The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-04-02
UNCLE SANS CASH.

Turning Over the United States Treasury.
WASHINGTON, April, lon Saturday at
o'clock Treasurer Gilfllan turned over his
office and its vaults of money to his success
or, Mr.. Wyman, and a committee OF three,
who proceeded to examine and verify the
records The count of the funds began in the
cash room. The paying and the receiving tel
Ter after balancing their cash turned over their
keys to the committee. After finishing the
count in the cash room proper the committee
will run over an assortment of money pack
ages which the tellers will need in Mondays
transactions This sum will be turned over
and credited to them so that the daily opera
tions of the Office will not be interrupted.
The paper money lies in neatly wrapped
packages in the vaults. To count this the
band will be removed and the money be Civ
en- to an expert counter. If the report of the
counter agrees with the record on the band
the latter will be replaced in the package
The system of checks used makes a false
count almost impossible. 1t will be compar-
atively easy to count the smooth, clean pack
ages of bills, but the disagreeable work comes
in counting the broken piles OF mutilated pa
per currency. The custom in the treasury
is not to destroy returned notes of national
banks until they amount to $500, and the
mutilated bills are assorted and preserved
till the amount named is reached AS there
are over $500 banks, the count of these var
iegated piles will be tedious. The counting of
specie will be heavy job. The clerks are
not accustomed to handle coin, and they
will work slowly. A system of weighing can
be resorted to- however, in some cases by
which the labor will be much abbreviated.
The chief trouble in this feature of the work
will come from the silver dollars and the
subsidiary coin. OF course, a large part of
the three hundred millions returned as cash
on hand in the treasury is really held by the
sub treasurers and repositories of public
moneys, and the reports of these agencies
will probably be accepted at least for the
time being as correct. This matter and in
fact the whole character of the count, will
depend on the wish of Mr.. Wyman and his
bondsmen. The official and personal rela-
tions of Mr. Wyman and Mr.. Gilfillan are so
intimate that the labors of the committee
will be much lessened. Mr.. Wyruan could
if he so desired demand two counts, one by
the committee and the other by his own sub
ordinates in receiving the report of the COM
mttee, but it is understood that he has no
such desire. Probably the chief labors of
the committee will end with the count of
that part of the item d cash in the treasury
which is actually in the vaults in the treas
ury here. They will be engaged over a
month.
There has not been a thorough overhauling
of the Treasurer's Office for ten years, the last
full examination being the one made during
Treasurer Spinners time. When Mr.. Spin
ner turned over the office to Treasurer
New the latter was willing to accept the cash
and accounts without examination, and his
bondsmen also being willing, the Secretary
of the Treasury dispensed with the examine
ton. The same thing occurred when Treas
urer Wyman succeeded Mr.. New and when
Gillfllan succeeded Wyman. The latter has
expressed his Willingness to forego examina-
ton on the present occasion, but the Secre-
tary thinks that so long a time has inter
vened since the LIST count that one should
now be made.