The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-01

/ and expressed the belief that about
Sl2.5OO.O0O profit had accrued to the
government up to Jan. ]. 1891. from
I United States notes. gold and silver
certificates and national bank notes
which would be presented for redemp-
ton.
This amount the experts distributed
as follows:
National bank notes...........s $685., 555
| United States notes. 5,4lO.54l
silver certificates .............. 44t,OOi
Gold. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 2OO.oOO
1 Sl@,t 1VO
This amount these experts now esti-
mate has been increased to about Sl5,-
00O.OOO. In proportion to the amount of
currency in circulation. the amount
destroyed is not so great now as II was
in war times; but there is much more
| In circulation now. The present esti-
mated profit of the government on pa
/ per currency destroyed is half mill
/ ion dollars every year despite the fact
| that the treasury makes every enort 10
| redeem all the currency issues. A spe-
| cial corps OF experts is employed in the
redemption division to examine the
mutilated currency presented. IL comes
| in sometimes into pulp i'm ashes, in tat
tiers, worn and torn. The experts work
on it with microscopes. pull IL apart
and piece IL together. making every
possible effort TO identify IL. If part
of a torn bill is presented for redemp-
ton, the owner receives for II an
amount proportioned to its percentage
of the area Of the entire note. If torn,
burned fragments are sent in with sat
isfactory evidence that they are the
sole remains of a certain sum of money,
the entire amount is refunded. The
government even sends special agents
in some cases to investigate claims for
the redemption of money; II redeems
money which has been in birds nests;
money which has been in stoves; money
which has been in goats stomachs.
money which has been i'm babies
mouths: money which has been used
as a pipe-lighter; money which has
been at the bottom of the sea-in fact
everything which is recognizable under
the most minute scrutiny as govern
ment promise to pay" At the time her
Newport palace" was burned. Mrs.
Vanderbilt sent some charred bills To
the office of the redemption bureau and
the treasury experts succeeded in get
ting more than $1,000 out of them. But
in spite of all it's efforts. the treasury
grows richer by half a million dollars
every year in unredeemed paper
currency.
Half a million a year though is not very
much to Uncle Sam. Less than half Of
| this is i'm greenbacks and II would take
| I 200 years TO get those annoying pieces
| of paper out of the road to currency re-
| form II wear and tear were the govern
| ment's only resource. IL congress does
| not call in the greenbacks, Mr.. Carlisle's
remote successor in the year 5000 Will
have so few of them to reckon with that
| they will be in demand as museum Curl
| osites-if the museums have not been
| overcrowded with other curiosities by
| that time.
Another source of income TO the gov
| eminent is its unredeemed money-orders.
| All money order funds are RENTED to the
sub-treasury at New York. A few years
| ago the postoffice department drew from
| the sub-treasury a lump sum of $l.2oO.Oo.
which was the balance 10 the credit Of
money order funds I'm excess of the de-
! mands of current business. Last year. a
check for .2A transferred to the post
| Office departments balance in the treas
ury here the excess 10 the credit of the
| money order fund i'm New York. These
| two sums and the working balance kept
! i'm New York represent what the gov
eminent has made indirectly out OF this
business. Probably its profits up to the
| present date amount 10 1000, 900: but no
exact statement will ever be made. There
| is a time limit OF one year on the money
order Cor postal ORDER as IL is now called.
I but there is no limit of time on the issue
| of a duplicate. Therefore. the postofiice
| department receives every week for du-
! plcation postal notes and money orders
which are several years old 1880 money
orders which had been due for more than
a year were duplicated by the depart
| ment in 1895.
| II the difference between the money re-
| ceived and the money paid out by the
| n oney order bureau was an indication OF
the governments indirect profit on the
business, here is the way last years ac-
| count would stand:
| Amount received...... 1856. 709. n
| Amount paid....... ............ l56.3h ,i60. p
Profits on lost money orders
| about. .......... ........ 1854 629. 50
This would be I'm addition to the gov
ernment's net revenue OF sG61. 032.27 from
| fees on domestic money orders. But. as
have said. there is a variation i'm the
balance from year 10 year. and the gov
| eminent does not make $365. 600 a year
| through the destruction OF money orders.
Even IL IL did. this sum would not keep
| the postal service of the United States
running much more than a day and a
half 1t costs nearly $4,000 an hour 10
carry Uncle Sans mails.
No one knows what the government
makes in unused stamps every year. but
| the profit must amount to several thous-
and dollars. Not an inconsiderable
amount of this is due to stamp collectors
and when the Columbian stamps were is
sued the postmaster general calculated
that the entire cost of making new de-
signs and engraving new plates. as well
as the additional expense of printing the
| larger stamps. would be paid by collec-
tors purchases. The department was dis
appointed in this but its receipts from
| collectors in the Columbian year are esti-
mated at more than a million dollars.
The postmaster general spoke freely OF
this source of income In his report
though he was disposed to say very little
about his calculations before the stamps
were issued. He was afraid some incon-
siderate people might class the United
States with those small nations and de-
tendencies which rely on the stamp col
lectOr as much as on the tax collector
Every one of the is dependencies OF
France has a full individual issue