The record-union., 1897-12-07
NEW PAPER MONEY.
The Bills That Will Soon be in
Circulation.

The Bills That Will Soon be in
Circulation.
| The new paper money, printed in diff
! ferent colors, Will soon be in circulst-
ton. Some Of the designs have already
/ been prepared, and the others are be-
| ing executed at the Bureau of Engrav-
/ ing. All of them will undergo criti-
! cism and more or less alteration before
| final acceptance. President Mckinley
/ has expressed his approval of the idea
/ in general way, and Secretary Gage
is anxious TO issue the notes and certlfi-
Gates as quickly as possible. Being a
barker himself, he fully appreciates
the defects of the currency now in the
hands of the people. 1t may be artistic.
! but the various denominations are not
easily distinguished from each other.
and even the numerals on them are
obscure and hard to make out. This
makes counting troublesome. and a
person has TO look sharp if he would
avoid giving a five-dollar note for a
dollar
Secretary Gage is of the opinion that
everyday usefulness is of more i'm
portance IN the currency OF the nation
than high art. Pretty pictures of re-
cunlhent ladies and naked boys are
well enough in their way, but they
cut no particular ice, so to speak. i'll
connection with hard and vulgar cash
The most important point In a piece of
paper money is that ii shall be easily
recognizable. Its denomination must
be apparent at a glance, and its kind
also whether treasury note bank note
or certificate. OF course, safety against
counterfeiting is not to be lost sight of
1t is believed that all of these require
ments are met by the new designs.
Anybody who has a handful of these
bills viii be able tor separate them in
an instant into their different classes
so as to count them offhand and with
out scrutiny. At the same time. the
greater simplicity of their patterns will
render them actually more difficult to
initiate successfully. The very elab-
orateness of the notes now in circula-
ton confuses the eye
For illustration take the one dollar
bill. The designs for this denomina-
tion are already finished and are very
handsome. There are only two, one
for the face and one for the back. be-
cause all one-dollar bills will have the
same patterns, whether certificates
bank notes or treasury notes When
you see bill with a big spreading
eagle in the middle of the face. YOU
VIII recognize it as a one-dollar bill
without even looking at the large nu-
neral beneath. How, then, are you
10 understand what kind of a one
dollar bill it is? The answer is. simply
by the color in which the big numeral
OF denomination. the treasury seal and
The number of the bill are printed. If
II is a treasury note these will be in
red; if a silver certificate. they will be
IN blue. There will be no other diff
ferences except that each kind of bill
VIII have its own legend. But people
do not want to stop and read the legend
in order to find out whether bill
is a bank note or a certificate. They
do not have to do so, inasmuch as the
color shows that
At present there are three different
designs for 81 bills. Under the new
arrangement there will be only one de-
sign, the sole variation being in the
colors as described. 1t will be the same
way with the 50 bill; instead of three
patterns there will be one. This scheme
VIII be carried out through all of the
V
are nine denominations in all. running
from 81 to $1,000. Under the present
system there are twenty-seven patterns
Just think of it--tWenty-seVen sorts of
paper currency 1t is enough to confuse
the people-especially when it is con-
sidered that during the last few years
the designs have been undergoing rad
Ical changes with every new Admins
: 7frrtf tfNite
much more likely to be detected if the
users of the currency are thoroughly ia
miliar with its appearance. SO as to be
struck by anything that is not exactly
as it should be.
For the new 50 bill a head of Wash
ington has been chosen Professionally.
On either side of it two classical figures
of the allegorical sort will recline. Thus
something will be done for art incident
ally. 1t would be a mistake to suppose
that the new money is to be eXecuta I'd
in a spirit of commercial philistinism:
on the contrary, it will be very hand
some indeed. One thing very noticeable
about it is the broad blank spaces which
are left on both face and back of each
bill. Something like one-third of the en-
tire area Of the note in each case is
blank. The back has not so much as
ene-half of the usual amount of lathe
work engraving. The purpose of this
modification is twofold. Il will show
the distinctive fibre in the paper much
more plainly and the eye in examin-
ing a bill will be less confused.
Secretary Gage has been evolving this
scheme ever since he first took charge
of the Treasury. 1t is safe 10 say that
the present alleged artistic patterns of
currency would never have been adopted
under the authority of an official grad
uated from commercial life. Mr. Car
Isle, who is responsible for the patterns
Of the notes and certificates now in use,
is better acquainted with politics than
with business. Ever since the art
money came into circulation bankers
and merchants all over the country
have been complaining of it. Bank
cashiers especially have found its OBJ
security a very serious Inconvenience.
One notable advantage of the new plan
is that it will do away entirely with the
industry of raising bills from small to
tn EN Eek1 IA