Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-29

~. ing paper money non.
appears 10 be In such
universal favor as that Of hiding IL AWAY
IN an unused sitting room stove during
,he summer time. When the Gre N
hghted IN the autumn the cash goes nm I'm
smoke, and then the owner makes application
W nave the ashes redeemed. The chief Of the
eden' p'on division said yesterday that not
iess uisn ioo such cases were submitted 20 him
every faii Sometimes the remains are not too
isr consumed for Identification. but AZ a rule
Wis method OF destroying money is found 20
oe Snsniaris effective and hopeless. There w.
reserved Yesterday at the treasury slao in the
shape OF a small quantity Of ashes packed into
'iiinoie' from Texas The woman who oxnea
sne sID mad drawn the sum from bank and de-
posted II IN stove for safer keenin, ,;,h a..
usual result Unfortunately. the 49, a,s ,.s
ILeuhg uishable from any other asb,. ana -
she VIII lose the amount ""1 ~
ACCIDENTS on THE R.r
III Is a most interesting fact that ,ear,x IN
'he paper money destroyed by accident meet.
us tate on the rail. Whenever a railw.y a.
yer occurs nre usually ensues. and She .xnrss.
yar;al,I'u ncu: now, an express car almost in
.ain'ols carries a safe with more or less money
IN IT, among other valuables The safe mil.
10 ono LOT transporting government money
Is apt to be of the portable kind and NOT a.
p lool' mus, At Is an almost everyday occur
renee Tor one OF these safes 20 a-,iys a, a.
treasury here with its cash con,.n,s ~ ~. .he
Siape OF more or less hopeless ashes
TOT example, take the accident tb., NJ
CURED IN Kentucky only the other day. Two
' .Ialiis met IN tunnel, one of them loaded
WIN passengers and the other a frai,,b, 60,
ing coal and iron. For thirty bours tba xrecl
. 1urn n ana such was the heat generated that
the IRON was melted and flowed liz watt In
ne eH M car OF the passenger train was
Cir siogV cash IN II, besides lot Of Jew
u was al paper money and was reduced
10 ashes Seven hundred dollars l. ali thai ,h.
rsusihpuon division has been able 10 Get ont
~ ~ II IN condition for purchase with fresh
S.i'ed states notes. This the authorities saw.
80 m boT "orst orceai through which an express
s'ie has ever passed"
IDENTIFYING PIECES.
You would be astonished 20 49,. h., i;.s l..
the way of remains is required. when pa.sed
under the hands Of the treasn,, 60, =,
cure the Identification and redemntion %
burned paper money. A few bits 80 han,lessfy
cIlaI req as to seem to the ordinary eve hut
ahIa accumulation OF ashes. may be redeem
apIe TOT thousands of dollars in bright new lilis
at he paying tellcrs desk All that IL r,.oni,,5
suihcient evidence that the originals ~ H.
notes have been really DESTROYED. Nors,ls mol H.,
ger man your nnger nall are every day redeemed
TOT the lace value of the bills they re,r,ss.,,,
As to this il is largely n matter 81 cbs,ao 10
,he morsel were merely a corner il would no,
DE likely To suffice for the identification of -
note. Snpposing that the case is that of a banl
In ns absolutely essential that the bank
should be determined. else payment can-
not he made. But let the Dir nresen,aa
mo" the name OF the bank its numher or eV,n
P'ruon q one OF the officers signature and
goes Untii very recently portions OF notes
IA nave oeen redeemed on the discount
princlple-nine-tenths of a dollar hin bringing
S9, and so on-but now the Law is that the SMALL
est portion Is redeemable at full face yalue n
only II Is accompanied by satisfactory afida-
wits as to the loss of the remainder Some few
attempts have been made TO swindle tbe ,rass.
ury in this way by false affidavits. but The de-
partment believes that il has always discoy-
cred them.
GOVERNMENT PROFIT.
uncle Sam has made good deal OF money
by his paper cash that has been accidentally
DESTROYED OF course every penny of il that
Il not handed in at the treasury for redemp-
ton Is so much in his pocket In this vay he
has found his tissues of fractional currency
most profitable. These small notes-for K
cents, 10 cents, IS cents and SO cents-were
easily destroyed, especially during war times.
me nrst Issue was made in 1868, and Of the
o-cent notes then put forth nearly one-half-
more than 45 per cent, accurately speaking
has never been asked payment for The same
thing Is true of 80 per cent of the IO-cent
notes. 20 per cent Of the 26-cent notes and II
per cent OF the 6o-cent notes. Ii
total that Of the $4,000 worth
OF these little notes first issued more than
s4.OO0,OO0 still remains in the clothes of the
government There were four more subsequent
Issues OF fractional currency-some of their
output in and l5-cent notes-ageregating
about s441 100000, and Of this lump sum more
than ell 600, 900 has not been called for. This
leaves Uncle Sam 'on velvet 70 the extent Of
sl5,ooO,ooo, so far as his fractional notes are
fhlE d L..
made about that amount of money clear on the
five issues.
WHAT BECAME OF THE FRACTIONAL CURRENCY
Now, what has become OF all this small
changer In 1s79a treasury commission, not
appointed by Law in any proper form made nm
its mind that e. 000, 600 had been lost or de-
stroyed and Congress accordingly turned that
amount out OF the $4,000 600 originally ap-
propriated for the redemption of the fractional
notes over for the payment of pensions. since
then three experts in the department making
their calculations independently-one OF then
Accountant Lentz OF the national banking al
vislon-have arrived approximately at the
same conclusion that not more than b. GOO. 600
OF the fractional currency has been destroy.d
or lost and that $4,000 900 vet remains ont
standing. According TO their estimate this
great sum is at present entirely In the hands of
collectors, large and small. II REQUIRES nearly
SS,oOO.Oo0 OF each fractional issue 10 satisfy
their appetite for euriosities. Not merely 40
dealers hold considerable stocks of these notes
but nearly every private individual has one OF
more of them just for fun.
Asfor the gain Of the government on It's notss
OF larger denominations through their loss or
destruction, the treasury is only able 20 makes
guess, estimating II at considerably less than 1
per cent. While the discounting Of paper cur
rency by paying proportionately for fractions
OF oins was legal the treasury cleared ESQ 600
through the industry. A good deal of money
IN paper Is boarded every year by persons who
dle without revealing it, whereabouts and much
OF 1t is never found. Sums i'm this shape are
often dug up on the persons Of corpses exhumed
Tor other purposes. Only the other day the
body OF a murdered man was discovered in the
woods near an ohio town badly decompoeed
and with pocket book filed with greenbscks.
The latter were sent TO the treasury here for re-
demption, which did not prove in this instance
pleasant task.
The Growth u BrnAns.
From the Chicago News