The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-04
NEW NOTES IN COLORS.
Variegated Bills VIII Soon BE i'm Cir
culatiOn-Will Save Confusion.
Washington Post.

The new paper money, printed in different
colorS, will soon be In circulation. Some
and others are being executed at the Blu
reau of Printing and Engraving. All of
them will undergo criticism, and more or
less alteration before final acceptance
President Mckinley has expressed his APP
proval of the idea in a general way, and
Secretary Gage is anxious to issue the
notes and certificates as quickly as possible
Being a banker himself, he fully appreci-
ates the defects of the currency now in the
hands of the people. 1t may be artistic,
but the various denominations are not east
ly distinguished from each other, and even
the numerals on them are obscure and hard
to make out. This makes counting trouble
some. and a person has to look sharp if he
would avoid giving a tve-dollar note for
one-dollar.
everyday usefulness is of more impor-
lance in the currency of the Nation than
high art. Pretty pictures of recumbent la
dies and naked boys are we'll enough in
their way, but they cut no particular ice
so to speak, in connection with hard and
vulgar cash. The most important point in
a piece of paper money is that it shall be
easily recognizable. It's denomination must
be apparent at q glance and its kind also
whether treasury note. bank note or certifi-
cate. OF course, safety against counterfeit
ing is not to be lost sight of. 1t is believed
that all of these requirements are met by
the new designs. Anybody who has a hand
full of these bills will be able to separate
them in an instant into their different
classes, so as to count them off-hand and
greater simplicity of their patterns will rem
der them actually more difficult to initiate
successfully. The very elaborateness of the
notes now in circulation confuses the eye.
For Illustration, take the one-dollar bill.
The designs for this denomination are al
ready finished and are very handsome.
There are only two, one for the face and
one for the back, because all one-dollar bills
will have the same patterns, whether GER
tificates, banknotes or treasury notes.
When you see q bill with big spread eagle
in the middle of the face, you will recog
nize ii as a dollar, without even looking
at the large numeral beneath How, then,
are you to understand what kind of one
dollar bill it is? The answer is. simply by
the color in which the big numeral of de-
nomination the treasury seal and the num-
Der of the bill are printed. If it is a treas
Try note, these will be in red; If silver
certificate, they will be in green; If bank
note they will be in blue There will be no
other differences except that each kind of
bill will have it's own legend But people
do not want to stop and read the legend
in order to find out whether bill is a
banknote or certificate. They do not have
to do so, inasmuch as the color shows that.
At present there are three different de-
signs for one-dollar bills. Under the new
ARRANGEMENT there will be only one design,
the sole variation being in the colors as
described. 1t Will be the same way with
the two-dollar bill; instead of three patterns
there will be one. This scheme will be car
ried out through all of the denominations
of paper money. There are nine denomina-
lions IN all, running from 81 TO $1,000. Tn
der the present system there are twenty
seven patterns. just think OF it--kWenty.