The record-union., 1899-09-03
CURIOSITIES OF THE POSTAL
MONEY ORDER SYSTEM.

The facts concerning the postal mon
curious and of profound interest, and
the more so that a new form Of money
order is about to come into use.
The popularity of the system has
grown beyond all expectation. The in
crease of the business from 1897 to
1898 was remarkable, the figure of ex-
cess being $16.O00,0OO, and the last
quarter Of the fiscal year 1899 promises
to maintain the ratio of the others of
the year and to show an increase Of
$20,00000O over 1898.
The system has become, for one
thing, a savings bank institution, with
only this difference, that the savings
bank pays interest, while the Postal
Department charges for keeping the
money of depositors. For it is a
fact that a great amount of money on
postal orders represents deposits pure
and simple. the deposits Of people who
distrust banks of all kinds. Superin-
tendent Metcalf tells of instances
where orders have remained uncaIled
for for thirty years, While packages of
orders five years old are very fre-
quently presented. 1t is found that
many people put their money into
these orders. and then store the orders
away. frequently only to be discovered
by their executors.
The new form Of money order bears
a very close resemblance to a bank
check in size, shape, etc. This is pur-
poseful, to accommodate both bankers
and users, because it has developed
that the greater bulk Of the orders are
now handled by banks and thus the
Postoffice Department has practically
become a member of the clearing house
in eighty cities Of the country. 1t be-
came therefore important to have the
new order, which will make it's appear
ance on Labor Day, of such convenient
form as to be easily handled by bank
ing houses.
1t took some time for the mercantile
community to get into the habit Of
cashing orders through the banks. For
merly it was no uncommon thing to
see, in large cities, a mercantile house
messenger going from the Postoffice
with a bag of money in each hand, and
hanked by armed guards, but now that
practice has all but ceased, because 70
per cent. Of all orders are collected
through banking houses. Thus a great
deal Of time and some risk are spared
the user of the order system.
The extent to which the money order
system is used by the retail and news
paper trade Of the country is scarcely
understood by the greater number of
people. but it is enormous. Says Su-
perintendent Metcalf, so great has been
the demand for the extension of the
money order system that 1t now en-
braces no less than 10000 Offices. As
many Of these Offices are small, are
kept by man who is at once Postmas-
ter, express agent, storekeeper or inn
keeper, with wife or daughter or clerk
to handle the postal business mainly.
the effort has been made to have ex-
treme simplicity prevail in the form
Of the new money order.
The old rule was to fill out the "ad-
vice blank" in duplicate as d separate
operation. This in many cases caused
errors to be committed and the amount
would be written differently on the
two slips, such a mistake as S24 ~ be-
ing made to read $42. %, is a fair sample
of the blundering. A person unused to
business or working in the noise and
confusion Of a general business place,
would cut out the marginal numbers
wTong, so that where the text would
cali for $40, the margin would call for
40 cents. So in the new order blanl.
the marginal nuisance has been abated
by Abandonment. and TO check against
mistake or fraud a new device has been
resorted to.
The blank advice sheet IS now bound
in under the order blank. Thus by
slipping a carbon sheet between the
two the advice blank becomes a fac
similie Of the order. On the new order