The Irish standard., 1892-03-05
RICH UNCLE SAM.
How He a!ves Out Change to the
People.

&AO" 4A0 0st<S o0V ~46A50 " t4o
People.
He ID Passing Thousands of Dollars'
Worth of the New Coins Over His
Counter Every Day-How
1t Is Done.
Silver change Of the new patterns is
being dispensed at the rate of thousands
of dollars daily over what may be
called the change counter of the nation
at the treasury, says the Washington
Star. It is done up prettily in little
paper rouleaux, each containing five
dollars in dimes, quarters or halves.
Also it is put up in coarse muslin bags
holding fifty dollars each, with paper
tags attached. On every such tag is
marked the weight, which should be
two pounds twelve and one-half ounces
for new and unabraded coins, together
with the date Of weighing and the sig
nature "J.,'' which stands for Jerry
Jones, the official weigher. Ordinarily
such subsidiary pieces are not given
out over the counter in sums of less
than five dollarsA but to satisfy popular
curiosity and also for the Sake of get
ting it into circulation, every one is per-
mitted for the present to procure the
freshly designed silver money in as
small quantities as may be desired.
The new coins are brought from the
Philadelphia mint, where they all are
made, in wooden kegs. In each keg are
five sacks holding one thousand dollars
each. They are delivered by the United
States express at the basement door on
the east side Of the treasury, and are
wheeled on small trucks to the count
ing room, In this department deft-
fingered young ladies sit at tables with
stacks Of g1ittering silver in front Of
them. They take a. double handful at
time, quickly spread out the bright
pieces in single layer over the board,
and pick them off The edge by the num-
bers necessary to fill the rouleaux. For
making these rouleaux, s1aan paper
tubes are prepared by the messengers
of the division in their leisure moments
The rapiditv with which they are filed
and closed at the ends is astonishing.
Finally they are placed in drawer-like
boxes, each Of which contains exactly
two hundred dollars So accurately are
they made to hold just that amount
that the absence Of a single coiu would
be likely to make the shortage visible.
Every such roll of silver is weighed
after being filed ia the same way as
the bags are.
It is interesting to stand behind the
- L~
room and see how the business is car
ried on. The official in charge is in
closed within a sort of wire cage, sun
rounded on every side by stacks of
money in every shape. Piled ON the
floor are the bags of silver aud boxes
filed with rouleaux, just as they have
been brought up by the elevator from
the counting room beneath. Besides
the smaller coins there are bags
of silver dollars, each containing
fifty dollars or one hundred dol
lars, rouleaux holding ten silver
dollars each, nlckels in muslin bags
of twenty five dollars and paper bags
of one and five dollars, and pennies in
muslin bags of five dollars and paper
bags of one dollar. AT the left of the
paying teller is a drawer divided into
compartments exactly the size Of green
backs and filed with bank and treas
ury notes and silver certificates Of every
denomination. The aggregate sum at
hand seems enormous but people come
in such rapid succession to the window
that presently the supply OF small bills
runs low. In response to an order con-
veyed by messenger two packages
are brought, each d foot cuoe, and
neatly done up in brown paper with a
label The official in charge Of the
change cuts them open with his pen
knife In one Of them are found four
thousand one-dollar notes, and in the
other as many two-dollar notes. When
ever the teller needs more cash Of any
kind he simply fills out a blank and
signs his initials. The vault clerk de-
livers to him the money and charges it
against him.
All the fractional paper currency that
comes in for redemption is handed di-
rectly over the change counter, new
money being given for it. One day
lately a. package of it containing seven
.ty-ore dollars and seventy three cents
was received in this way--the biggest
single consignment that has reached
the treasury for a year. The little
notes, neatly done up in a bundle, were
so old and worn that the engraving on
them was hardly distinguishable. Some
curious story might have been
told about them, doubtless. Perchance
they formed part of some miser's
hoard, hidden away ever since. the war.
Anyone who has portion of bill and
has lost the rest can get fresh and
whole one for it by applying at the
same counter Three-ffths of ten
dollar note is worth ten dollars. Two
ifths is worth FIVE dollars, but a less
fragment must be accompanied by an
affidavit telling how the balance was
destroyed Among the coins sent in
from banks are good many mutilated
and foreign ones. They are thrown out
IN the counting-room. ALI old copper
cents are kept and sent to the mint tor
unoooinipo T,iknwiyo ~ ia with tho