The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-05

cles separated. Then slIilful fingers &C
cuStomed to the work separated each
piece and in two hours the entire six five.
dollar bills had been pieced together and
were ready to be sent UP stairs to the
United States treasury for redemption.
Mr.. Allies, assistant secretary Of the
treasury, says that the occurrence was
anything but a novel one for the govern
ment. The task Of the department ex-
lertS IN this case in separating the bills
was comparatively easy one and not
to be compared with others which 1he
department has had to handle. But a
few weeks ago a case parallel in nearly
every particular with that of the Iowa.
case was presented to- the department.
A Michigan tax collector. who had little
faith in banks, stored something like $500
IL a tin can for safe keeping over night
and placed the can under his house. IT
appears that the house was elevated so
that the family goat was able to walk
under 1t. The next morning, Just as the
tax collector started to crawl under the
house and bring out the money owed to
the county, he saw his goat emerging
from under it slowly chewing on the
remnant Of new tWenty-dollar bill
The excited collector caught the goat and
forced the portion of the bill from his
mouth. This was the largest piece found.
The collector was poor man, and was
faced with the necessity of making good
the amount of funds due his county. He
Killed the goat, secured the contents of
the stomach made the necessary aft
dSvits as to the circumstances, sent the
matter on to Washington and within ten
days had bright, new, crisp bills for the
entire amount.
The regulations of the department re-
quire that at least three-fifths of a bill
shall be recovered before the government
VIII pay for the mutilated bill. Each
mutilated bill is carefully pasted on a
backing of paper the size Of the complete
Dill. The expert has a piece of glass of
the exact size of the bill This glass is
divided into forty squares. When planad
over the BILL if the expert can find that
the remnants Of the bin fill twenty-four
or the squares, or three-fifths of all of
them, the bill will be redeemed.
A case within the last three weask came
from a farmer Of st. Clair county, Mo
who While STOPPING over to feed his bogs
dropped his purse inside the pens. An
hour later, when he missed his purse. he
found the leather receptacle inside the
pen, but nothing Of is contents. There
was a Strengthening, which it had been his
intention not TO have until several DAYS
later. What resenbled TIE remains of
the money was found and sent on to
Washington. Three hundred dollars was
returned to the Missouri farmer.
1t IS now the custom of he denartment
10 return mutIated money found by anV
person to the finder if it is reasonably
certain tho case is a bona flde find This
was not the case formerly Two negroes
who found $3.50 in bills torn into small
bits on the lake front at Chicago six
years ago turned it into the sub-strea s1rv
at Chicago for redemption. confessins
that they had found the amount. It
was forwarded to Washington, but the
ruling OF the department was that if
could only he redeemed when one estab
llshed possession Of it.
The finders got nothing. More recentIy
TWO negroes found several hundred dol
lars near the Meramec Heights hotel NOT
far from ST. Louis. They turned fbe
money over to the St Louis sub-treasiIrv
ard it was sent to WASHINGTON rhe
money was sent back from there with
the instruction that the department held
that unless some one came forward ana
established beyond question PROPRIETOR
ship in the money it had been the custom
10 give 1t to the finder. This was the find
which was connected by some with a son.
Satlonal assault which occurred mean, the
resort where the money was found.
Burned money is the hardest for the
government experts to work on with the
exception Of the money which has bean
EnaWed by mice. Saturday afternoon
there came into the department a cigar
box full OF money which had been sent
from Philadelphia with the necessary
alhdavit showing that it had been inside
OF a poorly constructed safe and had been
burned TO the condition in which ID was
forwarded. Evidently Yith the idea that
the original package ought not to be
broken, the sender Enclosed the charred