The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-05-21
Buying Ten.DOlIar Certificates.

the curious scenes resulting from the
rush for the ten-dollar refunding certiti-
Gates at the post office and sub-treasury
Most of those who come after office
hours at the postoffice are working PEG.
pie, and give Custodian McAfee compar.
atively little trouble. The greatest jam
is between ten and eleven in the morning,
when colored people, Germans, Irish,
Americans, laborers, shopkeepers, me
chanics, laurdrywomen and proprietors
of peanut stands make their appearance,
Sandwiched in the long line, and some
times coming in shoals together like
mackerel, are the boys from the brokers'
offices, whom it requires the sternest
vigilance on the part Of the muscular
custodian and his assistants to disperse.
The plausible stories that these fellows
tell are countless. When hopelessly
cornered, and convicted of having been
in and out half a dozen times before. and
of numerous perjuries besides, they stink
off uptown to some one OF the lettered
stations to repeat the old trick.
AN old applewoman hobbled into
Cashier Harvey Majors Office, at 8!
A.. NJ, with $40 in small and extremely
dirty bills in her hand. She wanted four
certificates-three for herself and one foI
her daughter.
1.-The dirtiest money is brought by
small grocery keepers and Chinese laun-
drymen. Old, crumpled and mildew wed
greenbacks, which have been kept in
stockings for years, are not uncommon.
Neither is gold. One queer looking GUS
toner marched up to Cashier Louns-
berry's window with a small, suspicious
looking parcel tied with string and
wrapped in tissue paper. Inside were
smaller pieces of tissue paper, each tied
with thread, and bound together with
intricate knots. There were forty of
these minute packages, and as each was
| ripped and cut open, 4 gold quarter
eagle was discovered. The mar took
ten certificates.
1.-The scene from the rear of the long
wooden screen in the money order de-
partment is novel one. The cashier and
his assistant sit in n great cage of iron
work, built up against the woodwork in
front. On the counter Immediately be.
low the cashiers window is a pile OF
the new certificates laid crosswise in
small patches often or twenty each. TIC
his left is large tin box, with q dozen
or more compartments for bills, and oil
various denominations. The corner is
devoted to gold, of which there arc
several shining heaps. A metallic coin.
holderto silver currency is ut his elbow
In q cunningly contrived framework are
ranged dollars, halves, quarters. dimes
fve-cent pieces, nickels and pennies, in
regular order. A slight pressure upon
a lever at the bottom Of each compart.
ment drops the required coin into the
cashiers palm. On his right are bundles
of bond notes of small denominations
tied together in packages of 800 anG
5000. The motley crowd of purchaser:
appear ut the windows ouc by one, put
| down their h%ard-earned money, in green.
backs, gold or silver Grade dollars eX,
cepted), receive.their certificates, and &C
on their way.
Now that the certificates have beer
sent to the stations uptown, merchant:
and employers have begun to give thei1
clerks IN opportunity for purchasing il
blocks. Superintendent Ten Eyck O
| Station d took Sl2, 900 worth Of the Ger
| tiicates to Brokaw Brothers, clothiers
for sale among their employees in lots o
500 each. Higgins, the carpet manufac
turer, applied for a still larger amount
to be taken among his 1900 employees.
eat the sub-treasury, as at the postot
| flee, the cashiers are overrun with de
mands from spectators, which they have
to refuse. BY employing half a dozer
different clerks each time, the latter AT
still managing to absorb Il large amount
| of the certificates. 1t is said that in en-
terprising firm, on hearing that the GER
tificates were for sale at all the stations
sent out fourteen different men, each one
| of whom, in turn. succeeded in getting
800 worth at every one Of the fourteen
stations, including the sub-treasury ant
| postofice. None of the men were com
PEELED to 20 to the same station twicetht
same day, and yet the net amount o.
their purchases have aggregated nearly
800, 600 per day. AS the premium on the
bonds is about one and half per cent,
their profit. after deducting the interest
already paid, will be over 5000 per day,
much more than the postmaster and his
assistants get on all the sales put TO-
gether.
AS the lowest denomination of the
regular loan is $50, purchasers must
have at least five Of these certificates be-
fore they can convert them into bonds OF
draw interest on them. They have their
choice, however. of leaving the interest
to accrue, AS they can for half a dozen
years if they wish to, or of having their
certificates cashed at full value by the
government.