Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-08-06
Gales aud Sketehes.
Notes That Are No Use.

Notes That Are No Use.
How OLD BANK NOTES ARE REDEEMED
AND DISPOSED OF.
WASHINGTON, July 31.-When the ma.
tional bank notes have tramped about the
country until they have become ragged
and vagabond and have reached the low
est depths of degradation, they are bundled
up and sent to the Treasury Department
for redemption. MANY million of these
Migrants are received at the department
each year. They have to pass in review
through the national bank redemption
agency, where those that are utterly de-
PRAYED and good for nothing are sentenced
to be chewed up. and those that have got
in through the force of association, but
are still not 80 far gone that some good
NAV not be got out of them, are sent
back into the service. In the place of
those that are condemned nice, new notes.
crisp and clean. are sent out. The ex-
perience OF these notes. is varied. and in
some cases very novel and interesting,
but their tale is told only by their ragged
and dirty appearance when they get back
to the department. The average length
of time that new note can keep up a
respectable appearance is about three
wears. Some have been found at the end
of 20 years 70 be as crisp as on the day of
their issue, but these are exceptional cases,
where they have fallen into the hands of
people who made pets Of them and care
fully guarded them from rough usage.
Hku
tramp. 1t rapidly goes to pieces if it
starts out for the West, stopping along at
the crossroad inns. or II it frequents
drinking saloons and falls in with low
company Bad habits tell on bank note
very quickly. 1t is in hard luck when it
falls in with fingered butcher.
Some have been known to become good
for nothing under such circumstances in a
few weeks. They are subject. too, to all
sorts of misfortune by fire and water.
Many thousands get burnt up. Then
their charred and blackened remains are
sent to the Treasury for redemption. One
lady in the controllers office in this case
has charge Of them, and they are sent to
her for Identification before they can be
redeemed. Her name is Fitzgerald. and
she is said to be very expert, seldom fail
ing to identify note. giving its proper
name. date and classification, no matter
how badly burned it is. Sometimes pack
ages of several hundreds. done up to be
expressed, are sent in all stuck together
and burned clear through tc black, cris-
Ply mass. She then separates them one by
one with a very thin bladed knife, and
places the charred remains of each one
separately upon glass slab and exam
ines it very carefully with magniiying
glass. She is familiar with all the pecu-
liarilies of the issues of the various banks.
and note must be reduced almost to
ashes to be beyond her recognition, though
to an inexperienced eye it might not be
distinguished from piece of grocer's pa
per which had gone through the fire.
All those notes otherwise mutilated 90
directly to the redemption agency. The
degree of expert efficiency displayed
there is something remarkable. This
branch of the service was organized about
eleven years ago by Gen. Spinner. Prior
to that there was no systematic redemp-
ton of the paper currency as it became
too worn for circulation, and good many
ragamuffin notes were wandering about the
country. The service began with about
1852 people employed in counting and as
sorting the notes that came in for redemp-
ton. Very nearly the some amount OF
work is now done by 81. The counting in
and asserting of the notes requires great
care. and it is only after long experience
that it can be done rapidly. There is an
average of about 10000 notes per year
handled, and they have to be counted
about five times if there is no hitch in the
count, and oftener if any mistakes are
made. But the amount is variable from
year to year, and even from month to
month. The lowest number was in 1880 81
when 60, 900. 900 were redeemed. and from
that it has run up as high as 247 ,O00.00C
in single year. Some months it runs as
low as four or five million, then again il
runs up in other months to 1S or 20 mil.
lion. The months of January and June
always take the lead those being the pc
RODS just after the fall and spring trade
respectively, when the currency worn Out
from the rough usage in traffic, is col
lected and sent in to be replaced by new
notes.
The force of fifty-seven, all except two
or three of whom are ladies, can handle
just half million notes each day. This is
very expert counting. The notes wher
they come to be judged have first to be
counted in" This requires the counter
i'm to go over them twice, and she mus,
make no mistake and pass no counterfeit
or the loss thus caused will be deducted
from her salary. She is given from si1
to ten thousand notes, for which she give.
receipt; then she counts them in: Their
she counts them back, and if the two
counts agree she is given credit for then
when she settles up in the evening, turn.
ing in the money bound and labelled with
her name and amount on each package
If the packages, or any of them. are found
short she has to make good the deficiency
Next. the notes have to be assorted, those
in good condition from those in bad con
dition; then they have to be grouped as
to denomination then distributed into
banks OF issue. and then into denomina.
ton, under the heads of banks
Then they are counted out" The
''counter-in" has to handle them
twice and the ''counter-out" thrice
but the former has the most responsibility
and must be more expert. The counter.
in handles 'FRONT.'. 900 to IL. 900 notes twice
or counts IL, 600 to 2o.OO0per day. while the
counter-out handles from 5000 to 1000
three times, or counts from IL. 900 to 81 ,OOC
per day. This is provided they make nc
msfakes which makoa q rocount nocoa