The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-15
OFFICIAL RED TAPE.
T1ss Remarkably Journeyings u = Light.
weight SEQ Goidpiece.

T1.e Remarkable J~ournoyings II ! xiWht
weight $50 Goldpiece.
Some weeks ago. iii performance d
his duty. Public Printer Benedict a
pressed q quantity OF waste gold leaf I
the Philadelphia mint, with the reuuas
chat It's value be returned to him In pole
coin. He did not advertise the gold lea
for sale, as he might have done. 81
preferred TO deal with Uncle Sam al
rect In q few days he received bs
express from the mint for the vast.
gold leaf several bags Of gold coin, ths
value of which was el,619. ga. He ac
knowledged It's receipt and Mt once sent
It to the treasury department. TO bt
placed 70 the credit of the miscellaneous
receipts of the treasury.
The gold coin contained In the bags
received from the mint was taken oui
by the treasurer and counted and
weighed, IS the law prescribes Out Of
the 1919. 81 one $40 goldpiece, accord.
ing to the treasury scales, was exactly
$l.25 light. Treasurer Morgan wrote
the public printer TO that effect and re.
quested that he at once forward 81. 25
to make good the shortage Of the $2e
goldpiece.
The public printer did not propose &C
pay the $l.25 out of his own pocket,
% he wrote to Superintendent Town
send of the Philadelphia mint, inform.
ing him hat one $40 goldpiece wa
short 81. % and to please forward that
amount. This was done. In his letter
containing the 81. 20 shortage Superin-
tendent Townsend expressed regret that
the public printer had not returned the
original $40 goldpiece.
Dir. Benedict on receiving the 81. 25
sent IL to the treasury department and
got q receipt for it This, he thought,
would close the transaction. But 1t
didn't The treasury officials, ii seems,
were not satisfied. Several days after
ward the public printer received the
$40 gosdpiece stamped across It's face
light 81. 30, with the request that he
return to the department SIS. rs, 30 az
TO make his account balance, the de-
partment having received $l.25. This
was q surprise to the public printer, but
as he was dealing with government ofi-
cials he thought he could stand the
racket il they could. He sent the light
$50 goldpiece to the Philadelphia mint.
with the request that they forward
Treasurer Morgan q certified draft for
$l8. 70.
After a lapse Of nearly q week he re-
ceived q communication from Superin-
tendent Townsend stating that he had
weighed the disputed coin, and that he
found q shortage of but 81 and request
ed the public printer to return TO him
the % cents he had paid ont i'm excess.
A demand was made on the treasury
for % cents. 10 was received. and in
turn Public Printer Benedict forwarded
tic to the mint
This ended the transaction, but the
question arises, Who made good the
shortage In the $40 goldpiece? Did the
superintendent of the mint at Philadel.
phia make the shortage good ont Of his
own pocket, or was 1t charged to the
government And, again, IL the officials
OF the mint weigh the gold coin, az the
law requires. how is 1t possible for q
light coin to get out, and must not some
thing be wrong with the scales used by
the treasury department? The treasury
officials stamped the coin 81. 25 light
The mint people say 1t Is but &t light.
Had this matter occurred with private
individuals instead of government Off
cials the private individual would no
doubt have had TO pocket the loss
Washington Post