, 1881-04-08
Money Orders.

Over SjI COO 900 in hard cash passed
through our hands last year said Mr..
William Pumley, the General Superin-
tendent of the Money Order Department
in the New York Post-Otiice, yesterday.
by our hands | mean the whole de-
partinent. New York does about one
eighth of the entire business of America.
/ can safely say that the system now in
vogue Is as perfect as we can reasonably
expect it to be. no matter how much pol
ishinG We give it.
1T seems Incredible that this vast al
fair is SO young in years. 1t was only
sixteen wears ago that G. F. Mcdonald
conceived and started the idea OF the
Money Order department into life. Be
fore that ii was only by the most elabo-
rate care and lynx eyed precautlon that
even small amounts of money could be
sent from one point TO another with any
certainty of safe carriage, but now It's
safety has become such an assured fact
that people never consider the idea OF
losing their money at all, but simply
make out all order and send 1t on Its way.
Whoever hears of q loss nowadays: Mr.
Mcdonald, the originator OF the scheme,
is now at his head. He is the chief o1
the money-orler system IN Washington.
\ recent recommendation Of his IN
relation to the fees charged for sending
money through the money y-order depart
ment is "A reduction from ten TO nNe
cents on amounts not exceeding -;
aud on orders over 50, and not over SlO,
Il reduction from ten cents to eight cents
and an extension of the limit OF the
amount that may be sent IN any one case
from $50 to 500. l am Ill favor of Chief
McDonald's recommendation, and think,
though I'm by no means sure that Post
master James, now that he Is IN the Cab
met as Postmaster General, Will view 1t
favOrably also
What is the smallest amount you
ever made out az order for?
Mr. Plimley considered IL moment,
and then touched il little electric button
on the side of his desk. The desk Is n
curiosity. 1t has or 10 buttons on each
side, Il bronze plate over each one, setting
forth in black letters exactly which clerk
in nm indicated department may be eX-
pected to answer. On the top is another
long row of buttons, and at each end are
more. eight and nine being grouped to-
T cether on one plate IN some instances.
While the General Superintendent talked
to the reporter yesterday his business
went on rs usual. He touched one but
ton anl Immediately a clerk appeared
with a bundle of checks and withdrew.
Mr.. Plimley signed two or three checks,
touched n button and they were taken
away by another clerk. He went right
on and signed several more, touched a
third button. when third clerk ap-
peared, and so on through the whole IN
terview. Mr.. Plimley now pressed one
of the mystic buttons, and in half a
minute n uniformed clerk stood by his
side.
"What is the smallest money order
ever sent?"
lone cent, sir"
MANY of them?"
Very few. They were probably sent
for Joke. Quite number have been
sent for 5, 10 or 10 cents, but people in
general fail TO see the wisdom of paying
fee of ten cents for sending i've"
Very good"
The clerk bowed and withdrew, and
Mr.. Plimley turned to the reporter and
said:
The increase in the amount of money
We handle will interest if not astonish
you. The number of money orders
issued during the fiscal year was 7,24O,-
537 for the whole United States. This
in money reached the enormous sum Of
500, ,352, ,SlS.93. Over hundred
millions passed in absolute safety
through our hands. The fees paid to
the Post Office Department reached the
aggregate of S9l6, 1920 For the trans
action of all this an immense amount of
7 correspondence is necessary. We wrote
nearly 40, 900 letters last year"
''You spoke of the increase"
'"True. If you are not tired of figures
l Will give you some more. In 1879
we had !, I6l, 37S transactions, amount
ing in money to S43 ,652, 273.37. This
was an increase over 1873 of 100, 1l9
transactions and $4,000 900. The next
year, 1880, showed 1851 ,G95 transactions,
amounting in all to sol ,231 .740.04. This
was a gain over the previous year of
1S9. .720 transactions, and 81 ,57S, ,475. 81 e.
The work is constantly increasing The
average of all the orders is Sl3."- New
[ York Sun.