The Dickinson press., 1899-05-06
NEW MONEY FOR OLD.
AN EXCHANGE FOR MuTILATED AND
WORKOUT BILLS.

OucAe o3nn'e redemption 00EeOu 0nu
the Work of Its Experts-Rules of
the Department and Schemes For
Cheating the Government.
There r several experts employed
by the government to inspect the nj
rency offered for redemption. In fact,
every person employed in the bureau is
In some degree an expert. because each
one of them has to pass on the genuine
ness of the money presented for re-
demption. and this is a difficult task.
Remember that this money ONE to
the treasury, as a rule. only when it is
so badly worn that it will not pass cur
rent. This dirty. torn. greasy, ragged
money the experts have to handle and
decide whether it was issued by the
government and should be redeemed at
its face value or whether it is the work
of counterfeiters and should be rejected.
1t is not at all to the discrcdit of the
experts of the bureau that some bogus
money has got past them and been de-
tected in one of the offices to which the
pieces Of the money go for further ex-
animation. This does not occur often.
The peculiar province of n expert
is not to detect bad money-thougb
che is an expert at that-but to put to-
gether torn pieces of money sent in for
Identification and redemption. These
pieces of money come from all parts of
the country and arrive under most ex-
traordinary conditions. This is not sur
prising in view of the fact that they
come from experiences with fire and
water and gastric juices and many 9th
er powerful agents. A not infrequent
accident to money is to be left in a
stove. whence it is taken in a badly
charred condition, with only ashes to
represent the greater part Of it. Often
it is used by rats to make their nests,
or. buried in the dampness of a cellar, it
rots away. or, swallowed by a COW. it is
rescued from her stomach a Shiny mass
Of paper.
Here are the rules of the treasury for
the redemption of mutilated money
For a piece of currency greater than
two-fifths and GSsss than three-ifths Of
the original note one-half the face value
of the note is given. For a piece as
great as three-ffths the whole value of
the note is given. For a piece two-ifths
in size of the original nothing is given.
But this last provision is limited by the
law, which gives discretion to the treas
ury department to give full value for a
note if the owner can prove to the salts
faction Of the authorities that the note,
or the missing part of it, was destroyed.
This last provision opens the door to
possible fraud, and many are the efforts
made by dishonest persons to take adj
vantage of it.
The fragments Of money which come
to the treasury are turned over to one
of the experts and sorted out under the
miscroscope for Identification. They are
picked apart. and each tiny piece is as
signed to its place like a part of a puz-
zle. This is usually done on glass, and
the fragments are eventually put be-
tween pieces of glass to hold them to-
gether while they are measured to see
whether there is two-ifths or three
ffths of the note identiiable or whether
it is so little that the owner can recover
nothing. Sometimes it is a very serious
matter to the owner, but the poor are
not the only applicants for assistance
to recover damaged money. At the time
W. K. Vanderbilt's beautiful home at
Newport was burned Mrs. Vanderbilt
sent in about 81. 900 in mutilated cur
rency, out of which the expert was able
to identify for redemption all but a
fraction Of the sum.
1t it is not alone mutilated money
that comes to the treasury. but dirty
and worn money of all kinds, to the ex-
tent of nearly $500, 600, 900 a year.
Sometimes counterfeits get past the
experts in this bureau and are caught
in the other bureaus to which the halves
are sent when the packages of old notes
have gone under the knife and been d.
vided up for counting and Identification
before they are destroyed. But this il
not the most frequent form of attempt
ed fraud. The mutilated money offers
the easiest path to this sort Of crime.
Some Of the experiences Of the re-
demption division with would be
thieves are interesting. One mar in
Kansas sent to the treasury the halves
of some small bills with the edges nice
~ charred, accompanied by an affidavit
from the sender that he had put thu
money in his pocket, hung his coat OF
a fence and that the coat had beer
L-..oa 81 %bo 1os%ruok;on ~ port NJ
the notes. 1t happened that the treasury
had redeemed the other halves Of thes
notes just two and a half years befor'
for a money broker on the Bowery, il
New York. and, thinking the Gaze sus
picious, had kept an eye out for tn
possibility of attempted fraud. Tn
Kansas man was a person Of good bust
ness standing. and his bankers threat
ened the treasury officials with dismissa
if they questioned his affidavit. The,
put the case in the hands Of the depart
ment of Justice, and eventually tn
man pleaded guilty and was fined 81.
600.
A bank in Alabama received from
depositor a fragment Of a $40 bill. an
the treasury people paid IS for II
Later came a claim accompanied by tn
other part of the bill, a little charred
with an affidavit saying the sender ha
burned the remainder Of the note b
mistake.
A Chicago man sent in fragments
two $40 bills and one $40 bill with a
affidavit telling how the other halv'
had been destroyed. and in the san
mail the other halves Of these not
came in from a Chicago bank. A sp
cial agent caught the maker Of the af
: davit, who proved to be the tool
some swindlers, and he was sent
prison for a year and a hall. -Was
t ington Star
Taking a Walk.
Justice-What have you to say in a
d swer to the charge of stealing tn
mans plank walk2
The Accused took it by advice
= .a- ~I-cs:rn 1850 1--- IT, x-fS -