The herald., 1896-02-23
THE GREENBACKS
THAT ARE LOST

To say that there must be an enor
nous profit in loss may sound some
what paradoxical, but that is one of the
orthodox sources of gain which the
hnanciers of the federal treasury take
into calculation in the output and
handling of the national currency.
This applies more directly to the is
sues OF paper money, but the govern.
ment even makes money out of its coin
exchanges. A good deal that is called
for by drafts of one kind or another
fails to reach the hands of the payee
because of the incorrectness of the ad-
dress, and sometimes by the failure OF
the payee to even take the trouble to
call for it. And occasionally it enjoys
q windfall as the result of some ones
misfortune. In this latter way it has
been confirmed in its possession of
$4,000 in gold that was captured dur
ing the war at Augusta, Ga. A claim
was set up against it by some Rich
mond interests, and a request was
made that it be refunded.
The secretary of the treasury direct
ed that the money be paid over to the
claimant, but General Spinner, who
WAS United States treasurer at the time
refused to comply. The parties in in
terest appealed to the president, and
he renewed the order upon the treas
urer, but the general was still in un-
complacent humor, and while the mat
tsr was still pending ne had the coin
put into the crucibles and melted out
OF recognition. Some bank in Rich
mond hes recently renewed the clai m
for it, and the controversy that ensued
has confirmed the governments prop
erty in it.
Instances of gain in this way are,
however, few and far between in COM
parison with the gains the government
makes by the disappearance of it's pa
per money. Its treasury notes and
bank notes are SO eternally on the fly
that they often 60 astray. They are
torn and destoyed in the handling, go
down with luckless shipe to the bot
tom of the sea, are hidden in forgotten
places by hoarders and burned up in
fires. Every bill thus lost represents
an obligation that the government is
not obliged to redeem, and goes to the
making of recognized profit out of
banking system.
But when one undertakes to ascer-
tain or compute this profit he finds
slim material for the basis of his calcu-
lation. If it we're possible to keep
track of the date on which every bill
goes out or the treasury, and of it's re-
demption, it would be easy enough, of
course, by deducting the amount of
the redemption from the amount of
the issue, to ascertain the incidental
gain; but if it be possible to keep &C.
counts on any such close and particu-
lar basis ss that they have not been
kept.
A circumstance that embarrasses all
attempts to figure out the profit de-
rived from the disappearance of green
backs is the fact that notes Of hand of
all dates of issue are turning up at the
most unexpected times for redemption,
and not even the most expert account
ant in the treasury department can be-
gin to guess when the stream is to end
or where.
There is only one kind of paper
money about the gains from which
anything like reasonable conclusion
can be reached, and that is the shin
plaster fractional currency that served
as money during the war times and
just after.
In 1874 there we're $45,912OOO worth
of these bits Of paper, representing
in the hands Of the people. The bulk
was reduced to about $34.5OO,OOO in
1876, and to $20,0O0,0OO in 1877. The
amount now out is $15,27O,OOO82, and
it is beginning to be assumed that this
probably represents the gain of the
government through their issue. The
notes have been lost or they are being
kept as mementoes by the people; and
it is not likely that the government
will be called upon to redeem any large
number of them in the future. Only
$3025 of them we're sent into the treas
ury by their holders between the close
of the fiscal year of 1894 and the close
Of the fiscal year of 1895, and for many
years back the redemptions have not
exceeded $4,000 annually.
But" said United States Treasurer
Morgan, when you come to deal with
that problem as applied to greenbacks
it becomes more confusing and intri-
cate and impossible of solution. The
most ancient issues are being sent to
us even yet with demands fer the
cash."
Willard Warner one of the treas
urer's valued assistants, who stood at
his elbow, had in his hand, while Mr..
Morgan was talking, an old treasury
note for $500, Of what is known az the
two-year issue, put on during war
times, attached to. letter asking that
it be converted into current money. It
had been sent to the treasury by
Pennsylvania bank.
On it's face the note had been made
payable to Lieutenant Brunaugh; and
when Mr.. Warner referred 20 Lis care
fully kept records he discovered that
it was one Of lot Of notes, Of the face
value in all of $2900, that had been taken
from Lieutenant Brunaugh at the time
of his capture at Pittsburg Landing.
The note was non-negotia BILE, except
with the lieutenant's Endorsement, and
as it did not bear the lieutenant's auto
graph on its back, and the lieuten-
ant, from all accounts, is dead and un-
able to put it there, the treasury Of
flcials enriched the government to the
tune Of $500 by refusing to pay it.
But to return to the general question
as to the likely amount of gain
from this source, suppose that Treas
urer Morgan's estimate be applied.
The United States treasury notes is
sued since the year 1862 represent a
value of $3,021 ,209, ,92S-apart from gold
and silver certificates. II the proper
tion of disappeared notes of the entire