The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-01


pay. Still, his credit is good. not only at
home but abroad he can borrow all the
gold he needs for almost any emergency.
He has refused TO pay the millions
which are overdue If you could present
his I. o. US at the treasury department
tomorrow. he would pay you very prompt
" the 81 10000 which he owes TO the peO-
pie who have bought bonds now overdue.
But no one can present all these securities,
because most Of them, it is quite evident.
have been destroyed. Some have been dis
solved in the ocean; some have been con-
sumed by fire; some have been eaten by
mice; some have been torn up by babies:
some have been hidden so securely that
they probably Will not be found until dry
rot has made them unrecognizable. New
ertheless every few years some Of the
governments old securities turn up at the
treasury for redemption. 1t was not very
many years ago that the owner of a very
large amount Of Texas indemnity stock,
who considered himself very poor. turn
ed the securities over TO Riggs. the bank
er, who collected from the government
on them many thousand dollars. There
is still 5000 worth Of the Texas indem-
nifty stock outstanding. None was pre-
scented 10 the treasury .last year or the
year before. None Of the
very old bonds came in last year. and OF
the debt prior to the 1917 loan none has
come in since 1863 though there is $751;,
1885 outstanding. No one will ever call
for this amount, and it can be figured
as part Of Uncle Sans bond profits.
OF the loan of 1917, $4,000 has been re-
deemed since 1869. and there is only $3.50
outstanding. OF the loan Of 1885 there is
only 5000 outstanding. The government
did not do any heavy borrowing until the
civil war and it's first big bond issue was
what are known as the "5-20s of 1862. "
There were 1891, 60060O Of these Issued,
bearing 6 per cent interest. 1t was not
until Dec. ], 1871, that the government
felt like beginning to pay its war debts;
on that date II called S99.959. 600 worth of
the 5-20s of 1862, anu most of these were
presented at the time named i'm the call.
But a great many thousand dollars worth
of them were held for many years, draw
ing no interest; and to-day there is OUT
standing SIS, 500 worth of the bonds called
in 1871. Few If any Of these viii ever be
presented for redemption. Meantime the
interest which the government has not
paid for the use of this money amounts
10 S26,400 at single interest alone. What
IL would aggregate at compound interest
leave any one who is interested to de-
Altogether, of the amount borrowed in
1852 (nearly four hundred millionsl, w.
200 has never been called for, and prob
ably never will be called for. To be sure,
this is only about II of one per cent. of
the loan, which is not very big dis
count. The treasury officials do not look
on the bond profit as considerable. Even
the 81 100000 now outstanding would not
pay 2 per cent. of Uncle Sans running
expenses for year. II would not Keep
the government machinery going for more
than week.
The $500 200 outstanding on account of
the loan of 1862 is the largest amount to
be credited to any one loan, except the
s4i7,300 balance of the funded loan OF 1891
outstanding at the end of last yeari-but
IL is much too early TO calculate on the
profits of that loan. The treasury receiv-
ed 200 worth of bonds last year, and
more are coming in all the time.
The oldest bonds presented FOR redemp-
tion last year were part Of the loan of
July and August. 1861. They We're not call
ed till 1881, and last year $7400 worth
were presented at the treasury. They had
drawn no interest for nearly twenty-iour
years while they lay hidden in somebody's
strong box. If they had continued TO draw
the original interest they would have
brought an income of $444 annually TO their
owner. The government has made more
than $4,000 in interest on these bonds,
reckoning at single interest only.
These illustrations serve to show what
the government profit is. The treasury
win make no less than 100000 on bonds
issued before 1895 never presented Tor re-
demption, and II has made as much more
in unpaid interest up TO date.
OF the issue of $100,000O0 worth of bonds
about TO be made, II is probable that $40
600 or 10000 worth will never be pre-
scented. The government will make sew
eral times that amount in unpaid inter-
est on bonds presented long after ma
1urity. This is not the fault of the gov
eminent The officials of the treasury de-
partment would be very glad TO have
every loan paid within week of its ma
turity, for under the present conditions the
loan account is never closed. With
view to keeping in touch with the gov
ernment's creditors, these officials encour-
age bond buyers to take registered rather
than coupon bonds. Very few registered
bonds are lost; and when there Is
loss the government seeks out the loser
and encourages him to make application
for the issue of duplicate. When q
coupon bond is lost, the government will
not duplicate it,
The profit made by the government on
bonds is very small compared with the
profit on unredeemed currency. OF course
no one will ever know just what amount
of currency has been destroyed; but the
treasury experts, made an estimate for
the benefit of congress in the last ad-
ADMINISTRATION, and expressed the belief that
about $1,000 900 profit had accrued to the
government up TO Jan. !, 1891 from United
States notes, gold and silver certificates
and national bank notes which would not
be presented for redemption.
This amount the experts distributed as
follows:
United States notes .............. 5,4l0 541
Silver certificates .................. 44lOo4
Gold .--.-...... .'..'......'.'.'...'''s 2oOVVU
Total . ................ So, 452 loo
This amount these experts now estimate
has been increased to about $4,000, 0O0 In
proportion to the amount of currency in
circulation, the amount destroyed is not
so great now as it was in war times; but
there is much more in circulation now
The present estimated profit of the govern
xnent on paper currency destroyed is hall
a million dollars every year, despite the
fact that the treasury makes every effort
TO redeem all the currency il issues. a
special corps of experts is employed ir
the redemption division to examine the
mutilated currency presented. 1t comes
in sometimes in pulp, in ashes, in tatters
worn and torn. The experts work on il
with microscopes, pull it apart and piecC
1t together making every possible etfor
to Identify it. If a part of torn bill is
presented for redemption, the owner re
ceives for ii an amount proportloned to il:
percentage of the area of the entire note
If torn, burned fragments are sent in will
satisfactory evidence that they are tbs
sole remains Of a certain sum Of money
the entire amount is refunded. The gov
eminent even sends special agents IL
some cases 10 investigate claims for the
redemption of money; it redeems money
which has been in birds nests
and money which has been il
xryTaf has IN =