The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-12-25
"REMINISCENCES or PUBLIC Nm.


Bx BEN IROhEA EVVo
President jackson appointed his Ken
tucky friend, William L. Barry, Post
master General. having transferred to
the bench of the Supreme Court Mr..
Mclean, who had refused to remove
efficient officers on account OF their po-
ltical opinion. He also invited Barry
to take seat at his council table, from
which the Postmaster General had pre-
viously been excluded. Barry was also
the first to increase the compensation
of Postmasters on "star-routes," and to
pay the large extra allowances was
forced to obtain loans from banks.
This resulted in q tedious investigation
of its affairs by Congressional COM
mittee. President Jackson, in conse-
quence, transferred Mr.. Barry to q
sphere of duty calling for less financial
ability, and placed in the postal chair
Amos Kendall, a man of singular clear
ness of intellect, fine administrative
qualification and herculean energy,
who Immediately set on foot measures
destined promptly to elevate the credit
and relieve the embarrassments of the
Postoffice Department. In short time
he had restored the lost credit of the
institution, and paid off the half a
million dollars of debt resulting from
Mr.. Barry's unsuccessful policy.
Dueling was the fashion at Washing
ton during the exciting debates on the
Kansas-N ebraska bill In the early
spring of 1858. Col Sumner chal-
lenged Gen. Harvey upon having Sc
cured his trial by court-martial upon
trivial charges involving breaches of
military etiquette. Messrs. Clay, of
Kentucky, and Cullum, of Tennessee,
members of the House of Representa-
tives, went to Baltimore, and practiced
with rifles preparatory to shooting at
each other, but finally submitted their
difficulty to Senators Crittenden and
Toombs, who amicably settled it.
Lients. Robert Williams and David
Bell, of the army, fought, at Bladens-
burg, the second duel that had ever
taken place between graduates of the
West Point Military Academy. Pistols
were selected as the weapons, and at
the first shot the ball from Bells pistol
passed through Williams hat. Will
Jams, who had reserved his fire, lowered
his pistol and fired in the ground. The
|
and "the affair was adjusted on terms
satisfactory and honorable to both par
ties" There was also ON unpleasant
ness between A. G. Rhind, who had
been dropped from the rolls of the
Navy Department, and Commander E.
b. Boutwell,, but this affair was also
amicably settled.
Postal currency, which was the
change" during the war and until the
resumption Of specie payment, was the
invention of Gen. Spinner, who had
represented the Syracuse district of
New York in Congress, and had been
appointed Treasurer of the United
States by President Lincoln. Small
change had vanished, and in buying q
dinner in the market change had to be
taken in beets. cabbages, potatoes and
what not. Gen. Spinner was constant
ly appealed to from all quarters to do
something to supply the demand for
small change He had no law under
which he could act, but after buying a
half-dollars worth of apples several
times and receiving for his half-dollar
in change more or less different kinds
of produce, he began to cast around
for substitute for small change. In
his dilemma he bethought himself OF
the postage stamp. He sent down to
the Postoffice Department and pur-
chased a quantity of stamps. He then
ordered up package of the paper
upon which Government securities
were printed. He cut the paper into
various sizes. On the pieces he pasted
stamps to represent different amounts.
| He thus initiated substitute for frac-
tional silver. This was not, however.
a Government transaction in any sense;
it could not be. Gen. Spinner dis
tributed his improvised currency
among the clerks of the department.
They took it readily. The idea spi cad:
the postt sc stamps, either detached or
pasted upon piece of paper, became
the medium of small exchange. 1t was
dubbed postal currency" From this
Gen. Spinner got his idea of the frac-
tional currency, and went before Con-
gress with it. That body readily
adopted it, and but short time after
Gen. Spinner had begun FASTING opera
tions law was on the statue book pro-
viding for the issue of the fractional
currency which became so popular.
The fac-simile of q postage stamp was
put on each piece of currency, and for
q long time it was known as postal
currency" An enormous amount never
was presented for redemption, and the
Government was consequently the
| gamer.