Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1895-10-02
BILLIONS IN I. s. BONDS
HOW TEE GOVERNMENT 6oRRows
MONEY.
Coupon and Registered Bonds-A
Notable Attempt at Counterfeit
ing United States Securities

hANh u OAleI I-N In - = III
II the Chicago Herald that the
new five per cent. bonds will
be scattered all over the
United States. They are but drop
il the bucket with what Uncle Sam has
borrowed since he began business, a
little more than one hundred years
AGO. The total amount of bonds sold
by the Government from the begin
ming of the Union down to the year
1880 was $40, $50, 600, 900, sum which
makes the mind dizzy and which would
buv up dozen of the small
monarchies of Europe. This vast sum
includes the bond issues OF the United
States up to that time. Many of them
we're made to fund previous loans, but
interest was paid on every one ofthese
dollars, and the gold which has been
spent in this way by Uncle Sam would
gid the great departments of Wash
ington and leave enough to make a
solid gold statue as large as that of the
Goddess of Liberty which stands on
the Capitol dome. This last loan is
for $50, 900, 000 The interest on the
bonds is five per cent, but Uncle Sam
has sold them at such rate that he
paws in reality orly three.
Have you ever seen Government
bond?
1t is only a piece of paper, but it is
often worth its weight in diamonds.
The bonds OF the present issue are IN
denominations of $50, 500, $1,000 and
$4,000. The bonds are of the same
size and the difference is shown by the
figures on their faces. -Four OF these
would make a good-sized dinner nap
kin. ami would like TO have a set of
napkins made up of these $4,000
bonds. Each napkin would be worth
$40, 900, and the twelve would make a
nice snug little fortune of $3.50, 900 or
nearly half million. These bonds
run for ten years and they bring in
five per cent. interest. Each of the
napkins would pay $4,000 in the way
of interest. or $40, 900 before they
would have to be redeemed for their
face value.
The new bonds are of two kinds.
One class is of registered bonds and
the other coupon bonds. The coupon
bonds are payable to bearer and to
them are fastened number of detach-
able coupons about the size of an old
ten-cent shinplaster. The interest is
payable quarterly, and every three
months you clip OF these coupons and
cash them at the Treasury of the Uni
ted States or ut the banks. Any bank
in the country knows just what they
are worth and will pay You the inter
eel on them. You can use the coupons
and the bonds in business deals and
their value is so well fixed that they
could almost pass as money. The chief
danger connected with them is that
anyone can use them, and If the holder
of coupon bond loses 1t the man who
finds it can turn ii into money on the
next pay day. No Identification will
be asked at the bank by the man who
presents it, and the burglar who gets
hold OF lot OF coupon bonds consid-
ers them more valuable THAI so many
greenbacks or $50 gold pieces.
As to registered bonds, these are OF
a somewhat different nature. They
have no coupons and are payable to
the person whose name is written on
the bond. In the office of the register
of the treasury at Washington there is
a record kept of the men who hold
these bonds, and about wagon load
of ledgers and journals are devoted to
this purpose alone. As soon a. bond
is sold an account is opened with the
person who buys it between him and
| the Government, and in this Is stated
the amount he paid for the bonds and
the rate of interest. Every three
months the clerks go through the
books and make out set of accounts
They notify the Treasurer of the Uni
ted States to pay all the interest due
to the persons who hold these bonds,
and this money is forwarded to
them in the shape of a treasury
draft. As soon as the bond If
redeemed the account Is closed. If
the owner of registered bond desires
to transfer it to another the transfer
must be indorsed upon the back of the
bond before witnesses appointed by
the Government and a record of this
must be made at the Treasury De
partment. As the interest Is always
paid TO the last owner of record the
books for these transfers are closed q
month before interest payment day.
| These registered bonds are the safest
investments known to the United
States, and rich men put large sums
of money into them. Only the fewest
cases are known where such bonds
have been stolen. One of these oc-
CURED few years ago when the Man
haitian Savings Institution was bur
glarized by Jimmy Hope and over
$1,000, 900 of these bonds we're stolen.
In this case Congress authorized
duplicate bonds to be issued to the
Manhattan Institution, and they lost
nothing. Hope was finally captured
and the story Of his burglary and pun
ishment is one of the most interesting
chapters in the history of bank detec-
tives.
Can bonds be counterfeited
Yes; and there have been many at
tempts Of this kind. The only really
successful one, however, was In con
nection with Jay Cooke 81 Co. These
bankers once bought $50, 600 worth OF
coupon bonds Of the denomination
known as seyen-thirties They were
pronounced counterfeits by the Treas
ury Department, and although the
company sued the Government for the
yalna +fe,- renreseuted they lost the