Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-07-18
UNCLE SANS BANK NOTES.
HOW OLD oHEs ARE EaDEErsD by
THE TREASURY.
The work Done Ly Eifty Seven E:m-
plOyes, Mostly sgOs2en-DlspOsialg
O7 the Redeemed Notes.

One OF the most complete Of the gov
ernment workshops, says the Washington
Star, is the national bank redemption
division of the treasury department. The
work done there, while of a complicated
nature and requiring great accuracy, is
50 systematized that it runs without
hitch. Even if mistake should occur
in handling and counting the vast sums
of money which constantly pass through
the bureau, the system of checking and
receipting is so perfected that it would
be discovered in very short time, and
its origin traced almost simultaneously.
The fifty seven employees of the bureau,
mostly ladies, who arc locked in long
room on the west side of the building, are
the ones who count and sort the old
worn out bank notes, which are sent to
the department for redemption. Each
counter has separate table with com
partments for different notes. The casual
visitor to the department gets partial
glimpse of the ladies behind the wire
screens rapidly lingering the soiled and
torn money which has just been with
drawn from general circulation, but, for
precautionary reasons, visitors are seldom
admitted to the interior
The bureau is in existence ten years,
and the work accomplished by it is in
valuable. Since its origi there has been
redeemed 81, 391, ,494, ,097. Is, or over
twice the national bank circulation.
What is the average life Of bank
note2" asked a Star reporter of one of
the officials.
"About five years." was the reply.
"Of course" he added, ''we have no
other way of finding out than by com
pairing the amount annually redeemed
with that in circulation, about twenty
per cent. of the whole circulation being
redeemed every five years. The life Of
the legal-tender notes, being of smaller
denomination, is only about three years" "
The amount of money received from
year to year varies from $50, 000,0 900 to
$24O, 000,0 ,000
A Star reporter was escorted through
the division by Superintendent Rodgers,
and the modus operandi was kindly ex-
planned. "Money sent here to be re-
deemed goes through three separate pro
cesses," said that officer. Packages
are received from banks, and just in the
shape they come are taken by the coun,
H., II o. t1--.-----~;rt~ for them, tC
their tables, and are there sorted out BY
denominations. These packages, con.
tanning bills according to denomination,
are turned in at night, and the next day
the counters divide the bills into groups.
We have flfty-two of these groups, which
include all the national banks, arranged
lphabetically by towns in which they
are located. New York has group ol
its own, and so has Boston, on account
of the large number of banks located in
those cities. The group packages are
deposited in the vault, to be gradually
withdrawn and the bills separated accord
ing to the banks of issue. This consti
tutes the third and last process. Bank
notes which are fit are returned to The
banks Of issue, and a check gen
orally given on a sub-treasury sent fol
those which are not fit Whilt
the first two processes are daily, thu
third is of course not. The groups are
taken from the vault in order, and thu
whole tifty-two are generally gone
through with about twelve times year
When the redemption is under $10G,
/ 600, coo in year about seventy-five pc
| cent of the notes received here have t.
be destroyed, very small portion prov
ing fit to be used again. When, how
ever, the redemption is much over tina
the proportion of fit notes is mucl
/ larger
II see the ladies are allowed to have
comfortable seats while at work. has tina
always been the case?" asked the Star re
porter.
'No; several years ago they were com
| PEELED to stand at these large cases anC
perform their work. But the con
slant strain from standing and from tn
use of the muscles of the shoulders il
handling the money, was very injurious
The systematizing of the work, however
permitted changes in the manner Of per
forming it. After five years of study il
the old way woman would be almos
entirely used up"
'"This book, y continued Mr.. Rodgers
turning to a rather small account book
''shows the workings of this division
since its organization to the present day
giving the result of each days proceed
ings. 1t is balanced daily, and from a
inspection of it, the workings of the di
vision can be seen at glance. If q ban
sends more money than is marked on
package, or not as much rs marked, it
noted here. On May 8 you will see tina
there was a shortage of $500. That
rather peculiar for the package of none
camc from the National Metropolita
bank oil New York, just a day or so bC
fore 1t suspended. The officers of th
bank must have received the letter fror
the department noting the mistake o
the very morning of suspension, but
guess they were too busy with more in
portant matters to pay any attention
it. That was the fourth time that ther
were large shortages in the package
from that bank in the past ten years, br
every time before the bank would nc
own the mistake, but insisted that tn
trouble was in this Office. Very ofte
banks send more money than they mar
on the packages. In fact the overs
have exceeded the shorts, amoantin
to S170, 500. and the shorts to S135, 50,
In the same ten years $41, 900 in coui
terfeit notes has been discovered.
"Is it possible for an employe to e.
tract note and take it home," aske
the Star man.
" Yes, it is possible, but not at a
probable If it should be done mi
take would be discovered by means
the cheeks and receipts, and the poll
of disagreement be soon located. {
course, If the clerks were inclined
steal, they would be apt to take from {
over package, but mistake of tn
character is often discovered at home al
reported here before we can inform Il
!, bank. We can point to the fact of Il
lovers exceeding the shorts, as a ge
h.,,,nnErr If f1n N hlirnn