The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-11-16
FINANCIAL.


For the year ending June Both the postal
order business of the Post-office Department
amounted to S56G9S, 7O6.22, and the revenue
derived from it amounted to $295,5Sl,3 ID.
1t is claimed that it is one of the cheapest,
speediest and safest methods of transmitting
money ever devised There will be an
effort made in the next Congress to further
utilize the post-oiiice for this purpose, by
allowing adeposit of twenty-five cents and
upward, to be made in any post-oflce in the
United States, to be delivered to the party
named at any other post-oilice, at cost
of from two to ten cents to depositors, as per
amount RENTED. While this will involve
considerable expense, il is claimed that the
revenue derived will more than reimburse
the department for the outlay, and that the
government will derive considerable rev.
enue thereby. The past shows that the
weak point in the postal order system is the
large amount of money deposited III the
post-oiiiccs all over the Union, and through
one blunder or another never paid to the
person who ought TO have received 1t. The
post-oflice in New York is the general head
quarters of the system, and there is now
unclaimed at that office 81 ,S25 f97 40, which
is the result ofseventeen years accumula-
ton. All ofthe money unclaimed in the
post-oflices all through the country is sent
TO the New York post-oilice. The country
postmasters are required to account weekly
TO the postmaster in New York. When
their deposits exceed their needs Tor their
business, as they usually do exceed it, mas
much as more money comes to the city than
goes from it by this system, then the cOun-
try postmaster sends his surplus in draft
to New York. The accumulation is due in a
great measure to miscarriage. The surplus
fund is increasing, as ii is impossible to tell
10 whom il belongs. This money may be
applied to the use of the posto-flice depart
ment by an act of Congress, which will
probably be done this winter.
Large numbers of cases Of violation of the
law prohibiting traffic in postage stamps
are now receiving the attention of the Post
office Department and special agents are
hunting up offending postmastcrs all over
the country. Postmasters are forbidden to
sell stamps except to the locality to which
their offices belong, but many of them vio-
late this law. One postmaster at u small
village in Virginia, has made profit of
nearly $500 III the last few months selling
stamps to Baltimore merchants at 10 per
cent. discount.
A new method of mutilating silver cur
renoy is being employed by numbers of
patent medicine vendors and others to adj
vertise their goods and wares. OF late large
numbers of coin have been received in the
Treasury which are stamped on one side
with advertisements. The stamps used are
some sort of die, which cuts letters and
words into the coin. In most instances the
name of the owner of the article advertised
is not cut on the coin, but the advertise
ment simply recommends certain nos
trum or article. AS the coin is stamped
only on one side, it can he passed very
readily, exposing only the perfect side.
This Is a mutilation Of the currency and u
violation of the law.
The average life of an English gold SOW
ereign is about eighteen years-that is, the
coin loses three-quarters of a grain in
weight in about that length Of time 1t
then ceases to be legal tender. 1t is said
THAI of the fl00 900 of British gold coin
age, 40 per cent. is worn down below the
legal weight.
II 1t is thought an order for the resumption
OF the coinage of tiye-cent nickels will be
issued in a few days.
The Bank ofFrancc during the fiscal week
shows an increase Of $2l33,000 gold, and II
decrease of 1906, 600 silver.
The governments expenses at Ycr' town
are said not to exceed $4,000. Con ryss is
to be asked for $4,000 or $1,000
A close personal friend of Mr. c. i. Hunt
ington, who is also large owner of Cen raj
Pacific stock, says there is no truth what
ever in the newspaper story that traffic
arrangement has been actually perfected
between the Southern Pacific, Texas &
Pacific, and Missouri Pacific roads.
DALLAS EXCHANGE AND COIN.