Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-01-04

that night, and he guessed he wouldn't
take the trouble on the slim chance of
getting anything. In this and all SIM
liar cases the real feeling of the appli-
cant almost invariably is that any eff
fort to regain what is lost is simply
time thrown away, and so he dismisses
the matter.
Mr. Barlow, mentioned above as be-
ing connected with the cashiers Office
in the post Office department, has a
great many applications for assistance
in getting mutilated currency re-
deemed, and as he prepares the afi-
davits for the parties he makes him
self thoroughly acquainted with the
circumstances of each, and can narrate
some interesting cases. An old man
living out in this county came in one
day heartbrolzen over the loss of sew
eral thousand dollars which he had
placed under the hearth for safe-zeep-
ing, and which mice had almost totally
destroyed. 1t took some correspond
ence, but he finally got new bills for
the old ones. Another man had twist
ed up wad of paper without looking
at it and lighted his cigar, when he
found that his new cigar-lighter was a
ten-dollar bill An interesting case was
that of an old negro from down in one
of the adjoining counties, who was at
the Union depot about a year ago
buying ticket home. He had a roll
of bills in his hands and a
couple of St. Louis toughs jumped
on him and tried to rob him.
In the scramble that ensued the bills
were torn to shreds and the pieces
strewn over the floor, but the old ne
gro held onto most of his wealth, while
the thieves, failing in their attempt,
made their escape. The Africans
walls over his misfortune brought the
suggestion from some one that may be
the treasury officials would help him,
and he went up to inquire. A few
ahidavits and a little time brought him
an entirely new lot of bills in exchange
for the pieces. Mary Davis, an elderly
negro woman living over on Morgan
street, came to Mr.. Barlow some
months ago lin peck O. trouble" She
had a twenty-dollar bill, which she
was treasuring as the apple of her eye,
and being about to make a visit one
Sunday afternoon she thought the best
place for her fortune would be in the
oven of her stove, where she carefully
placed it. Returning late in the even
ing she built fire without thinking
of her treasure, and it was some time
afterwards that she attracted the at
tention of the household and her
neighbors by dashing water over the
hot stove and screaming at the top of
her voice. The charred remains of the
bill were nearly destroyed by the
water, but enough was saved to sat-
isfy the government as to the truth of
the story, and Mary got a brand new
twenty-dollar bill
Perhaps the most interesting case
that has come up before the depart
ment in st. Louis was the one of young
Miss H, which was taken before Mr..
Barlow for an affidavit some months
ago. Her father, who lives out on Dor
cas- street, and is an employee in one of
the wholesale drug houses, had made
her presents of little sums till she had
sixty-five or seventy dollars saved
up. Her pet dog one day got hold of
| it, and when his young mistress came
| in it was all torn to pieces and most of
| it chewed into pulp. She was in terri
BILE distress, and not wishing her papa
to know of her loss, she, at the sug-
| gestion of friend, applied to the sub
| treasury. Part of the pieces were
large enough to come within the three
fifths rule, and SO about one-third of
| the amount was cashed at once. The
| rest had to go through the process of
| satisfactory proof, but in due time she
received draft from Washington for
| the full amount.
Instances like the foregoing could be
given in great mum bers, though the in
stances in which the losers ''pocket''
| their losses, to use an old but common
| expression, are much more numerous.
| The amounts range all the way from a
one dollar bill lover which sum one
man of some means spent two months
of correspondence year or SO ago) up
| to packages containing thousands OF
| dollars. Perhaps the largest amount
| ever redeemed at st. Louis after total
destruction was the instance which oc-
| Cured about four months ago. The
treasury at Washington had shipped
by express to the sub-treasury at that
| point package of currency amounting
/ to forty thousand dollars. The express
| car with all it's contents was burned,
| and the express company was RESPONSE
BILE for the loss of the forty thousand
dollars under it's contract. Realizing
this, the company took Chief Clerk
Kicker of the bsub-treasury and
had him present when the safe was
opened very carefully, and the cbarred
remains of the money examined. The
packages could be plainly seen and
identified as to the amounts, as paper
when burned will sometimes retain it's
lettering, and so these bundles OF
burned paper were carefully shipped to
Washington, from which point forty
thousand dollars in crisp new bills
came back.
When we realize the immense amount
of money that is lost or destroyed every
year, and never found or made good,
we can appreciate what sum Uncle
Sam has constantly accommodating for
the right side of his profit and loss ac-
count. OF course many losses occur
which are total and cannot be made
good, because it would be practically
impossible in some of the cases to sat
isfy the United States treasurer to such
an extent as to preclude the posi-.
bility of fraud. But there are also
many losses of money occurring all the