The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-09
UNCLE SANS CASH ROOM.
Il Is One Of the Most Interesting at
the Capital.


ooo, 900 Per Annum in the Payment
of Checks Alone-An Anomaly in the
Salaries Paid the United States
Treasurer and the Sub-Treasurer at
New York-The Payments for Pen
sions.
Washington, Dec. S.-One of the hand
soonest and most interesting rooms in any
of the public buildings at Washington is
that in the treasury building known as
the cash room. 1t is interesting from the
fact that from it goes out to the country
more money than from any other room or
financial institution in the United States.
The walls of the room are in parti-colored
marble that give it a light and handsome
appearance. Over each of the two doors
is a tablet of dark marble on one Of which
is engraved in gilt letters:
Hugh McCulloch.
Secretary of the Treasury.
w. z. Chandler,
J. +. Hartley,
Assistant Secretaries.
And on the other:
w. H.sWest
Chief Clerk Treasury Department.
F. E. Spinner,
Treasurer.
A. b. Mullett.
Supervising Architect
The daily transactions of this office in
the way of actual cash paid out over the
counter on checks drawn by the various
disbursing officers of the government foot
up in the course of the wear to $50, 000000
This enormous sum passes through one
window and is handled by one man,
Capt. Gibson. He receives the not
princely salary of S25, 900 per annum and
Sc 41Ya6or. n bOn6 tho hOnH of the g
urer of the United States covering all
losses which might occur through the
careleSsneSs or lack of honesty of the EN-
ployes of his Office.
The amount of money in the shape of
notes redeemed for the national banks,
and currency sent to the various sub
treasures and to banks other than for
redemption purposes, aggregate more
than $3.50, 000, 900 yearly.
One of the anomalies of the organization
of the treasurer's Office is that the treas
urer himself receives a smaller salary
than one of his subordinates, the assist
ant treasurer at New York. The former S
salary is $4,000 year, and the latter
IS, 900. Inasmuch as the Treasurer is re-
sponsible for the acts of his assistant at
New York, it would seem that their sal
airy should at least be equal; but for some
reason congress takes different view.
PENSION PAYMENTS.
Capt. Gibson is the official who pays
the pension checks issued quarterly
There are here in Washington a large
number of pensioners in all walks of life
Those who are fortunate enough to have
a bank account deposit their pension
check with their banks, and
they are collected in the ordinary
course of business. Those who have no
bank accounts. and they are vastly in the
in IN raoniva ha
coming to them. These vary from Sc to
$500 per quarter. There are a few special
cases that are little higher. 1t is one
of the sights of the capital to witness the
scenes about the treasury on the day the
pensioners go to receive their stipeuds
The cash room is in the north end of
the building and on this occasion the wide
hallway leading to it is thronged with
the recipients of the nations bounty and
the lines extends out through the court
to Pennsylvania avenue 1t looks for all
the world like theater when some pop
ular favorite is billed. Capt.
Gibson said in reply to a
question that he knew of no case where
one of these checks had ever been paid to
the wrong person. OF course, if the pay
ing teller should be so unfortunate as to
give the money to the wrong person he
would be responsible. the same as a bank
would be in the event it paid check
to the wrong person. The tellers
of the cash room do not think
anything would be gained by adoptin g
the English system of paying checks to
whoever presents them, provided they
are Endorsed with the name of the
drawee, all checks there being at the
latter's risk and there being no redress, if
they should happen to be paid to a dis
honest person who had forged the name
of the payee. They do not expert
fence any delay IN the paying of these
pension checks, and, as stated, none has
ever gone wrong yet, to the knowledge of
the cash room employees. Capt. Gibson
has come to know in person pretty nearly
every pensioner on the rolls of the pen
sion agency in this city, and where he
does not know them they are usually
1den titled by presenting their pension pa
pers.
The cash room is in many particulars a
banking institution, and is conducted
upon the most approved principles of that
business. The employees are experts in
their line, and seldom make mistakes.
Very few instances have happened
where any of them have re-
ceived counterfeit notes, notwithstand-
ing they have to make their decisions
with the utmost rapidity and if they re-
ceive bad note have no opportunity OF
replacing it with good one repassine
the bad one to anybody else. Counter.
felt notes are, by law, required to be
printed as such as soon as discovered, and
the loss where they are received in the
cash room would fall upon the teller re
ceiying them. There are a few cases
where the tellers have had their salaries
materially reduced by accepting a fraudu-
lent note.
VIRGINIA'S GOOD TEMPLARs.