The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-01
on Saturday and had gone away yesterday.
Sac pawned her plush ulster to pay her
fine
CURIosIrIas Ar The TREASURY.
How to Get an Old and Multilated
Bank Bill or q Coin Redeemed.
From Me Ne,c Yorh Norld.


ously adroit manipulation Of United States
currency by Mrs. Ernestine Becker, an old
and trusted employee in the redemption
division of the Treasurer's office, who sue
cessfully pieced United States currency
so that nine bills were made to pass for
ten, the remaining bill being appropri-
ated to her own use, public attention
has been moro closely drawn to the opera
tions of redeeming the government cur
rency.
From II until 10 o'clock daily United
States Treasurer Hyatt throws open to
throngs of visitors at the treasury depart
ment many of the wonders of the great
treasury of the United States. One of the
rooms into which visitors are taken is that
in which are examined and passed upon
large amounts Of government currency,
battered, t1rn, swallowed, burned, chewed,
eaten by drugs, ETC., etc., but seat III to be
replaced by crisp new bills. The majority
of visitors to this room, however, scarcely
have tine to ask more than few hurried
questions as to how the lady experts can
detect counterfeits from genuine bills, what
is done with the old bills redeemed, and like
questions arising from curiosity, yet in all
their work these bright lady clerks and
their supervising officials are governed by
strict department regulations which daily
effect large numbers of people who Md
themselves in possession or partially worn
or defaced currency. Aside from the regu-
lar business of examining and sorting the
large amounts of old but unmutllated
money sent IN for redemption from the
different sub-treasuries, individual pieces
of mutilated currency are all inspected
and their value determined in this dlvls-
ion without being SENT as are the mutt
lated bills, to the offices of the secretary and
register
La 80 k1a,
demption of mutilated currency or coin In
the treasurer's officep a correspondent asked
treasury official to-day.
IF person sends us United States
note somewhat torn, but exceeding in size
nine-tenths of its original proportions in
one piece" he replied, ''tne government
will forward the sender new United
States note of the same denomination as the
one sent in The proportion of any note
presented is determined by means of a glass
measuring instrument which is placed over
the bills to be measured. This piece of glass
is of the same size as the United States
bills, and is suitably divided into squares so
as to furnish a ready means of ascertaining
what proportion of the bill is missing.
Mutilated gold certificates, silver Ger
tificates and United States notes
are all redeemed at their face
value if no more than one-tenth of their
proportions is missing, while fractional
currency notes are redeemed at their face
value provided no more than two tenths of
their original proportions are missing. A
still larger margin is allowed in the case OF
national bank notes, which are replaced by
the government at their face value if only
three fifths of their original proportions are
presented, provided they bear the name of
the bank BY which they are issued and the
signature of one of its officers. The large
margin is allowed because national bank
bills are less easily manipulated when pieced
than other currency on account OF the
names of the banks and signatures of their
officers being different on bills of the several
banks
''The sender of a mutilated United States
note, gold certificate or silver certificate of
which more than one-tenth is missing will
be paid in return at the rate of 10 per cent.
discount for each one-tenth of the note
which is missing, provided not less than
one-haf of the whole note is presented.
Mutilated fractional currency is redeemed
in the same manner, except that the dis
count is made on the basis of 20 per cent.
for each one-filth missing. Persons whose
money has been burned or torn SO that
more than one-half of the bill is missing
cannot receive anything for such frag
ments, except by furnishing an affidavit of
their own or of some other party having
knowledge of the facts, testlfying that the
stroyed, in which case, if the affidavit is
accepted, the entire face value of the bill will
be sent them In order to have such aft
davit considered satisfactory by the depart
ment, it must state fully the cause and
manner of the mutilation or other injury,
and must be sworn to and subscribed before
an officer duly Qualified to administer
oathS, who must also certify to the good
character of the affiant. Signatures by
mark must be witnessed by two persons who
can write, aud who must give their places
of residence.
Department officials are in this respect
allowed considerable discretion in deter
mining whether the affidavit is made in good
faith. We frequently have instances where
people endeavor to dishonesty procure the
payment of mutilated currency, and it is
not an uncommon ching to find that they
have even resorted to false swearing in
order to secure the redemption of old or
mutilated money which they send here
Instan es might be given almost without
number. Only a short time ago we had
case where man while frequentlng place
of evil resort became involved in quarrel
and struggle with one of the inmates, the
result Of which was that he left with only
mutilated portion of $40 bill. He sent
us the portion which he had carried off,
with an affidavit certifying that the re-
mainder had been totally destroyed under
circumstances entirely different from the
real ones just given. About the same time
we received from the other party in the
struggle the other portion of this same $40
bill, as was readily shown by fitting to-
gether the tvs o pieces This latter piece was
accompanied by an affidavit, which was
also false, but which was the means of start
ing an investigation which revealed the real
facts in the case and prevented the success
of this fraudulent effort to procure a new
bill by false swearing.
"Another case is that Of a Mr.. Mcclellan,
an old horseman from Lexington, KY, who,
while attending the races at Ivy Clyy, lost
on the race track half of $50 bill and sent
the remainder TO us to see what could be
obtained for il. Not long afterwards we
received by hand the other half of the same
$50 bill the ownership of which was claimed
by an employe of the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing. In some way, however, this
employe ascertained that there might pos
sibly be trouble ahead and therefore with
| drew his ella i'm TO the ownership Of tho lat
ter portion Of the bill and the horseman SUBJ
sequently received the full face value OF his
mutilated bill.
IF less than three-fifths OF bank note
remains, or if the signatures Of the bank
officers are lacking, the treasurer will not
redeem it, and IL must be presented for
redemption to the bank Of issue. Frag-
ments Of less than three-hfths are accepted
| from the bank OF issue by the treasurer for
face value only when accompanied by sworn
| and satisfactory evidence that the missing