Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-01-29

strnek. and those Of them now extant
have an enormous value as curlositles.
General Rosecrans was anxlous TO oner
a collection of Confederate money as a
part of the exhibit of the United states
Treasury at the Worlds Fair at chi
caeo, but his suggestion In this regard
has not been accepted.
THE LAST CHECK BOOK.
Four wears ago a junk dealer in this
CITY. looking over a lot OF OLD paper
which he had bought, came across the
last check book used by the Quarter
master Generals Department OF the
Confederacy. 1t had ouly been partly
exhausted, owing to the fact that the
conclusion Of the war rendered it no
longer available. At the same time 1t
told a very interesting story OF the last
DAYS of the cause which was so soon to
be abandoned. There were three checks
ON each sheet, the first one being dated
Janucry %, 1865, and drawn for 81, 17Oln
payment OF stage hire during the asst
months of 1864. The first very big
check was No. s, issued January IS, the
stub showing that IL was for Sl2O, OOO'
being given to the Virginia and Ten
nessee railway for transporting troops.
The amount checked out during Jan
airy was S374,217 Of which sum SlsS,l54
was for transportation. The cause OF
the rebellion had become pretty nope
less by March "a, when two big checks,
as the stub show, were paid over TO the
Richmond and Danville Railroad Com
nanv. One of them was for 5000, 900,
but the company vas extremely glad TO
get Sl5,OOO Of it in actual coin.
This was almost the last money left
in the treasury of the rebellion. The
other check was for $500, goo, to be paid
in certificates at thirty days. Beforn
these certificates matured the Confeder-
acy was no more. The stubs OF the
checks relate : pitiful tale of the straits
to which the government was put for
none at that period. Some creditors
would insist upon cash, and they were
accommodated with small amounts In
specie. granting a big discount for 1t.
If the currency itself was deprecated
treasury checks payable in Confederate
notes at thirty or sixty days were hardly
worth the paper they were written on.
1t must have been a noble thing TO see
with what sang froid the Quartermaster
General would liquidate off-hand a claim
for a few hundred thousand dollars by
writing a check for it when there
were not as many pennies In
the vaults. The pay roll for
mis- office for March, 1863, called
for 1901. SO, but evidently the check to
cover it was never issued, because
across the stub is written, mot used,
but destroyed" Probably the clerks
were Laid off in specie, and were thus
enabled to get a square meal without
paying q whole months salary for 1t.
At that time the Union forces were
closing in on Lee and Weitzel was
pounding away at Richmond. The last
check made out in the book is No. 70,
dated April l, 1865. 1t was drawn to
the order Of the Western North Caro-
lima Railway for 8 MATS. The two re-
naming checks on the same sheet were
numbered, but left untitled, so that one
can easily imagine how a shell falling in
the ~neighborhood Of the Office caused
the official in charge of the check book
to consider that there was no particular
use in writing any more checks for
money which could never by any posi-
bility be paid. RENE BAcHE'