The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-15
Law OF LOST COUPONS.
Thrice I'm Fifteen Years Congress Has
Paid Them.
Washington Pnst.

Washington Post.
Thousands upon thousands of dollars
worth of government bonds and coupons
are lost or stolen, and the Treasury De
partment frequently receives appeals from
rightful owners for aid or protection to
the property, but only three times for
great many years has Congress voted to
pay coupons that could not actually be pre-
Sented. The most recent case was just be-
fore Congress adjourned for the holidays.
An act was then sent TO the President to
pay j. & w. Seligman q Co. S1,794.56 for
coupons that were lost in the wreck of the
Cunard steamer Oregon March H. 1886. The
proof of the loss was easy enough, but the
nrm which had possession of the property
were compelled to wait almost twelve years
Tor reimbursement, and probably expended
half the sum in lobbying the measure
through House and Senate. The treasury
Department has just had official notice of
the law, and yesterday bond was made
out in due form, to be executed prior to the
payment of the money.
In the last decade there have been dozen
cases, perhaps, where Congress has made up
authorizing the issue of duplicates but it
seems more difficult to secure compensation
Tor lost coupons. Minister w. w. Thomas,
now resident at Stockholm, Sweden, who
came to Washington at the beginning of
President McKinley'S administration with a
mammoth petition for his diplomatic Office,
but who did not secure the place he was
after for nearly a year, once lost 5000 in
coupons. He succeeded, after unusual per-
Sistence, in having Congress vote for the
payment of the amount. He executed a
bond, which the Treasury Department still
retains, tea up IN req tape, Tor TWICE the
sum paid. The act in favor of Minister
Thomas was adopted March 8, 1885.
The other case referred TO was that of
the First National Bank Of Marion, u;
That bank lost by fire, it is said, $1,000
worth of coupons, which Congress author
| lied payment for By an act approved on
May "a, 1888.
The stories of lost bonds about the Treas
ury Department are by no means rare Only
the other day the division of loans and
currency was startled by an alarming tele-
gram from New YORK about $4,000 of miss
ing registered bonds. If these bonds had not
been signed in blank the brokers who owned
them would not have been alarmed. They
had sent them so signed, by Il messenger
for transfer to another rarity in another
section of the metrop )s. With the sigma
lures of the former owners they were tror-
oughly negotiable, and all any finder of The
the blank space provided tOr that purpose.
what is called cageat was filed with tie
treasury officials, out that would hardly
have helped the former owners of the bonds.
except that when they were presented for
transfer these owners would have received
notice However, the next ,lay a message
came that The bonds had been fc und ty an
Italian fruit vendor in a street gutter.
Registered bonds unless signed for trans
venience results from the theft or loss ex-
cept in the delay and trouble of proving
the fact. Probably fifteen years ago $3S, 900
or registered United States government
PONDS We're stolen from a Spaniard resid-
ing in Cuba. The owner was unable to de-
tect the thief, but the Treasury Department
ultimately issued new bonds, which made
the Spanard whole. But for years these
stolen bonds turned up from time to time
IN dlnerent parts of the country. AS fast
as found they were confiscated by treasury
omc1alS, the poSseSSOrS being notified that
they were Of no value A seafaripg man
gave one OF the bonds to a lady in Port
land Me, and her lawyer refused to yield
possession to the government. After some
lengthy correspondence a secret service Off
cial was sent to Maine and the lady was
persuaded to give the bond up without fur
ther trouble.
(SOUarnpoonf oh
SAID, by the thousands, but Congress rarely
hears of it. Back in 1872 a law was passed
authorizing the disbursing officer or agent of
the treasury, as the case might be, to issue
duplicate. That law applied to all sums
under 81 900, but an amendment was author
lied in February. 1885, by which the limit
was raised to $500. Since 1872 the record
OF these duplicate checks has been kept in
big leathern books at the Treasury Depart
there are now over 200 different appropria-
tons from which the treasury officials are
authorized to disburse money in sums small
ana large, covering hundreds of thousands
OF checks annually, up to date only Is, 1866
duplicate checks have been issued. For all
sums over $500, where a check is lost a
special act of Congress is required Not
many months ago check was lost in pay
ment of some of the decorative work of the
new library of Congress. At the last ses-
sion the issue of a duplicate was legalized.
Inc wonder is that there are not more
cases of loss. Pensions to the amount of
many millions quarterly are paid by checks,
ana these are sent to and fro through the
mails. The wreck of a train or the de-
struction of a dwelling may involve one or
more treasury checks, for they are in cir
culatlon from one corner of the country to
the other. Salaries of government officials
OF every character ere paid in checks in all
parts of the United States, and particularly
when drawn on New York Chicago. St
Louis or other commercial centers are much
sought after for exchange
The regulations of the Treasury Depart
ment are very strict about duplicate checks
No duplicates are issued until six months
haveN expired Then a bond for twice the
amount of the lost check must be executed
with two sureties, and no bond is accepted
for less than 500. A very complete descrip-
ton Of the property is required, for the
preparation of which two or three broad
pages of instructions are issued by the
Treasury Department.
Treasury notes are quite different mat
ter. They are negotiable, and cannot be re-
deemed when destroyed unles sufficient evil
dence for identification exists. A notable
instance occurred a few days ago. when
resident Of New Albany, Ind, was paid for
several treasury notes of different issue that
he had found in one corner of a box car in
Kentucky over thirty years ago. The
Treasury Department confiscated the notes
but just before Christmas Congress author
lied the payment of good money in their
stead