The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-21
PosT-CHECK MONEY.

The want of a safe and simple method
of transmitting money in small sums
through the mails is universally recog-
nized. The postal money order does not
fill the bill, Notwithstanding the enor-
nous total of more than two hundred
millions of dollars per annum is trans
mitted by postal orders. Furthermore
two-thirds Of the postofices in the United
States are not money order offices. These
non-money order offices are in the rural
districts. yet the farmers are of the class
most frequently desiring to send small
amounts through the mails, in payment
for small purchases. or subscriptions to
periodicals. The small bills in the circu-
lating medium not suited to the need
because of the difficulty in making change
and the risk taken by the sender, and our
fractional, metallic currency does not lend
itself readily to mail business.
An effort to meet the want has been
made in what is known as the Mcmillan
Lentz post-check bill, which has been in
troduced in Congress. 1t is proposed TO re-
place all of the ST. 50 and s. bills now in
existence with new 'post-notes" of de-
nominations identical with those of the
bills retired. The post-notes are to have
blank spaces, on the faces and backs which
can be filled in by the possessor and thus
converted into a personal check on the
government. The blanks on the face are
for the name and address of the person
to whom the money is payable and that
on the back for the name and address of
the sender. There is also space for in
dorsement or transfer by the receiver.
The notes will be payable to bearer while
the spaces are blank, but when the blanks
have been filled in and a postage stamp
affixed a note will become a check pay
able to the person named al the postoffice
named. The plan is thus set forth in an
illustrated circular which advocates The
passage of the bill:
This money with the new face. will pass
from hand to hand in the ordinary tran
sactions of the day. Then when one wish
es to send money in small amount, 81 for
instance, by mail TO subscribe for maya
zine or newspaper. pay I bill or transact
any of the multitudinous pieces of business
necessary by letter, he will take 80 bill
from his pocket book, write on it's face the
name of the person or firm to be sent to-
the city and state, and affiXing a two-cent
(one-cent stamp for The fractional bills)
sign his initials in ink with date; the ini-
tials and date to cross and cancel the
stamp. Thus the piece of currency which,
up to this time, has passed from hand to
hand as negotiable money, has been in
stantly transformed into personal check
on the United States government for 81 as
safe for transmission as any piece of ex-
change. This is enclosed in a letter TO the
person or firm desired and when received
is deposited with other checks, in the
i bank, or can be collected by the receiver
upon Identification at bank or postofice
Payment will be made at the payee's
postoffice in similar post-checks the blank
spaces of which have not been filled in.
while the used checks will be sent to the
treasury department to be redeemed with
new and clean issues of similar denomi-
nations. The bill contemplates that frac-
tlonal currency shall be provided for in
an issue of S50000,0O0 in post-checks in de-
nominations of five. ten, twenty-five and
fifty cents, the issue to take the place Of
an equal amount of outstanding currency
in denominations larger than $40. and is
not to affect the present metallic minor
circulation.
While it appears that much of the red
tape and many Of the annoyances of postal
money orders would be removed by the
plan proposed. there are no doubt objec-
lions TO the scheme outlined which will be
urged by experienced handlers of money
One objection which is apparent is that
a radical change in our system of circula-
ton is contemplated. Another objection
is that the number of notes in condition to
be written upon with pen might not al
ways be equal to the demand. Paper
money passing from hand TO hand does
not stay clean long. Clean notes would
be added constantly to the volume OF the
circulation, but there is no assurance that
such notes would get into the hands Of
those using the mails for transmitting
small sums until they had passed through
the hands of dozens of persons who would
use them as money.