The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-23

vision experts who with remarkable skill and
patience, are able to identity money from
ashes. Mrs. Brown is one Of tho most skilled
OF those experts. She has been In the depart
ment for many years. and she knows every mark
on the currency so well that she has been able
been burned. even from tbe nsbes' and sbe ia
held In such high esteem by tho Government
that her word Is. accepted IN all such matters.
Government whose word stands for money as
does that of this Nhitc-halred lady who sits in
Treasury Department, and with patience han.
dies under q glass the ashes and scraps OF
paper which once represented money. Had Mr..
Bissell carefully preserved tho ashes Of his burnt
currency, Mrs. Brown might hive saved much
:: Yesterday she received a box Of charrcd bills,
black and ready TO crumplc TO dust, but the
bills had been in a roll, and while complete
ly burned, the ash was still in the roll when 1t
reached her desk. She was able to follow tho
%tracings marked by the ink, and so ran,iliaris she
with every form OF currency that even a small sec
each and every bill. This box came from
Chicago, and the money will all he redeemed,
because the ash still carried the tracings of the
Ink. Another box reached her from Chicago
this week., on which. she Is at work. 1t Is ac-
compnnied by an affidavit that there was 500
were in scraps not more than half an incG wide
and an inch long, To the ordinary observer
they we're simply charrcd bits of paper, but 10
Mrs. Browns practired eye there appeared on
one tiny scrap the plated tracing on the back
Of tho $50 silver certificate. The fire had COM
lhOtSiy utStio1Cu INC DhpUT, UuJ the INK pre-
tcnted the tracing as IL will do in the ash. Mrs.
Brown was able 10 certify that there was n $50
silver. certificate In the box OF ashes. She will
probably find other bills before she gets through
with the box, and she may DO able TO redeem
all the money burned. She hardly expects to do
thnt, however.
She also has in her desk the scraps of cur
rcncy found on the lake front in Chicago sew
eial years ago. She has been able to put to-
gether thLse scraps SO as to mako good two
$500 bills, one $50 bill and several OF smaller
denomination, but, as this money was found
and the Government does not redeem money
that has been found, for fear that the loser may
put In n claim. the bills remain in Mrs. Browns
desk unredeemcd. She received a package
from Chicago yesterday containing n number
by weather exposure. They bore every evil
dencc of having been found. but tho Sender did
not vouchsitfe any explanations, and what can
be determined will be redeemed. Here is one
phase of the case where honesty Is not rewarded
by Uncle Sam. II you find money which has
been torn into scraps. Us in the lake front case,
just send IL to the Treasury without ex-
PLANTATION CT confession. 1t viii be redeemed.
But IL you confess that 1t was found Uncle Sam
will keep 1t. And ii your money is burned do
mass of ashes as carefully rs possible. try
not to break up the lump, and send 1t to the
Treasury. Mrs. Brown will dig out the de-
nominations and redeem them IL IL il possible.
Most such unfortunatcs arc like Mr.. Bisscll.
They either try to sort the ashes and scraps and
put them together in their own way, or they
take for granted that they are beyond detection
and redemption. Thut was Mr.. Bisscll's mis-
take, He sent an Affidavit OF his loss. He
should have sent the charred mass, including
might have been able to redeem several thou.
sand dollars instead of the 300 represented by
the gold. His ignorance has lost him more than
600 and his appeal will BIO in vain.