Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-13
could be obtained from them were the fire.
quent spoils Of war.
Partly DESTROYED.

could be obtained from them were the fire.
quent spoils Of war.
Partly Destroyed.
Bonds which have been partly DESTROYED
occasionally come into the treasury for re-
demption. This applies to both registered
and coupon bonds. Some of them are part
ly burned. Small holders often hide their
bonds like other money in parior stoves.
When the fire is lighted up go the securi-
ties In smoke. If few charred fragments
remain they are forwarded to Washington.
In the Office of loans and currency the
pieces are carefully laid out and stuck to-
gether upon sheet of paper. If enough
Is left for the purpose of Identification the
owner is reimbursed. A more or less
apocryphal story relates to a mass of green
paper almost pulp, representing a large
sum in the compound interest notes Of
1SCi, which was submitted for REDEMPTION
after lying in a safe at the bottom of the
Mississippi for year. The safe was lost
from burned steamer. This may be true
but the writer has not been able to verify
1t.
Delay in Redemption.
Not long ago about $1,000 in seven-thirty
interest bearing notes was received for re-
demption in a partly burned condition. The
owner had put them away for safe keep
ing among the rafters of his house. which
, r H.,
the other day. came two bonds for $4,000
each. with a request that they be redeemed
Immediately. because the holder was in a
great hurry to reinvest the money. The
securities in question had been called in
ten years ago, so that the interest on the
amount was entirely lost during that
period. Apparently. the possessor had just
walked up to the fact that the investment
was no longer profitable. A great many
bonds called for redemption twenty years
and more ago have never been presented for
payment. Some Of them have doubtless
ed that others have been lost at sea, to-
gether with their owners. The quantity OF
gold and silver in coin and bullion sunk
from wrecks in the ocean amounts to many
millions OF dollars in the course OF a cent
ury.
Comfortably Fixed.
One can hardly conceive Of a more COM
Portable form of wealth than United States
, registered bonds. At the treasury is kept
a book containing the printed names Of all
persons who hold them. You have your
name down in that list with 100000 attach
ed to 1t and regularly every quarter you
receive check for 81 900. Hard times may
bother other people. but they do not dis
turb YOU These securities run up as high
as $4,000 each. A piece OF green printed
paper, two feet long, will represent that
sum 1t is fortune which may be folded
up and put away in your card case. You
cannot possibly lose it. II anybody steals
1t Uncle Sam will replace it.
AS has been said, the very rich people
mold the bulk of the registered bonds. Only
SZ,UO,OOO worth of them-about / per cent
or the holdings of private individuals-is
possessed by comparatively poor persons,
IN sums OF $500 or less. That amount is
divided up among nearly 10000 individuals
speaking OF treasury checks. nobody has
ever been known to forge them No in
stance is recorded where one of them has
been raised. though the checks issued by
disbursing officers Of the government have
the way, 1t is reckoned that the bonds
never presented for payment amount to
one-1ourth or one per cent of the whole
A Bad Debt.
About thirty years ago Uncle Sam lent a
lot OF money to help build various transcou-
tinental railways. 1t was understood that
the companies would refund the cash as
soon as they got well started. As a matter
of fact. there is little likelihood that any
considerable part Of 1t will ever be paid.
There is still owing $64, 600 900 Of original
Indebtedness, plus S70,0000O0 of Interest.
To raise this money for the use Of the rail-
ways the government issued bonds at DIFF
ferent times from 1865 to 1863 They were
70 run Tor thirty years at per cent The
treasury Is still paying this big interest
which Is more than twice what the loan is
worth today. This means a clear loss of
many millions of dollars. In January of
next year the first batch of these Pacific
railway bonds natures. and to redeem
them VIII require s2.362.OOO. II Uncle Sam
could collect this huge bad debt he would
be comfortably OF at present instead of
feeling horribly poor.
RENE BACHE.