Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-23
THINGS MADE OUT OF MONEY.
Red Indians, Blue Qaakers and Green Ami.
cans of Postage stamps.

Red Indians, Blue Qaakers and Green Ami.
cans of Postage stamps.
WIT sucH STAMPS ARE NO LONGER BURNED
THE DESTRUCTION OF NOTES AND crRrIyr.
GATES IN THE MAckRArER--A SPECIAL oxl
FOR RANK KIND OF rArxn STOCK
SEvEN LITTLE RED INDIANS AND FIVE
~ blue Quakers were exposed for sale ysstsr'
day among other curiosities on . stand near the
city post ofice. There were also three green
Africans. whose nationality was proclaimed by
the banjos they held. No explanation wal
given as 10 why this trio was Of the color men.
noned, though possibly their complexion VA
supposed to have been affected by over-indul-
sence in the surreptitious moonlight water.
melon. One could buy any one Of the small
statuettes for 10 cents, notwithstanding the
paper plasters they bore stating their .esti.
mated value" ct from $50 TO s200 each. The
secret OF II was that they were made out Of
maeerated postage stamps The Quakers wers
Oh i-cent stamps, the Indians Of a-cent ones
ana the colored persons Of the lo-cent denomi-
nation. II was learned by TIE star writer,
upon Investigation. that the material Of which
,ney were composed had been purchased at thu
bureau OF engraving and printing. Postmas-
master General Wanamaker has the use of q
maeerster at that establishment one day In
each week for the purpose of destroying bis
spoiled but unused stamps.
WHY BURNING WAS ABANDONED.
The people who turn ont the STAN ps BY con
tract for the Post Office Department, Il seems,
have an allowance made them Of about 2 Der
cent Tor what is called spoilage. In other
words, II " stamps out Of every 100 are salts
factory In point OF paper and printing the
government is content But all stamps printed
must be delivered into the Postmaster General G
nands, and those rejected have to be DESTROYED.
Until quite recently this destruction was &C
comphshed by burning; but four or five years
ago an ingenious person who was employed to
| conduct this operation was seized with con-
sclentious pity that 30 much value for letter
carrying purposes should be annihilated, and
SO ne preserved from the flames with pains
taking care many thousands of dollars worth
OF the paper tokens, selecting by preference
those OF high denominations. Believing tina,
ne mad right, on the weli-recognized princi-
PIE OF salvage, TO the possession Of what he had
thus secured from otherwise inevitable destruc-
ton, he sold the stamps at par, or nearly, to
inoi'iauals who were less exacting to quality
than Uncle Sam. By this means he secured .
great deal of money.
Unfortunately, the Post Office Department
wtnheid Its appreciation from this novel idea
OF the salaried destroyer and there was forth
Win adopted fresh and purely mechanical
fashion OF disposing Of unavailable new stamps.
HOW NOTES ARE DESTROYED.
This is the method utilized for more than
fifteen years past by the Department Of the
Treasury. Every one has heard how the United
States notes and certificates come into the re-
demption division from all over the United
States. Batches Of them arrive in quantities
every day from all parts Of the Union, and one
important ofhcial devotes his whole time TO sort
Ing over the paper money that passes through
the cashiers hands In the course Of business,
rejecting every bit Of il that is not really fresh
and nearly new and putting all such bills aside
for renewal The women in the redemption
division count them over with skilled and
rapid fingers, after which they are cut in halves
with huge knife made for the purposes
pecuniary guillotiue, not made actually to de-
stroy, but to revive. The body of the cash
may perish, but the soul survives to animate
| the resurrected Hkenesses Of the vanished
guarantees to pay.
When bundle of bills is thus cut in twain
one set OF halves is sent 10 the register Of the
treasury and the other set of halves to the
division Of loans and currency In both
offices they are counted, and the sums mus,
agree with each other as well as with the count
in the redemption division. When this has
been declared correct the treasurer of the
United States is credited with the amount.
TAKEN TO THE MAcERATER.
Next the divided halves are packed in wooden
boxes and conveyed in q big covered wagon to
the bureau Of engraving. and printing. The
progress of this wagon is watched by Eve men
in one-horse carriage, who follow CLOSELY.
These men are the committee in charge Of de-
struction. One Of them represents the secre-
tary of the Treasury, another the treasurer of
the United States, another the register of the
treasury, another the commissioner of internal
revenue and another the people of the United
States. The first and the last of these i've are
appointed by the Secretary Of the Treasury:
each OF the others is given Office by the official
| In behalf Of whom he acts. All the internal
revenue stamps are destroyed, like the notes
and certificates, at the bureau of engray
and printing, where they are made originally.
Upon their arrival at the bureau the halved
notes, certificates and internal revenue stamps
are carried by the chest full into a room in the
basement at the rear, where their contents are
poured through a huge iron funnel into an iron
cylinder, feet in diameter and 10 feet long in
the cellar below. The cylinder Is partly filled
with water and heated by steam. which boils
the erstwhile precious contents for thirty-six
| hours, at the end of which the money and
| stamps are reduced to q mudlike pulp. There
are two OF these cylinders. and while one IL
stewing away the other is ready to receive fresh
supplies. The masses Of pulp thus prepared
| are heaped into q pit below, from which the
moist material is carried upstairs again, passed
through a machine that transforms il into
sheets a quarter of an inch thick and dried in
that shape, when it 10 ready to be sent to the
paper mills as stock.
THINGS MADE FROM TIE PULP.
Fifteen years ago all the paper money to be
destroyed. instead Of being macerated, was
burned in an air-blast fire of great heat. But
Congress- perceiving that the stock reduced to
pulp would be valuable enough at least to nav
the expense of destruction, passed law de-
creeing that the process at present followed
should be adopted. The pulp, as now pre-
pared, is sold to the paper-making concerns for
$40 hundredweight, dry. Any one else can
buy the pulp, which contains 90 per cent of
water, for one-fifth that price. The paper
manufacturers would not purchase II in that
shape, because the freight would be too much
for SO great q weight Those who invest in the
pulp for the purpose Of making il into busts of
Abraham Lincoln and representation of the
Washington monument employ their own
mofds and make their own estimates OF the
value Of the original money material compos-
ing their wares. The guess on a replica Of the
monument 10 usually q, 600, 900, but the only
certainty it is based upon il the verdaucy Of
the casual visitor.
National bank notes are not DESTROYED a the
bureau Of engraving and printing. For them
. special macerater of different pattern il EN-.
ployed by the controller of the currency, under
whose special superintendence they are coup ted
separately for redemption. Beneath his Office
is q sort Of tub with revolving knives. into
yvh all Of -