The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-01-13

Wit, and, when he found 1T would take
some little time, work and patience. he
said he wanted to start to Philadelphia
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 nppli-
cant almost invariably is that any cf-
fort to regain what is lost is simply
time thrown away, and so he dismisscs
the matter
Mr. Barlow, mentioned above as be-
ing connected with the cashiers Office
in the post office department, has II
great many applications for assistance
in getting mutilatcd currency re-
deemed, and as he prepares the afli-
davits for the parties he makes him
self thoroughly acquainted with the
circumstances Of each, and can na-rato
some Interesting cases. An cid maa
living out in this county came III one
day hcartbroiicn over The loss of soy
eral thousand dollars which ne had
placed under the hearth for safc-llccp-
ing, and which mice had almost totally
destroyed 1t took some correspond
cncc, but he finally got now bills for
the old ones. Another man had twist
ed up y wad of paper without looking
at it and lighted his cigar. when he
found that his new cigar-lighter was n
tcn-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 Il Year ago
buying Il ticket home He had roll
of bills in his hands and
couple of st. Louis toughs jumped
on him and tried to rob him.
In the scramble that cnsucd the bills
were torn to shrcds and the pieces
strcwn 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 maybe
the treasury officials would help him
and he went up to inquire. few
at1idavits and Il 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 Il twcn;y-dollar bill, which She
was trcasuring us the apple OF her eye,
and being about to make 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 Il fire without thinking
OF her treasure, and it was some time
afterwards that she attracted the at
tcntion of the household and her
ncighbors by dashing water over the
hot stove and screaming at the top of
her voice. The charrcd remains of the
bill were nearly destroyed by the
water, but enough was saved to sat
isfS' the government as to the truth of
the story. and Mary got 4 brand new
twcnty-dollar bill
Perhaps the most interesting case
that has come up before the depart
mont 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-fvc or seventy dollars saved
up. Her pet dog one day got hold of
1t, and when his young mistress came
III 1t was all torn to pieces and most of
it chewed into pulp. She was in terri
bic distress, and not wishing her papa
to know of her loss, she, ut the sur-
gcstion OF friend, applied to the sub
treasury. Part of the pieces, were
large enough TO come within the three
hfths rule, and so about onc-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 a draft from Washington for
the full amount.
Instances like the foregoing could be
given in great numbers, though the in
stances il which the losers "pockc,"
their losses, to use an old but common
expression, arc much more numerous.
The amounts range all the way from n
one dollar bill lover which sum one
man Of some means spent two months,
of correspondence Il year or SO aCo) up
to packages containing thousands of
dollars. Perhaps the largest amount
ever redeemed ut St. Louis after total
destruction was the instance which oc-
Cured about four months ago. The
treasury At Washington had shi5Ded
by express to the sub-treasury at tina;
point Package of currency amounting
20 forty thousand dollars. The express
car with all its contents was burned,
and the express company was RESPONSE
ble for the loss of the forty thousand
dollars under its contract Realizing
this, the company took Chief Clerk
Kicker of the 'sub-trcasury and
had him present when the safe was
opened very carefully, and the cbarrcd
remains of the money examined. The
packages could Ice plainly seen and
Identified as to the amounts, rs paper
when burned will sometimes retain It's
lettering, and SO these bundles of