Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-23

| .Aarty. During the last thirty years. since
women were first employed by the govern
coats have been recorded. The other one
| was that Of the female clerk In the treasu-
~ who earned money at the rate Of 800
| to $1,000 year for a while by practicing a
patchwork system of her own invention for
making ten banknotes out of nine Gen.
Spinner asserted that the reason why wo-
men did not steal was not because they
were too good. but because they lacked the
requisite nerve. Probably he was mistaken.
At all events. their temptations are greater
their salaries being smaller. Their oppor-
tunities are unexcelled, inasmuch as they
do all the counting Of cash.
How to Send Cash i'm Letters.
If bill must be sent in a letter the SAT
est plan is to roll it tightly into the shape
of lamplighter and lay it in the fold of
the sheet inclosed Arranged in that FASH
Ion. the fact that 1t is money cannot well
be distinguished by the feel" A thread.
with knot at the end, will not be so likely
to fetch a tell-tale fragment of the fiber
paper when drawn by means Of a needle
through the envelope. and the smell of 1t
VIII De less perceptible. So peculiar is the
eH1uv1um belonging to bank or treasury
notes that experts at the bureau of engrav-
ing say that they can distinguish them when
sealed In envelopes by the nose every time.
thief once showed to government detec-
ives, who had caught him, that he could
pick out from pile Of 400 letters every one
OF seven which contained paper cash blind
FOLDED, merely by scent. All post Office
buildings. by the way. are provided with
peep-holes. through which clerks may be
watched while at work Out of 1900, 600
registered missives and packages transmit
ted annually through the United States
mails less than 300 are stolen by dishonest
postal officials
During the last Congress five bills for the
ESTABLISHMENT Of postal fractional cur
Iency were onered. None of them passed.
All OF them were declared unsatisfactory by
I'M. the POST ONCE Department, which regards
tne pan as open to many objections.
To begin with, several thousand small
post offices are burglarized every year. II
they Kept sums In postal currency on
nand an additional incentive to robbery
would have to give larger bonds, and they
would hardly be able to 10 so. In IS 200
oinces the business transacted is so small
That the compensation is less than 500 per
annum; IN SO.0oO the pay does not exceed
$l0O and there are q great many In which
the remuneration Of the postmaster Is not
over 40. If the currency was made pur-
chasable and redeeniabl. only at money
order ofnces the purpose in view would be
defeated to a great extent
Inc matter OF expense must be consid-
cred. The fractional notes would have to
be printed on the best bank note psper.
with nrst-rate engraving. and they would
cost IS per LOCO. Estimating the issue for
the first year at 100000 pieces Of postal
currency, the expenditure thus involved
would. be $4,000. Commissions to post
masters on sales would amount to $4,000
There would have to be an agency for DIS
trlDutlng the notes, just as there Is for
postage stamps. and for its support not
less than 5000 per annum would have to be
appropriated. Counting the pay FOR an
extra clerical force in Washington. sta
tionery. &c, the entire cost of the business
would be at least $4,000 for the year, or 2
per cent of the face value of the notes,
suppos1ng that they averaged 80 cents.
Other objections to the Plan.
1t Is more than probable that the frac-
tional notes would be counterfeited, and
rural postmasters could not be expected to
detect clever limitations executed by skilled
engravers. The currency would drive the
subsidiary coins out of circulation to a
large extent. Its establishment would null
tiply the present money order accounts
three-fold. Money in that shape would be
transmitted by mail with no security unless
sent in registered letters In fact, II would
be no safer in the post than treasury or
bank notes. Finally. the Post Office De-
partment asks. II a fractional currency is
wanted, why should not the treasury issue
It?
Post Office Department offers a recon-
mendation. II the redemption of stamps
with money at post offices be authorized
there Is a postal currency ready-made.
AHcS InlSHl De redeemed at q reQQctlOn
equal to the commission allowed to post
masters on sales OF stamps. In the united
Kingdom postage stamps are redeemed.
This privilege is limited to stamps in strips
Single stamps are not redeemed, lest peo-
pie should steal them from letters for the
purpose Of exchanging them for money
The stamps offered for redemption must
not be soiled or torn, and they are taken
only at a discount of 2 1-2 per cent. Great
Britain issues postal notes from / shilling
to twenty shiliings, the difference in no
case being less than pence. but they are
made to answer for remittances Of inter
mediate sums by attaching stamps to them,
which are redeemed with the notes.
The same system might be adopted in
this country. though II would add to the
temptation to steal letters This in the
opinion Of the Post Office Department is
the best solution of the problem thus far
offered Postage stamps can be got every
where. Being unsuitable for currency they
could not circulate far. RENE BACHE.