The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-25
MONEY ORDER SYSTEM.
Views of superintendent James IT.
Metcalf.

Superintendent James T. Metcalf, of the
United States postoffice money order sys-
tenn, completed his trip over the Western
territory yesterday by spending the day in
the Indianapolis postoffice Before leaving
last night for Washington he said the OBJ
ject of his visit to this part of the country
was to inquire into the ACCESSIBILITY of en-
larging the scope Of the present money or
der system, and to find out what the senti-
ment is regarding the establishment of new
departures which have been agitated for
some time past. He said four thousand
new money order offices have been recently
established throughout the country, princi-
pally in the smaller towns. 1t has been
shown that most of the money orders are
bought in these remote places, while most
of them are cashed at the offices in the
larger cities. AS an illustration of this, Mr..
Metcalf said that last year the Indianapolis
Office issued $4,000 worth of orders and
cashed $4,000 worth There is now every
year $500, COO, 900 transferred by the govern
ment through the medium of the money
orders. and the amount is growing until it
can now be seen that something must be
done to supply the wants of the public
which seems to prefer this mode of sending
money to any other
Many persons use the money orders for
the purpose of saving money they happen to
have about them and fear to lose, and so
safe is 1t considered that the government
is at intervals asked to cash orders in some
cases over twenty years old Many travel
ing men and theatrical people use the money
orders a means for saving their money.
The method is to send portion of their
savings in the shape of a money order to
some point where they know they will be
in the course of q few months-to their
home or to the pace where the season will
close. When they arrive there they find a
neat sum to their credit. Executors of es-
tates, where money is coming in slowly and
where it is not policy TO deposit it in any
bank, use the money orders to advantage
as the money is always ready to be drawn
on demand. The newest thing, according to
orders payable at the same Office
where the orders are issued. 1t has
been claimed that this will be a great
accommodation to persons having bills to
pay or other business to transact and have
not the time to attend to it personally. BY
the new method ii will be possible for the
debtor to buy money order for trifiing
amount and after paying postage on a let
at no greater expense in settling mis- account
than if he had paid street-car fare and at
tended to ii personally. There is no ele-
ment of risk in paying bills in this way, as
ii will be impossible for any other than the
person for whom the order is issued to cash
1t, and the government is responsible for
lost orders. In the opinion Oh Mr. Metcalf
the government will sooner or later act ia
vorably on the matter of establishing postal
savings banks in this country, as ii has been
the education of the masses in the ideas
of saving small sums. Had the system been
established before the present war began,
Mr. Metcalf thinks, there would have been
per cent. loan with which to carry on the
war.