The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-21
From the Washington star.


bonds to relieve the financial stringency
and the discussion of the amount of the
public debt has called attention to the
fAct that there are called bonds and
other securities of the United States now
outstanding to the amount of more than
100000. This amount is increasing
every year. II is small in comparison
with the public debt, but it would make a
nice little fortune for some one if
he could only gather together all of the
claims for bonds destroyed and
all of the bonds that are now hidden
away and have been forgotten The miss
ing securities run back to the loan of
ls47. At long intervals a $50 bond is
sued under the bounty land scrip act of
February H. 1S47, comes to the treasurer
of the United States for REDEMPTION
Under this act any honorably discharged
officer or soldier who served in the MeXi-
can war for more than twelve months re-
ceived, at his option, 100 acres of land or
q certificate for 500. Those serving for
aAtSs period than twelve months under
the same conditions got forty acres or a
rs certificate. Certificates to the amount
of $233 015 were issued under this act,
bearing interest at per cent They
were called in two years after the date of
issue, and of course interest on them
ceased. But there are still outstanding
certificates of this issue to the value of
about $500. Two of the $25 certificates
were redeemed last year.
Then there is the loan of February.
1861 the Oregon war debt loan and the
loan Of July and August, 1861, of which
good deal is still outstanding. The treas
urer redeemed last year 81, 300 of the loan
of 1862; 81 900 of the loan of June, 1864;
81 $50 of the consols of 1865 ton which
the interest ceased in 1879 81 500 of the
consols of 1867 (on which the interest had
ceased in 1879, and $40, 200 Of other loans
on which the interest had ceased between
1879 and 1887. If the government should
make an issue of bonds it can count on
certain percentage of them as actual
profit.
''The proportion of bonds unredeemed is
quite small, =" said Mr.. Huntington. the
chief of the currency and loan division of
the treasury department, because bonds
are usually in the hands of people who
purchase them for investment, and who
take good care iof them. Bonds differ in
this respect from money, which passes
from hand to hand Besides, the small
est denomination of bonds is $50, and they
are very much larger than bank notes or
money, and are correspondingly more
difficult to lose. -
A FORTUNATE INCIDENT.
Nevertheless, the government at inter-
walls comes across a remarkable and even
romantic story IN bonds presented for
redemption. One of the most interesting
of these was the case of an old woman
who attended an auction sale of furniture
fifteen years ago and bought an old-fash-
Toned book case. She intended to use it
as place of storage for her best crock
cry. When she got it home she found in
one of the drawers five papers of green
ish tint, with figures and pictures on
them. She could not Read, and she knew
nothing of the character of the papers.
Her children saw them and asked for the
pictures, so the papers were given to
them to play with. Fortunately they
were not destroyed by the little ones, and
they were still in evidence when the
parish priest called few days later. He
opened his eyes in establishment.
do you know what your children are
playing withr he said.
"Oh, yes said the woman ''iust some
papers l found in my new cupboard"
These papers are worth 81 900 each, -
said the priest. The woman was amazed
and could hardly believe him. He went
to the auctioneer and tried to learn from
whom the desk had come. 1t had been
lying in the auction room for a number of
years and all trace of the original owner
had been lost. So with that duty per-
formed, the priest brought the five bonds
to Washington and took back 81, 900 to the
little woman-enough to make her rich
for life
At the time Mr.. Morrill, was Secretary
of the Treasury a prominent southerner
left among his effects a certificate of
Texas indemnity stock for $4,000 His
widow supposed that it was a receipt for
taxes on some Texas land. Some years
later this lady was in Washington in
reduced circumstances and she consulted
Mr.. Riggs, the banker, about the sale of
some Texas land. He knew that her hus-
band had been holder of this Texas in
dennity stock, and he asked her what had
become of it all. She said that she did
not know anything about it, but later she
remembered this paper which she
mad thought to be a tax receipt and she
told Mr. Riggs about it. He asked her to
send for it without telling her Of its value.
When it came he turned it into the treas
ury for her and received the original
$4,000 and about 81, 500 in unpaid interest,
all IN gold. 1t was a remarkably fortu
nate discovery for the southern woman.
The treasury department receives
every week millions of dollars Of mutt
lated money for redemption, but it is not
often that mutilated bonds are received.
But about five years ago a great mass of
gteenlsh pulp was sent to the treasurer
with the statement that it represented a
large sum in the compound interest notes
OF 1864. These notes had been in the safe
Oh a Mississippi river steamboat which
was burned. The safe had been at the
potion of the river for nearly year.
Inc green pulp was dried out and it
proved all that was clai med for it.
, when Judge F'olger was Secretary of
the treasury an old man from New Eng
lahd came TO the Treasurer's Office one
uaI, with a collection of papers yellow
with age. He said he had found them
among the effects of an uncle of his and
Haa offered them to a banker in Boston
Ior $1,000. The banker refused to give him
anything for them. The Treasurer looked
over the papers and found that they were
6S,uIJed States securities and worth So,
~ mat is the amount that the New
England farmer took away with him
sanen he left Washington. He probably
haunted it in the face of that Boston
banker
"A remarkable find was that of an army
GGuGer Nearly twenty years ago he was
~ Iue tepee of Sioux Indian, which had
oocu deserted. The walls of the tepee
we're decorated with clippings from news
Eapers and other specimens Of low art.
ii'ty among these clippings were compound
. ai1est notes of the United States to the
HHIuount Of 5000. They had undoubtedly
Doeh found on the person Of some white
PRISONER and the simple red man had
tt'lued them only for the engraving on