The silver star., 1897-10-21
GOLD COMING FAST.
Currency and Specie shipped Across thu
Country by Mail.


Currency and Specie shipped Acruss the
Country by Mail.
New York, Oct 12.-Two million and
half dollars in gold arrived from Eng
land in two steamers Saturday, and 3d.
050.Oo0 Is on the way. The engage
ments already made will bring this to
tai up to $25,OOO.0O0 before the end OF
the month, and bankers here estimate
that the receipts for the month OF DC
tober will reach $4O.OOO,OO0 If not $780,
100000 Some people say this money is
being imported to pay for the Union
Pacific railroad. which IL to be sold at
auction the first of November at Oma-
ha, and will be purchased for not less
than $J0,0O0,OO0 cash by a syndicate
that has already been organized and in
cludes several of the most important
banking houses in New York; but the
prevailing opinion among financiers is
that the flow of gold this way Is per
fectly natural and Is caused by the now
of wheat and other breadstuffs and pro
visions in the other direction. The ex-
ports for August were larger than for
many previous months in the history
of the United States. and 1t is predicted
that when the figures for September
are announced they will exceed those
of August. These exports have been
paid for. and the money, sooner or lat
er. must come home TO the men who
sold them. And there is steady
stream of gold flowing into the sub
treasury here from the other direction.
The sum of $IO0OO0 was received from
San Francisco recently from Australia.
and there is so much coin oil the Pacific
coast that people want TO get rid of II.
A Co ;.l lssp,p
ago offered the secretary of the treasury
several millions of gold coin for New
York exchange to save the cost of
transportation has resorted to a novel
plan for transferring gold across the
continent at the expense of Uncle sam.
1t is being shipped by mail In small
canvas bags about the size of a sausage.
each bag containing fifty $50 gold
pieces. and there are seven or eight
bags on every mail. Over 100000 has
already been received in this way. The
packages are sealed. registered and sent
under letter postage nj the rate of one
cent an ounce. A double eagle weighs
about an ounce. and fifty ounces Is
about as heavy Il package as the postal
authorities will accept The postage on
each package is fifty cents. more or
less. the fee for registration is eight
cents. and the money is insured at the
rate of 81 per 81 900 against loss by fire.
robbery or accidents. Therefore the
cost of transportation amounts TO about
s1.GO for every $1,000. The express
rates. including insurance are $3.50 per
$1,000. and the saving is therefore
about $1.9O per 81 600. or 100 times that
much on shipments thus far.
The government assumes no respon-
sibility for packages intrusted to the
mails. The registration is only safe
guard and n receipt. which Is admitted
as prima facia evidence in the courts.
50 the insurance companies take all the
risk. Small packages of gold have been
transmitted by mail frequently for
years back. and there has never been a
loss. but this is the first time that bank
ers have shipped 1t by the wholesale
1t is a common practice to send paper
money in the mails. A thousand or a
$4,000 bill does not weigh any more
than a 81 or 81 bill. and the postage
charge is nominal. The registration fee
is cents, and there are several insur-
ance companies which make a business
OF taking risks of this kind their pre-
miums being generally covered by dis,
tancc. At any bank you can see a
schedule of the cost of insuring ship
menis of money by mail from New
York to almost every town In the cOun-
try. and hundreds of thousands of dol.
lars are received and sent in that way
every day. Last week ! saw In a New
York bank two packages sealed. stamp
ed and addressed TO ST. Paul thai con
tanned $4,000 each. and they were not
much larger than packet OF official
envelopes. The postage was 10 cents.
the registration fees 10 cents and the
Insurance So. making Il total cost of
S5o.36, while the express charge at the
regular rate would have been 81 % per
$1,000.
The express rate 10 Chicago is 81 per
1OD, and the Insurance on postal
packages 10 cents. The express rate to
Denver Is SO. and the insurance rate
% cents. so that there IL economy In
the mail business. although the risk is
greater, and some of these days there
will he a big robbery on the road.