Evening star., 1900-04-11
THAT HALF OF A CENT.
Washington Bank Teller Hopes 1t
Will Never Appear.


I'm not speaking entirely from a point
of self-interest. as you might Think said
the teller of F street bank to a Star re-
porter, when 1 say that l. in common with
all of the bank telIers and officers all over
this country sincerely hope that the prop
osition to issue half-cent piece may never
get beyond the proposition period in the
United States.
In the handling of our present copper
cent we have all We want to do. With sew
eral billions of another and an inferior
copper piece thrown upon the country it
would work chaos with all moneyed ac-
counts and transactions. Why, the simple
process of addition. to say nothing of other
mathematical transactions. would be COM
picked. Not in point of ability to do and
to understand how to do the sums, but
from the point of additional labor.
For example, write down a column or
figures the length of full bank of business
house ledger, carrying the cents into the
mills column. Do this twenty times a day,
add, swallow your medicine and then re-
tire to woodShed to swear. We balance our
books daily to a cent, and if the totals do
not agree they are all gone over with, and
we all stay, If the error cannot be fixed
upon one of US, until they do balance. Pic
ture looking for an error of half a cent!
The United States treasury frequently
draws a check for a cent, and their books
must nightly balance to that amount.
The argument is advanced that these
half-cent pieces would be absorbed into the
circulation Not any more in proportion
to their value than any other piece of
money issued by the government. The cir
culaton' does not need them. and if the
circulation is congested, the stringency
could be relieved at once by a proper and
abundant supply of one-cent pieces being
issued and the supply maintained to flood
tide of demand,
1T would not prove popular, in my mind,
after the novelty had worn off. Remem-
ber the fate of the two-cent piece and the
three-cent cOmpatriot. both of whom died
an early and unregretted death. AS it is
now, people do not like to take pennies in
change. 1t is common sight in a store to
see ladies hand back five pennies and ask
for nickel In change, while the car con-
ductor hands you pennies in change with a
murmured apology. Yet 1t is said that the
opposite sex the main advocates of the
scheme. If the Illustration l lust cited
holds good, and it is my observation that it
does, they would be the very first to object
to the receipt of half cents in change. Fan
cy dropping twenty copper half-cent pieces
into the gloved hand of lady. Well.
THE minimum unit of value in the United
States should never be changed from one
cent In France it Is fifth of cent, or
five sous make entime. And if any place
in the world the principles of economy are
carried painfully out 1t Is in sunny France
In England it is a half a penny, but 1t
must be borne in mind that the ha' penny
there equals the cent here.
IN my opinion the innovation would have
a slight tendency to reduce the wages of
working people. If. for instance, a woman
be now paid 10 cents for making shirt
she would never be paid 1012 cents, all con-
ditfons being equal: 1t would be 9H cents.
To people who reckon their income in pen
nies, and there are millions of them, half
a cent reduction from their pay by piece
work means much. 1 don't think that the
reduction in the price of commodities, if an
actual reduction took place, would offset
the loss. If anybody will lose on a money
transaction, it will be the poor every time
ITO my mind, the plea that the mer-
chants demand it in order that an equal
value in money may be given where their
goods are marked in the half cent is
sephistical. In the advertising columns of
The Star goods are offered at the fraction
Of a cent. 70. q. etc. every day, espe-
cially on Friday, bargain day To make
a consistent argument, the fractional parts
of a cent, in eighths, should also be coined.
Speaking as one who handles millions
during the year. l think our present sys-
tenn of currency Is model. To further
incumber it with the issues of the moiety
of cent, to my mind would be both ha:ln-
full and Ridiculous