The evening times., 1900-10-17
MONEY ORDER BUSINESS.
Remarkable frosyfh During the Las
Ifisenf Year.

Fiscal Year.
One of the surprises awaiting the pub
lie in the Governmental reports Of this
year is the increase in the extent Of the
money order system. Two years ago the
figures showed an increase of $17,00o,000
over the previous year, the next year
there was an increase OF s19,000,G00 over
! that, and the year ending with the 3Gth of
June last will show the astounding in
crease of 5000, 600. The last years in
crease in The volume of business is ac-
companied by an increase OF $S39,0O0 IN
fees.
conspicuous feature of the increases
in the last three years has been the
growth of the international money order
traffic which in the fiscal year 1900 rose
from q total of $6, coo, Geo to one OF -$lL,-
0O0 600. The popularity of the interna-
| tional money order increases with the
growth of our immigration. Even the Rus
slams and the Japanese coming to this
country to live send back large sums to
| their less fortunate fellow -countrymen at
! home. There is also considerable in
crease due TO the closer trade relations
! with neighboring countries. The money
| order business with Mexico. for instance,
is continually growing through the dis
! cGyery by Mexicans of the large number
/ of articles of domestic use which they can
| buy in this country cheaper than they can
| at home
| The total annual issue of money orders
/ at American postoffces has reached the
/ large amount of $256, Geo, 900 It was sup
/ posed at first that the war tax OF cents
on each order issued would be serious
burden for the system to carry AS
matter of fact beyond q little grumbilng
here and there it seems to have produced
/ no effect This would not have been the
i case if it had been necessary 10 attach a
Is2-cent stamp TO each order. By very
sensible ruling of the Treasury Depart
ment it was decided that the tax would
/ be so easy OF collection without stamps
+ that 1t would be waste Of time and mon
! ey TO use them.
i There would have been no way of COM
pellfng a postmaster to keep stock o.
hstamps on hand, as the law prescribed ne
penalty for his refusal; so the public
would have been obliged to furnish its
Town stamps, procuring them wherever i
might at banks. drug stores, and the Ike
! to the great inconvenience OF everybody
concerned in places where the postmas-
ttera happened to be dilatory OF obstinate
Under the Treasury ruling referred to, i
| is necessary now only to count the mum
ber of money y-orders issued, from the
quarterly returns in the possession OF Ih'
, PostofFice Department, multiply this b.
two. divide by l0e and draw a check fo1
the quotient in dollars 10 the order o
the Internal Revenue Bureau. In th'
quarter ended June 80. 1900 the Postof
fee Department paid into the TFeasur!
$I6S GOO on account OF this two-cen. wa
tax The reason why the charge has no
! affected the amount Of the traffic i
doubtless the perfect equality OF the dis
! tribution of the tax upon all forms OF or.
ders for money-checks, drafts, expires:
orders, postal money orders. etc. II the5,
had been one class exempted. a large
part of the public's business might have
been done IN that
One thing which has added greatly Il
the popularity of the postal money ordel
has been the growth OF the system o
cashng orders, even where mistakes hay'
obviously been made in the name of tbs
paying Office About half the mistake!
! of this sort as nearly as the postal eX
| perts can determine, are made by th'
postma sters or their clerks. and abou
half by the patrons OF the system. 1t i;
not so uncommon d thing as one woult
think for an absent-minded person TO hay,
an order drawn IL favor of John Smitl
upon the postofice at Albany, \. Y, whel
John Smith actually lives in Charleston
S. C.. and the letter cont aiming the orde
| is properly written and properly ad
| dressed. If John Smith is a responsible
citizen, and known to the postal author
tiles il Charleston, the fact that hi
| money order is drawn upon Albany neet
no longer delay him in getting his cash.