Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-08-26
GOOD BILLS FOR SCRAPS
NOVEL WORK or THE GOVERNMENT
REDEMPTION BUREAU.

singular ways In which Money Has hee
! pe.troyed-Fsre. the Baby and the ~
Dog Among the Chief Agents Of De
struetion-No Chance to Defrsud.
When a small portion OF United State
note Is returned to the treasury VIII
sufficient proof that the remainder OF
has gone out OF existence, the treasur.
will give the full value OF the origina
note. Naturally the greatest destruction
of money is wrought by fire. and bits Q
bills with charred edges are CONSTANT,
coming In for redemption.
But several Instances have occurred
where men, in their desperation at then
loss, have simply boxed up lot OF ashes
in which there was not the slightes
trace of the original material, and de
manded hundreds and thousands OF dol
lars 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 indemnify
them.
MICE WITH EXPENSIVE NESTS.
Next to fire the young baby is put
down in the department as the most de-
structive agent. Innumerable affidavits
are received in which John Jones, or
whatever his name may be, ''being duly
sworn, deposes and says" that his in
FAINT son did chew up and swallow the
missing portions of certain s. bills, and
that the said missing portions we're
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 department
Your pug and your poodle seem to take
especial delight in masticating the fruit
and reward of the many days of severe
toll of the head of the house.
| The fancy of mice for $40 bills as lin
ing for luxurious nests has been impress
ed upon the redemption bureau by long
series of examples. Only 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 500 of it in the first place,
notes of almost the first issue made by
the government early in war times 1t
had been hidden away in place sup
posed to be secure, and had disappeared
A quarter of century later. in repair
ing the porch of the old house, the nest
of the wealthy mouse had been discov-
cred, and enough of the fragments re-
covered to secure more than half of the
original deposit.
Also from the south came most of the
moldy, 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 mem.
Der of the family who is all unaware of
its value Years ago the clerks in the re-
demption bureau ceased to declaim upon /
the stupidity of such people. 1t has be- {
come matter of course with them. and
they expect about so many letters every I
week from people who have warmed two I
pair of hands with 81 900 worth of silver (
certificates
FROM THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE.
Ihere are not many attempts to de-
fraud the government through the re-
demption bureau. and none have beer
successful The sending of the two halves
OF note OF large denomination by diff
ferent people, each one swearing that
the other half is destroyed, and asking
Tor the full value of the note, freoueptlv
looks IKE an attempt to defraud. but the
omcials think that in most cases the
senders believe they are telling the truth
counterfeit money comes from everv
part OF the country, mutilated, probable
" design with requests for its redemp
llon. 1t is always indeliblv STAMPED
counterfeit and returned to the sender
Inc redemption bureau is not a good
place for showing the queer" even in n ;
ragmentary condition.
There is in the treasury vault n brovr I
wooden box eighteen inches lone. n foot 1
wac ana eight inches deep, which con.
ans paper money of the nominal value '
u several hundred thousand dollars II
, not worth dollar, The queer THING /
'oout IL Is the manner in which il was
Every bit of it came from tha t
leaa letter office of the postoffice denart. a
hent. Some portion of it is co,Intorfo;t
,u' the most OF it was genuine money
nany years ago, The banks which {.
ueo IL and the officers who signed !, I
le gone ana forgotten. 1t was all SOM
eel 10 ehe treasury department son,a .
ears ago, and Assistant Traasrnau
neipiey undertook to trace mn 49, l
arlous banks and get as much "a nossi y
le OF IL redeemed, Occasionally he x
olhd descendants OF these old bank Of :,
':m. themselves bankers, who were "
=, l,s 70 redeem some of the notes for y
ie sake OF the signatures of tboir y
ithefs' and In this way he succeedod - a. a,
Jung several hundred dollars wor,h - :,
redeemed. "or'h OF e'
Dus OF mat remaining, not 6 bill, can H.
teoeehed' little of il 10 o. -
r nI money, but most of il i y
a~;s+ state and private, that Went o,t VI
,to Ais ona many years ago. The oidest
Gar arIs are dated back as far as 1919 0ne TO
ooas q, contained $54 900 and anotb ae
ono1, tue mystery is how so mrcl, la
LIZ lily eould have been lost in the ri of
VII, 'te men who sent it nor the ono to
q nost1 , :. was sent could be found hr tu
bpln1am iee department, nor could NJ. n,
.snu any trace of them or Their
n fronl The $4,000 package n was
Sc '- III 10 brandon Miss, to ,Isc,s mnS So
: # 81 sbd io4o, and the letter accornnaOH col
~ SHOWS that it was sent pahy- w