The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-10-27
Lost Money Orders.

Lost Money Orders.
There is on deposit to-day in the Subtreasury
in New York city more than So, OOOO represent
ing outstanding money orders, and of this amount
more than $2.OOO,OOO represents money orders
which are overdue, and which may never be pre-
sented for payment. Ten years ago, in a Spasm
OF virtue, congress appropriated the money to
pay the salaries of ten clerks. who should check
up the books of the money order office and pre-
pare list of the money orders which had not
been presented for payment. 1t was estimated
then that if this list was prepared. the owners of
twO-thirds of this money could be traced, and
the money be restored to them. To-day one soil
tary clerk sits in little office the top floor of
the pOstOffice department annex, checking up
the unpaid money orders. He is working now
Oh orders issued in 1871; at this rate he will not
catch up with his work in twenty-years, and by
that time most of the owners of the money will
be dead and their heirs or executors will be hard
to find.
1t seems strange, under the precautionary syS-
tenn now used by the pOstOffice department. that
such an enormous amount of money should have
accumulated to the credit of unpaid money Or
ders; but the chief accumulation was under the
original rules of the office, which were much more
conservative than those now in force.
If A sent money order to B to-day and the
order was presented for payment, the pOstmas-
ter examining the letters of advice received from
other offices at the end of month, and finding
this money order to have been unpaid at the end
of the previous month. would notify B that there
was money order in his favor on file in the Of
flee, sent to him by A. If at the end of another
month the money order was still unpaid, he
would notify him again. And if at the end of a
third month the money had not been claimed, he
would advice the postmaster, who would notify
that his money order in favor of b had not
been presented, and ask him to urge b to have
it cashed. 1t would seem that these precautions
ought to insure the payment of money orders
within reasonable time, every year hundreds of
them remain unpaid until they are invalid.
Men who go from the East to make their for
tunes in the new West frequently buy with their
savings money orders payable to themselves at
New York, Philadelphia or some other Eastern
city. They know that the money is secure, be-
cause the money order cannot be caShed by any
one else if it is lost or stolen. and because the
money can always be had on application for a
duplicate by the original purchaser. There is no
savings bank more secure.
Even trustees have been known to invest small
trust funds in money orders. Possibly a good
proportion of the So, 100000 fund in the subtreas-
ury is on deposit, and the original money orders
will be found in the course of time in old stock
ings. in safe deposit boxes and in desks. But
great deal of it represents money lost or forgot
ten. People are drowned with money orders
in their pockets; they get drunk and tear them
up said Sixth Auditor Coulter. Besides a
great many people do not know that lost money
orders can be duplicated. They think that a lost
money order. like a lost bank note. is gone be-
You'd redemption. And many people would not
take the trouble to apply for a duplicate of an
order for small sum. Still some very old mon
ey orders come in for duplication almost every
week. few days ago three orders. dated 1863
came i'll for duplication and within the past two
weeks an order of the date 1866 has been received
All these orders were accompanied by formal
applications. Nothing is known of their history
-PfOridence Journal.