Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-10-12
STOVES EARN DOLLARS.
This Sounds Funny, But It Is True
Just the Same.
TncIe Sam Adds to His Wealth Year
After Year Through the Careless,
ness of Citizens Who Hide
Money In Stoves.
Special washington letter

Stoves of all kinds make money for
the government The parlor stove, the
zSitting-room stove, the stove in the bed
room and the big base burner in the
large hall of the biggest mansion in
town; all of them make money for
Uncle Sam on the principle that "a
penny saved is a penny earned" These
stoves ''save" money for the govern
-ment by destroying the notes upon
which are printed the promise to pay"
which makes greenb backs and national
bank notes worth their face value.
Throughout the length and breadth
of the land there is no method of saw
ing money more popular than the Gus
tom of hiding it away in an unused
.sittingroom stove during the summer
time. When the fire is lighted in the
autumn the cash goes up in the smoke,
and then the owner makes application
to have the ashes redeemed. The chief
of the redemption division says that
not less than one hundred such cases
are submitted to him every fall. Some
times the remains are not too far con-
,sumed for Identification, but as a rule
this method of destroying money is
found to be singularly effective. There
was received recently at the treasury
S12O in the shape of small quantity of
ashes packed into a thimble, from
Texas. The woman who owned the
1920 had drawn the sum from bank and
deposited it in a stove for safe keep
ing, with the usual result. Uufortu-
,nately, the ashes are indistinguishabl BILE
from any other ashes, and so she will
lose the entire amount; and it is prob
ably all she had in the world.
The dear old parlor stove, which
keeps the rising bread warm during
the winter nights, after Julia's "com-
pany" has said goodnight for the hun
vdredth time, and after Julia has gone
to bed with mammal s scolding ringing
in her ears for sitting up SO late-the
lred-hot old parlor stove is a considera-
ble source of income to the United
States treasury, though the contributors
to the fund accumulated by its means
are invariably most unwilling ones.
The parlor stove is unused for many
months, and only one member of the
family knows that it is the custodian of
n treasure in paper. The only one who
knows the fact is never present when
the first fire is started in October, ''just
to take chill the off of the room when
company is expected. And the paper
money is all consumed
Uncle Sam promises to pay in coin
the amount printed on his paper money,
and he is able and willing to do so. He
issues the money for the payment of
debts. 1t is accepted by government
officials. They spend it and it goes
into circulation. When it reaches the
stove, the government is under obliga-
tions to redeem it in coin. When it is
burned, Uncle Sam is relieved of all
obligations and is therefore just so
much ahead.
When cars are burned in railroad ac-
,cidents large sums of paper money are
consumed. There was an accident one
day in Kentucky when two trains met in
n tunnel, one of them loaded with pas
.sengers and the other a freight, carry
ing coal and iron. For thirty hours the
wreck burned and such was the heat