filley. are also doing
what they can to further the Introduction of the
small coin currency. They are now paying
their hands, as some of them have been doing
for some time, the exact amount due each Of
them every pay day. The custom with them
formerly was to pay their employees either two
cents more or two cents less than the amount
due them. If the amount due a certain en-
ploye on pay day was 80 II or SO u, he was
paid only SO 10, and If the amount due was 50 IS
or SO IA. he was paid 50 Is. This is the
custom still prevalent among large ma
: iority of the manufacturers here The sup
porters Of the penny system claim that they are
gradually putting pennies into general circu-
lation. They say that as the leading dry goods
houses on Fourth street have united with the
penny paying manufacturers the smaller stores
will soon be compelled to adopt the new cur
rency. 1t is difficult to foretell the result. As a
rule, Western people seem to have an aversion
Tor corpers. and the attempt to introduce the
penny currency in st. Louis will meet and is
meeting with considerable opposition. THE
penny will do for the close listed Yankee but it
is not the currency for the open handed West
ern man" said a prominent bag manufacturer
"a ut dav in afin with
well-known railroad man. and the latter an
swered. And 1t just shows that the country is
getting poorer and poorer every day." Another
OBJECTION TO CoPPERs
Is that the money is too heavy for general cir
culation. Who wants to be carrying load of
coppers around in his pockets all the timer" is
one of the questions asked by the anti penny
man when addressed on the subject, and then
without waiting for an answer he invariably
adds. No one wants to be weighted down that
way and have his pockets all torn out besides"
The proprietors of the cheap stores on Frank
lin Avenue, several Of whom do a business
nearly as large as the leading Fourth street
firms who are patronized chiefly by ladies of
wealth and fashion, are, fer the most part op-
posed to the penny currency. IT'S only an at
tempt Of those Fourth street merchants !" said a
Franklin Avenue dry goods man the other day
TO newspaper reporter, to make the people
believe that they are selling their goods at cost
Why Ill venture the assertion that we are I'M
dersellfng them in everything; that every ari-
Gle OF goods that they have mari ed down. say
from 40 TO 80 cents, we selling for 30 cents"
:. Several Of these cheap merchants on Frank
lin Avenue have followed the example of the
prices to suit the demands of the new currency
Articles marked three for quarter are now
sold "a at eight cents apiece and reduction Of
every article of goods in the store. The reduc-
ton. though small. is sufficient to overcome
per currency. and the result is that the new new
converts to the penny system among the mer-
chants are doing g, large business. How long
is another question. Ii the manufacturers gen.
orally follow the example Of the few who are !
there can be but eo result the adopSon
Ct Ct the copper currency by all the merchants of
the city, me employees Of manufactures form
city and it is. not, likely that they will throw
away the pennies they receive from their en-
have enough to exchange for money Of larger
denomination. 1t is much more probable that |
they will make use OF them as soon as they get
prices to penny basis will get their patronage.
And as soon as this Is evident there will be a |
general adoption Of the penny currency among |
the merchants and Of course, among the |
people Also |
THE TRIAL OF MICHAEL LYDDAN
Tor perjury was concluded last Tuesday in The |
United States District Court, and resulted in the |
acquittal OF the defendant. The case attracted |
considerable attention, both here and in Wash |
1ngton City. from the fact that the trial of |
terror piers of the new custo,n-house here. |
claimed by some to be hollow, and an investiga-
rp3n to seme extent , into the charge against
the erection Of
THE NEW CUSTOM HOUSE,
spirfin.g Ing to defraq 1, the goyernment by means
Of stone. 6. 1t is very generally believed
hse pa N St for LOUIS soo that as hY son
work than has been done on the building. now
about half completed; Lyddan had personal
have been In the conspiracy. if one existed.
Nearly all The witnesses that were instrqmental
the grand jury that the interior piers Of the new
custom house were hollow or filled with loose
stone and concrete.
LYDDAN's TESTIMONY
pes hs ga soya t e. s s G that the
and 1t was for giving this testimony that he was
indicted for perjury. His trial lasted about ten
up the frauds, OF ring believed by some to be
almost equal In proportions to the whisky ring
Of last year. The government introduced cyl.
dence to prove that the stones of the piers did
c ca were left in the middle Of every layer
and concrete; that the government had paid for
solid masonry. the heart OF every pier being in
urement charged the government included not
only the loose stones and concrete inside of the
piers but also an extra inch ON the outside of
the five dressed sides of every stone put into
the pier. The evidence for the defense was to
the effect that the piers were all built in the
usual way OF constructing piers. the cavities {
between the rough sides of the stones being ,
tilled with the chips taken from the dressed
Several of the witnesses for the defense testified
that all piers had such cavities. and that the i
cavities, when filed up, were measured as 8
solid masonry and the piers called solid piers /
but none of them knew of any rule or custom :
allowing government employees. pay for an /
extra inch around the dressed sides Of stones
trial the government attorneys applied to the .
court for authority to bore sor,e of the custom
house piers, but the court claimed that it had |
no authority in the matter. The attorneys then {
Ieieer aphed to Washington for permission, t
and. after a good deal of talapranhinp hack E