The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-06-04
MUTILATED CURRENCY.
How Uncle Sam Redeems It-SOme
Interesting and Amusing Cases.

WAO, VI LID OOWS VI uOSs VI LII OIL OLuor
way, comes into possession of mutilated
currency, he sends it to the Treasurer of
the United States for redemption. He
also usually tells the story Of his wrongs
or his misfortunes to excite the officials
sympathy and to get good bills in re-
turn. This engenders a sort of litera-
ture, which, if collected, would make an
interesting and curious volume. Be-
fore giving few notes from it, it will be
told how this sort of tattered and torn
currency is redeemed. It goes to the
Redemption Bureau of the treasury, and
in case it is a legal note and the
numbers and denomination are distin-
guishable, and satisfactory evidence is
furnished that the other portion will
never be presented, new note is issued
to the owner Of the fragments. IF ma
tional-bank note, the name of the bank
must still cling to it, and the same evil
dence as to the other portions be fur
nished. Satisfactory evidence consists
of affidavits as to how the money became
so dilapidated, and the Endorsements by
responsible persons as to the honest in
tents Of the claimant for redemption.
For, of course, fraudulent attempts are
frequently made on this bureau. Quite
often woe-begone piece of note will be
sent in, and, upon applying the crucial
test, will turn out to be part Of coun-
terfeit sometimes, too, the fragments
are manufactured to make up a good
case. In these instances the sender
gets reply more pointed than polite.
But generally there is little trouble, and
the fifty men and women employed in
this division can see through the case
remarkably quick, and the claimant gets
his just deserts at once. The pieces O
notes which pass muster are ground to
a pulp, dried, and sold to paper-makers.
The amount redeemed averages nearly
81, 500, 900 month.
One of the most remarkable cases
that has ever come before the Redemp-
ton Bureau is that of Nebraska back
woodsman, camp fire and $1O0. By
accident he dropped his pocketbook
containing the money into the fire; it
was very hot, and before he could get it
out the book had shriveled up to hard
ball, round and compact. He did not
open it, but sent it on with statement
of the facts. The ball was cracked just
as walnut would be, and revealed the
contents in $40 and $40 bills intact and
unchanged, and the backwoodsman got
his 800 back again. Another case was
that of an Illinois farmer who had dis
trust for banks. A short time ago he
had several thousand dollars (no unusual
thing among Illinois farmers) which he
carried in his coat pocket and hung the
coat on chair near the fire. In the
night his wife smelt something burn
ing" and jumped up to find his coat
burned and his money charred mass.
Fortunately there was enough dis
tinguishable about the notes to secure
him, and he has since concluded to pat
ronize the banks. ~ e..
The charred money from the great
Chicago fire was sent to this bureau for
redemption. Banks keep their money
in packages unfolded, and most of the
Chicago banks lost the notes they had
on hand. In some instances, replacing
was impossible, but in others the thin
layers of notes, the division between
which was hardly perceptible, were neat
ly separated, and the numbers and de-
nominations picked out of the black and
feathery framework Of what was once
note. ;, In this way $l26, 900 out Of $165, :,
900 was identified, and new notes issued
to the banks for that amount.
An OHIO farmer lost $3.50 by blowing
it under in his field. The next season
he turned it up, and, though almost de-
composed, it was, upon application,
found redeemable. Cases like this are
numerous. Also instances where dogs,
horses, COWS and other animals have
digested and partly or wholly de-
stroyed Uncle Sans promises to pay.
One man sends forward the portion of a
$40 bill, and says he has watched the
dog vigilantly for the remainder of it,
but not successfully. He got new
note. n
A sad case is that of poor old lady
in Philadelphia. She was saving money
to secure admission to a charitable in
stitution. She had accumulated $65,
and concealed it in cupboard. It dis
She was certain it had been
stolen, but some of the neighbors sug-
gestedmice, and after close search under
the floor the fragments of her $65 were
found in rats nest. She gathered up
the litter and sent it to the treasury, but
the rats had done their work too we'll,
and only So out Of the whole sum could
be identified. So the old lady lost $57
by rats.
An amusing. correspondence is car
ried on with a,Georgia lawyer, who re-
fuses to be convinced. A client had
1866 burned up, and reliable witnesses
to prove its destruction. He was in
formed that nothing could be redeemed
in nothing only, despite the fact that
there had once been something. The
lawyer replied that the Government
was thereby an unlawful gamer. He
quotes law, moral and statutory, and
spins out long arguments. but has at
length found match for his wit. His
are of no avail; nothing
still remains nothing in spite of argu-
ment.
Mutilated coins are never redeemed.