The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-08-13
MAKING A BOOK OF 1T.
Farmer Tells a Friend where He Deposits
His Money.


81 deposit my money with the gov
ernment," said a farmer yesterday in
conversation with a friend on the corner
Of Main street and Douglas avenue.
He went on TO state that he paid
small amount for the care of his money
and that when he wanted the money 1t
was there for him.
4 reporter for the Eagle heard this
remark and never having heard be-
fore that the government was running
a bank. he went down TO the postoffice
and related the conversation to Assist
ant Postmaster Locke
He was told that'the farmer had said
that he deposited his money with the
postmaster at Wichita and Mr.. Locke
emphatically denied the statement.
He then explained that these men
might buy postoffice orders, and he had
suspicioned that some people had done
that very thing for the reason that
few orders had been sold on other Of
fees and were afterwards presented for
payment here.
only a short time since one man
came into the office and bought thir-
teen one hundred dollar orders on one
office and they had no means of know
ing whether they had been caShed at
the office on which they were drawn
or not
Mr. Locke showed the reporter blank
applica tons and how the orders We're
drawn and when person applied for
an order he could not tell whether the
party making it intended 10 hold il or
not.
The money order department does
business to the amount of $4,000 a
month including some deposits for out
side offices and the postmaster has 10
time 10 investigate 10 find out what
man intends 10 do with postoffice or
: he. h.Ar ~ Il n
lars of these orders held here for all he
knows.
The commission charged on an order
Of one hundred dollars is thirty cents,
and then the order is good at the office
for one year If the holder desired 70
hold il that long.
The money order system was made
by the government 10 facilitate bust
ness transactions and there does not
seem to be much doubt OF the fact that
the man who buys an order for the pur-
pose of making the government keep
his money fer him. violates the spirit
OF the law, whether he violates the let
ter or not. The postmaster at Wich-
ita would perhaps refuse - sell a post
Office order if he knew il was being
purchased for the purpose NJ msking
a deposit though he did not say as
much.
Money used 70 purchase these orders
is sent To Washington and OF course IS
taken from the channels " trade here.
When asked what he would do in case
a half million dollars were invested in
these orders and held here and after a
time presented AT this Office for pay
ment Assistant Postmaster Locke
said:
WHY, We could not pay them. /
guess the people holding the orders
would Just have 10 set down and wait
until we sent 10 Washington for the
money"
As the people were coming out %
chruch Sunday with their Bibles and
prayer books in their hands they saw a
man going down Douglas avenue who
was very much in evidence that the al
legged enforcement of the prohibitory
law in wichita is a farce. The wind
turned his umbrella inside out and a
bottle Of whisky was sticking out %
each pocket. He navigated as best he
could for some time. but he finally
stumbled and before he could recover
his equilibrium he was laid out in the
unclaimed gutter where the flies ban
Quoted OF him