The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-23

the pieces of note, the middle part Of
which has been destroyed, represent sew
eral notes, but that does not pass. When
the experts are satisfied that an applica-
ton is of doubtful honesty they return
the money remains with refusal to re-
deem them.
An instance in point occurred not very
long ago. Three thousand dollars was
forwarded to the department in a lump.
mat Is to say, n lot of paper scraps
alleged to represent that sum were sent
IN inclOsed IN a pasteboard box With
them came a letter from a man who
stated that he had put the money under a
carpet for safe keeping 1t was thus hid
den for three days, and during that time
was chewed up by mice TO the extent de-
scribed. Not one of the pieces was more
than half an inch across, and there seemed
to be no bill larger than s.. The stuff
did not look mouSe-eaten. Its appear
ance was as if several small notes had
been taken together and torn up with the
fingers as fine as possible. In all, not
more than $40 could be identified Ac-
cordingly, the consignment was returned
to the owner. He was very indignant,
and said that he was going to apply TO
congress for reimbursement. That was
the last heard of the matter
WORK OF THE PARLoR STOVES.
reaches the redemption division in large
quantities That is because the parior
stoves are being lighted cold weather
having begun. In those receptacles thou
sands of housewives all over the country
deposit their boarded cash, considering
them more secure than banks, especially
at this period of financial depression
Also it is supposed that the heating ap-
paratuS in the family ''settin' room" is
a CT oh ! I.
likely to look for cash. But, when chilly
autumn days arrive fire is wanted and
the presence of the wad in the stove is
forgotten. 1t serves as fuel, or perhaps
undergoes a gradual reduction to a crisp
in the oven. Such things often happen
for the reason that all the members of a
household have not been made acquainted
with the place of cOncealment. At all
events, the money is reduced to a condi-
ton more or less approaching cinders
AS has already been implied, there are
many other ways of destroying money.
but in effectiveness none of them APP
proaches the parlOr stove. AS a rule it
reduces the cash to condition that IS
hopeless, even from the point Of view of
the experts at Washington. To them alb
sOlute ashes are often forwarded in pack
ages of various kinds, such a pill boxes
and even thimbles, but it goes without
~
out of material of that sort. There are
about 100 cases of this kind every fall 1t
is an i'll wind that blows nobody any good
and what is lost in this way by people is
so much gain for Uncle Sam Every dol
lar wiped out is 81 in the pocket of his
stripped pantaloons, to speak figuratively
To him collisions on the rail are sources
of great profit. Such accidents are al
most invariably followed by fire If there
iC a N n npO Of hs
burned up and the contents of the port
able express safe are incinerated Safes
of this kind are not fire-proof. This hap
pens almost every day, and incidentally a
vast amount of paper cash is destroyed.
In such cases the safes are sent I'M
opened to Washington. Here their con-
tents are examined and the money they
contain is identified and redeemed when
practicable Usually part of it at all
events can be retored. The worst in
stance of this sort on record was that of
an express safe which went through fire
and fame in a tunnel down in Kentucky.
A passenger train and a freight train
loaded with iron and coal tried to pass
each other there on the same track The
experiment vast not successful and there
was a wreck, which burned, with the
help of the coal for fuel, for thirty hours
In fact, the tunnel was for the time being
transformed into furnace. Nobody
could get near enough to put it out, even
if sufficient water had been on hand; the
iron from the freight train melted and
flowed about in a molten condition In
the express car attached to the passenger
train was safe which contained 81 800 in
paper money, besides a quantity of Jewell
ry The latter was of some use afterward
as bullion, but only 800 of the 81 900 in
cash could be redeemed. 1t took some
mighty clever work to get that much out
of the ashes.
MONEY THAT HAS BEEN BURIED.
A good deal of money is sent into the
treasury that has been buried That's sort
of treatment does not hurt coin, but
it is very bad for bills. The latter soon
get rotten under such circumstances.
Sometimes they are so decOmposed that
their remains have to be handled with the
utmost care and delicacy so ready are
they to tumble Dead bodies are dug up
frequently for the purpose of securing
cash that has been inferred with them.
A wad from the decOmposed body of
murdered man not long ago afforded to
the treasury clerks one of the most I'M
pleasant tasks in this line which they
have ever been called upon to attempt
Another one, almost equally disagreeable,
was furnished by roll of notes taken
from the pocket of woman who had been
burned 10 DEATH
People will insist on hiding money I'M
der floors There it is quickly found by
mice and is soon converted into material
for nests. Even the floor and walls of the
cellar serve the purpose of safe deposit,
where damp corrupts. Small children
who have passed the period of babyhood
delight in tearing money when they get
hold of it, and even more childish victims
of alcoholic stimulation publicly exhibit
their indifference to wealth by lighting
their cigars with S. bills. These last re-
pent afterward and frequently seek to
have the value restored to them by send
ing in the ashes.
OF course, the great bulk of the paper
money sent into the treasury for redemp-
ton is in fairly good condition. The total
amount of it averages 800, 600 a day. The
spoiled cash whichrequires the work of
experts for its Identification makes only
small fraction of the whole The bills
and notes for redemption are mostly re-
ceived by express. Some of them arrive
by mail, and few are handed in to the
treasury by individuals. All the paper
money that passes through the treasury
in the ordinary course of business is care
fully examined. and every bill that does
not look quite as good as new is rejected,
in order that it may not go out into cir
culation again. Each package of notes
sent in for redemption is receipted for in
register kept for that purpose. The
parcels are then distributed to the coun-
tiers, who are women.
PROCESSES OF REDEMPTION.