Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-26

Some Curious Things About Them with
Which Every One IL Not Familiar
n0STMASTER GENERAL wANAMaUru

Some CuriOua Things About Them with
Which Every One is Not Familiar.
| DOSTMASTER GENERAL wANAMAKER
proposes almost Immediately to double the
number Of money order post Offices in the
United States. He is going to extend the sys.
tenn 30 as to include all points where post
masters are paid s200 a year or over This will
add about 10000 post Offices to the system
which now embraces only lO,sa2 post Offices
There does not seem to be any prospect that
the money order business can be made to pay
profit to Uncle Sam in future. 1t was started
in 1885 with an appropriation by Congress OF
100000, and during the first eight months
there was loss OF more than $1,000. As the
| system grew it became more remunerative to
the government, until it began TO show . mar
gin OF gain about ten years ago. For the las,
| three years, however, there has been loss on
1t, mainly because the average sum sent by
| money order has diminished. The average cost to
the governmental money order, whether for q
small or large amount, is a trife over lC
cents. while the average fee paid is now only q
fraction moro than cents. However. the loss
| on domestic money orders is made up 10 some
| extent by profit on international money
| orders. During the last fiscal year the Post
Office Department cleared $ls9. O0O on the pur-
chase 81 bills of exchange TO settle balances
with Foreign countries on account Of money
orders issued.
DRAIN FROM AMERICA TO EUROPE.
The enormous sums of money sent abroad
from this country annually by money orders
show what big drain of cash there is out of
the United States to impoverished Europe.
Hreat Britain receives from us in this shape
So.ooo, QUO yearly, while only about SyOa, 900 ID
returned in the same way to these shores. Ire
iand, OF course, gets most Of tho great sum
named. Germany comes next in respect TO the
amount sent over from this side of the water.
Nearly $4,000, 600 are sent thither from America
every year to help the folks at home and TO as
SYST them to emigrate. On the other hand the
Germans help out their relatives ON this side
WIN very considerable remittances, forwarding
rom the fatherland nearly S15OO, 900 annually
70 the United States by money orders. nisa Curl
GUS ana interesting fact that nearly three times
as much money was sent to Ireland by money
orders during the last fiscal year as was con-
ulDuted through the same channel in the year
lSSo-lsSl. or all the countries with which I'm
Gle oam has money order relations the least
amount OF business was done last year with
Tasmania, whittier was sent sos, for IS. 775 re-
celved. A convention for the exchange of
money orders with Chile was signed by Mr.
"anamaker several months ago, but that gov
eminent has not ratified it yet
THE HEART OF THE SYSTEM.
New York city is the heart Of the money
| order system, the post office there being the
central depository of funds. At many post
oihces in different parts of the country there 10
an excess OF payments on money orders over
receipts In such cases the postmasters east
OF the Rocky mountains are allowed to draw
npon the postmaster at New York. while on the
Paclhc slope they are similarly supplied from
San Francisco and Portland. Postal notes are
not so popular as they used to be. They are
very convenient for sending small sums of
money by mail. particularly where odd cents
are concerned, and they have great usefulness
In sections where silver almost wholly takes the
place OF paper as currency, but they afford no
security, and people are apt to be reluctant to
| accept them as cash.
OLD MONEY ORDERS
Sometimes money orders as much % twenty
years old are sent into the Post Office Depart
ment to be Dashed. Queer people stow them
away in desks or other hiding places, leaving
them to be discovered in the course OF time by
heirs. OF course they are invalid after one
year from the date OF issue, but duplicates are
always issued and paid upon application.
Actors, and particularly circus people, have q
way OF utilizing the money order system as a
sort of banking and safe deposit concern
While travelling about the country, for exam
pie. player will buy money order for 800
on New York, making himself the payee. Thus
he puts away the sum in place where no one
else can possibly get it. Before the year ID
out he may draw the money and buy another
postal order with it, and on, thus keeping
the cash secure for an indefinite period. Ii be
should get on a spree he cannot be robbed
Recently circus clown vas arrested in a town
out west with 5000 worth of money order re-
ocipts in his clothes Had they been stolen
from him he could easily have got duplicates.