St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-08
MUrILATED BANK NOTES.
Strange Adventures Which the
Treasury Can Tell of Green


Strange Adventures Which the
Treasury Can Tell of Green
backs.
When a small portion of a United
States note is returned to the treasury,
says the Washington Post. with suffi-
cient proof that the remainder of it has
gone out of existence, the treasury will
give the full value of the original note.
Naturally the greatest destruction of
money is wrought by fire, and the bits
of bills with charred edges are con-
stantly coming in for redemption.
But several instances have occurred
where men, in their desperation at their
loss, have simply boxed up a lot of
ashes. in which there was not the slight
est trace of the original material, and
demanded hundreds and thousands Of
dollars for them. Such requests are, of
course, refused, and the senders are in
formed that their only recourse is to
ask congress by special act to indem-
Nifty them.
The extreme limit in this direction was
reached in recent case which is still
pending. A Texan wrote to the treas
urer that a certain large amount of
money belonging to him had been
burned. and that he had forwarded the
remains by express in box. The box
came all right, properly wrapped and
with seals unbroken, but when it was
opened there was absolutely nothing
but air inside of it. Evidently that was
all that was left of the mans money.
But the department sent him a letter in
curing whether that was his meaning,
Or if he had forgotten to put in the
pieces. His reply has not yet been re-
eeived.
Next to fire the young baby is put
down in the department as the most
destructive agent. Innumerable affida-
Wits are received in which John Jones.
or whatever his name may be, being
duly sworn," deposes and says that his
infant son did chewup and swallow the
missing portions of certain S5-bills, and
that the said missing portions were
thereby wholly destroyed and are now
no longer in existence.
The fashion of keeping small pet
dogs has also been the cause Of many
solemn affidavits being sent to the de-
paTtment. Your pug and your poodle
seem to take especial delight in masti-
eating the fruit and reward of the many
days OF severe toll of the head of the
h Ouse.
The fancy of mice for $40 bills as lin
ing for luxurious nests has been i'm
pressed upon the redemption bureau
by long series of examples. Only a
few days ago several hundred dollars
worth of nest lining was redeemed for
Southern man, who had for many years
given up all idea of finding his missing
treasure. There was S700 of it in the
first place, notes of almost the first
issue made by the government early in
war times. 1t had been put away in a
place supposed to be secure. and had
disappeared. A quarter of a century
later, in repairing the porch of the old
house, the nest of the wealthy mouse
had been discovered, and enough of the
fragments recovered to secure more
than half of the original deposit.
Also from the South come most of the
mouldy, wOrm-eaten bills which have
been hidden in bottles or buried in
the earth for years. There are not
so many savings banks in the South as
in thrifty New England, and hiding
places are used.
But the habit of using the parlor or
kitchen stove as safety-deposit vault
is not confined to any one section of the
country. Neither is the custom of burn
ing up this treasure by some other men,
Der of the family who is all unaware of
its value. Years ago the clerks in the
redemption department ceased to de-
claim upon the stupidity of such people.
1t has become a matter of course with
them, and they expect about so many
letters every week from people who
have warmed 81 pair of hands with
$1,000 worth of silver certificates.
Evidence of family row crops out in
queer way in the bureau occasionally.
MI. Blank sends on the half of a $40
note with torn edge, and an affidavit
that the remainder of the note has been
destroyed. Presently comes the other
half, with a CORRESPONDENCE ragged
edge and an affidavit from Mrs. Blank
that the first half has been DESTROYED.
Then the redemption bureau people
know that there has been an exciting
time over money in the Blank family.
and there is before them vivid picture
OF Blank elingIng to one end of the
note, and hi: wife to the other end
until it parts LII the middle.
There are not many attempts to de-
fraud the government through the re- |
demption bureau, and none have been
The sending of the two |
halves of note of large denomination |
ny different people, each one swearing |
that the other half is destroyed and |
asking for the full value OF the note. |
looks like an attempt to de- |
fraud, but the officials think that in |