Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-05

| @<1i@, the purchasers as
| ~Dp-r "A having been struck
-z@-J on the presses of the
| 80 mint and being
| plated with gold. In
! fact they were merely gilded, ana tneE
were struck or a press which once De-
lopged to the mint, but which is now own
| ed by man who bought it from the gov
eminent when it had become almost value
less from age.
| There has been at all times a heavy
| trade in souvenirs about the public build
| ings in this city, and there is hardly one
| of them in which there Is not today some
| huckstering stand where people can buy
| trinkets worth from to 80 cents to take
| home with them. These are in addition
| to the regular notion stores where these
souvenirs are kept in large quantity. Ihere
| is one on the steps of the bureau of en-
| craving and printing. There have heeh
| souvenir sellers from time to time on the
steps CT the treasury building, and there
are souvenirs to be purchased now in the
| lobby at the main entrance to the treasury
| building. You can buy books and maya
zines there, too In the National Museum
| there is a stand where souvenirs are sold
| The White House has been kept free
| from the souvenir seller, but the Capitol
has not escaped. of the glory OF
| the small dealer has fed since the day OF
| Speaker Reed but there is still left SOU
venir dealer in the dome. Before Mr.
Reeds time the Capitol simply swarrneu
with men and women VINO , neia Special
privileges for selling things. There was a
man at the door Of the House who made
a business of writing cards for those who
wished to send in for member put VINO
| had paSteboard proxy to announce
| them He charged a very modest fee to
prospective office holders and other visitors
who wanted to see our Congressman
| Beyond this stand there was long cigar
| stand which did heavy trade. Then
| there was an old woman who had little
basket of apples by which she crouched all
| day. And there stand where copies
| of the Congressional Record and of the.
| daily papers We're IN sale. All of these
were at the very door of the hall of the
| House
| In the corridors Of the Capitol there We're
| numberless others. Just off the main ro-
| tunda was Aunt Clara, queer Old
| French woman, with her stand for the sale
| of notions and souvenirs of all kinds. Then
| in dark corners there were apple women
and women who sold milk and cheap cakes
These We're much patronized by the en-
ployeS of the House who We're in search or
a cheap luncheon, and they were not neg
lected entirely by the members of the
| House
Cleared Out by Mr.. Reed.
Many man whose name is seen in the
dispatches from Washington almost every
day during the session of Congress made
| his luncheon of a glass of milk and slice
| OF pie bought at one OF tneSe Httle cOuii-
ters All of this huckstering on the
House side Of the Capitol. Originally there
was a great deal of this sort of thing on
the Senate side and at one time there was
even hole in the wall - where Senators
could buy their whisky. Aunt Clara
originally held a privilege on the Senate
| side obtained for her by Senator Sumner,
who had known her when she young
| and handsome and rich. But the Senate
transferred Aunt Clara" to the House
| wing and cleared its corridors OF all the
| traffickerS in souvenirs.
| When Mr.. Reed became Speaker he made
an order removing all of the traders rms
| created a great disturbance at the time,
for the people who held the privileges had
| an idea that they had vested rights in
| them and they were not inclined to recog-
| nize the authority of the Speaker. Pro-
| tests were unavailing. however, and the
| corridors were cleared Then a con-
| venience to the employees of the House and
| to the members who did not care to spend
| much for their luncheon an order was is
| sued by the Speaker requiring the restau-
| rant keeper on the House side to establish
! pie counter where milk and other materials
for hasty and cheap luncheon could he
| had. But Mr.. Reeds authority stopped at
| the basement of the House wing. He
| could not reach the woman who held the
privilege in the dome, and SO the trade in
| souvenirs at that remote elevation still con-
| tinues.
The Pulp of Paper Money.
|
ment derives any profit from the sale of
| souvenirs. The bureau of engraving and
printing sells each year many pounds of
| dried pulp to dealers to be turned into
| souvenirs. This pulp comes from mace
| rated money. In the basement of the treas
| ury building is a macerator, which turns
| into pulp all of the old notes sent in for
| redemption and ordered destroyed To
this macerator also are sent the scraps Of
paper which are shaved from the ends of
notes when they go through the cutting
| machines, for it is crime to have in your
| possession even strip of the governments
| distinctive paper. The pulp which comes
| from the macerator would be quite value
| less for any other purpose, but it has a
certain value as a material fer souvenirs.
| Half a dozen men buy this pulp, paying
| from one TO two cents a pound for 1t. They
| soften it with water, put it in mold and
press it into something which is supposed
| to look like the Washington monument
| head of George Washington, or some
thing that is equally interesting One man
| bought last year 1920 pounds of pulp, for
! which he paid $S52, but this was not used in
making souvenirs There is a demand for
| this pulp from paper makers, too, and
| last year the treasury sold 1928 pounds
| and received for it $l,966.11.
This gives no notion of the extent of the
| trade in these souvenirs. They are the
| most popular of the articles sold by the
dealers and there is particularly heavy
| sale for them OH the steps OF the bureau
of engraving and prin,in On each of
the molds of pulp is pasted bit of paper.
| sta ting that it is 'estimated that there are
so many thousands of dollars worth of
greenbacks represented in the mass.
From the Cradle to the Grave.
OF course any such estimate is valueless,
for no one knows the denominations of the
notes which in a mass of pulp The
| principal ingredients might be one-dollar
bills or ten-thousand-dollar gold certificates.
The macerator makes no distinction. There
is a certain satisfaction to the rural visitor,
| though, in taking home with him what
may have had current value at one time
| of thousands or even millions Of dollars.
| and the temptation to buy these souvenirs
| is especially strong just after visit to
| the bureau, where millions are handled
| within sight and almost within touch of
| tho visitor. The visitor cannot take away
a sample note because the money must
| be issued at the treasury. There it receives
| the seal of the Urea Department and