The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-16
UNREDEEMED MONEY.
VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH UNCLE
SAM HAS MADE MILLIONS.

Paper Money That Is Burned Is One
Way While Nearly Fifty Per Cent OF
the Fractional Currency Is Yet in the
Pockets or Strong Boxes of the People.
"The parlor stove is considerable source
of income to the United States treasury,
though the contributors 10 the fund &C
cumulated by its means are invariably
most unwilling ones" said a treasury OH
cial.
"Of all ways of boarding paper money
none appears to be in such universal favor
as that of hiding it away in an unused sit
ting room stove during the summer time.
When the fire is lighted in the autumn the
cash goes up in smoke, and then the owner
makes application to have the ashes re-
deemed. The chief of the redemption di-
vision said that not less than 100 such cases
were submitted to him every fall. Some
times the remains are not too far con-
sumed for Identification, but as rule tins
method of destroying money is found to be
singularly effective and hopeless. There
was received at the treasury Sl2o, IN the
shape of small quantity of ashes packed
into a thimble, from Texas. The woman
who owned the $120 had drawn the sum
from bank and deposited it in stove for
safer keeping, with the usual result Un-
fortunately the ashes were indistngulsh
able from any other ashes. and so she lost
the amount.
MONEY DESTROYED BY FIRE.
"It is a most interesting fact that nearly
all the paper money destroyed by accident
meets its fate on the rail Whenever rail
way disaster occurs fire usually ensues,
and the express car is burned. Now, an
express car almost invariably carries a
safe with more or less money in it, among
other valuables The safe, unless it is one
for transporting government money, Is apt
to be one of the portable kind and not IRE
proof Thus it is an almost every day oc-
currence for one of these safes to arrive at
the treasury here with its cash contents IN
the shape of more or less hopeless ashes.i
For example, take an accident that oc-
Cured in Kentucky. Two trains met in a
tunnel, one of them loaded with passengers
and the other freight, carrying coal and
iron. For thirty hours the wreck burned,
and such was the heat generated that the
iron was melted and flowed like water In
the express car of the passenger train was
a safe with 81 600 cash in it, besides n lot of
jewelry. 1t was all paper money and was
reduced to ashes. Seven hundred dollars
is all that the redemption division has been
able to get out of it in condition for pur-
chase with fresh United States notes. This,
the authorities say, Is the worst ordeal
through which an express safe has ever
passed.
BURNED MONEY REDEEMED.
"You would be astonished to see how lit
tie in the way of remains is required, when
passed under the hands of the treasury eX-
perts, to procure the identification and re-
demption of burned paper money. A few
bits, so hopelessly charred as TO seem to the
ordinary eve but a small accumulation of
ashes, may be redeemable for thousands of
dollars in bright new bills at the paying
teller's desk All that is required is suf-
ficient evidence that the originals of the
notes have been really destroyed. Morsels
no bigger than your finger nails are every
day redeemed for the face value of the bills
they represent. As to this it is largely a
matter of chance. If the morsel were mere
ly a corner it would not be likely to suffice
for the Identification of the note.
"Supposing that the case is that of a
banknote, it is absolutely essential that
the bank should be determined, else pay
ment cannot berSnade. But let the bit pre-
sented show the name of the bank, its
number or even portion of one of the Off
GERS signature, and it goes. Until very re-
Gently portions of notes sent in have been
redeemed on the discount principle-nine-
tenths of ten dollar bill bringing 50, and
so on-but now the law is that the smallest
portion is redeemable at full face value if
only it is accompanied by satisfactory affi-
davits as to the loss of the remainder
Some few attempts have been made to
swindle the treasury in this way by false
affidavits, but the department believes that
it has always discovered them.
"Uncle Sam has made a good deal of
money by his paper cash that has been ac-
cidentallv destroyed. OF course every
penny of it that is not handed in at the
treasury for redemption is so much in his
pocket. In this way he has found his is
sue of fractional currency most profitable.
These small notes-for cents, 10 cents, p
cents and so cents-were easily destroyed,
especially during war times.
PROFIT IN PAPER MONEY.
''The first issue was made in 1868, and of
the 5 cent notes then put forth nearly one
baltimore than IS per cent, accurately
speaking-has never been asked payment
for The same thing is true of 80 per cent.
of the 10 cent notes. 20 per cent. of the 25
cent notes, and II per cent. of the 80 cent
notes. 1t is shown by the figured treasury
total that of the so, 600, 600 worth of these
notes first issued more than 81, 100000 still
remains in the clothes of the government.
There were four more subsequent issues
of fractional currency-sOme of their out
put in 3 and IS cent notes-aggrega eating
about S447, 900 900, and of this lump sum
more than S11,O00,OO0 has not been called
for This leaves Uncle Sam 'on velvet 70
the extent of S15, Got, 600, 50 far as his frac-
tional notes are concerned. In other
words, he seems to have made about that
amount of money clear on the five issues.
Now, what has become of all this small
change? 10 1870 a treasury commission,
not appointed by law in sny proper form,
made up its mind that $, ,O00, 900 had been
lost or destroyed, and congress accordingly
turned that amount out of the SIC, ,oO0. 900
originally appropriated for the redemption
Of the fractional notes over for the pay
ment of pensions Since then three ex
perts in the department, making their cal
culations IndependentJy-oneo of them AC
countant Lentz, of the national banking
division-have arrived approximately at
the same conclusion. that not more than
Sl,0o0,Oo0 OF the fractional currency mas
been destroyed or lost, and that S14, ,O0O, ,OOa
yet remains outstanding.
According TO their estimate this great
sum is at present entaEeiy in the hands OF
collectors. large and small It requires
nearly s., 900 900 of each fractional issue 70
satisfy their appetite for curiOsities- Not
merely do dealers hold considers ole stocks
of these notes. but nearly every private ia
dividual has one or more OF them jusS fol
Washington star.