Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-06-13
Communication.
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Our New York Letter


dren of the Brain''-$l 900 in
representation Cullen Bry-
ant.
New York. May 81, 1878.
To the Editor Of the Observer
A few days ago, lady, while
shopping in one of our we'll
known stores, inadvertently
took up a parasol, thinking ii
her own which she already had
on her arm. She was immedi-
ately bounced upon by the pro-
prietor, searched without sue
cess, arrested by an able-bodied
policeman, taken to the station
lhouse, where the officer accused
her of being a common thief;
locked up for the night in a
cell, and brought into court the
next morning. During the ex-
animation, the evidence came
ont that the prisoner was a
thoroughly respectable lady,and
that she tried to explain how
the blunder was committed, but
was marched off, and impris-
oned as well known thief. An
other beautiful feature of this
case was shown when the lady
testified that, after much plead
ing, she was allowed to send for
her lawyer. She gavethc messen-
ger fifty cents for the GRAND,
and he put the money in his
pocket, put a stamp on the note,
and sent it by mail, and, if the
lawyer Lad not seen a notice of
the arrest in the papers, the la
dy would have probably suf-
fered through a longer delay.
The only ray of common sense
connected with the case which
has yet penetrated to the pub
lie eye, is the emphatic way in
which the judge expressed his
disgust at che whole proceed
ing, and threatened the imme-
diate punishment of those
through whom the wretched
blunder was made, branding an
innocent lady with q foul title.
Another auction sale of pat
ents has lately taken place here
at which a most miscellaneous
lot of these "children of the
brain" were disposed Of. Al
most everything in the way of
device was represented from a
coat-hanger to quartz-crusher,
flom a clothes-pin to a perpetu-
al motion machine. This varied
assortment naturally brought
all kinds of prices from ten
cents to several thousand dol
lars. As usual, too, it was the
little simple contrivances that
commanded the highest figures
while flying machines and new
tangled steam engines went beg
cling at a dollar or SO, some such
triAe as door spring or an egg
beaten would become the sub
ject Of spirited competition and
would be finally Knocked down
at a price to rejoice the heart of
| its fortunate protector.
One Of the results of the re-
cent introduction of silver dol
lars and silver change has been
to turn into the sub-treasury
here a tremendous and steady
stream of copper and nickel
coins for redemption in the
more valuable metal. To
show how enormous the influx
is l will specify some Of the
reported figures. For instance,
three of the city railway COM
panies send III on an average
$1,000 per day in this little
stuff. One bank sendsin 81, OOC
a week and two Of the large fer
ry companies about $1,000
Many city brokers receive and
transmit considerable quanti-
ties and from out of town comes
probably not less than $4,000
per week additional. All to,
gether / suppose the receipts of
this "petty cash. amounts a
present to not less than $4,000
a week.
OF course all this has to bC
counted and examined for coun'
terfcit, mutilated pieces, &c.
and when one reflects that this
S2O,000is made up of from half
a million to one million coins
the amount of work thereby
imposed upon the sub-Treasury
may be imagined. So accurate
ly and Systematically is this la
Dor performed, however, tina
, the mistakes made are aston
, ishingly small. In one cas-
$4,000 in small change wa
countedwith adiscrepapcg Of s.
Out of these accumulations
: the sub-Treasury supplies all tn
local demands for these coin
8 and the surplus is shipped t
! the Philadelphia Mint, there t
e be held or gradually returned t
e circulation according to tn
J. needs of general trade. At til
e time that the above statistic
4 were obtained there were lyin
!. in the sub-Treasury vaults a
most 100000 of copper an
d nickel. hacked in bags, th: