Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-29
PENNIES OBTAINING DIGNITY

Is Butte going to be One-cent town? There are some indications that Butte is drifting that way, and there are some business men of Butte who prophecy that within q year the cop per penny will be in general circula- tion In the city of Butte.
 It wasn't so many years ago that the two-bit piece was the smallest coin that circulated in this neck of the woods, and Butte got along very pros perously as a town in which there was no circulation medium of a less de nomination than 25 cents. Gradually nickels and dimes came into circula- tion, and now there is a strong possi- bility that before long the copper cents will be jingling in the pockets of Butte's citizens and will be given over the counters of Butte business houses 1n change.
 What makes this innovation proba- ble is the fact that several of Butte's business houses in the past year or two have inaugurated the scheme of selling goods with an "odd'' price that is to say. they have inaugurated the 98 and 4S cent method of catch, ing trade from those who look close at a bargain. Now when one of these Butte houses sells a certain article for 49 cents, and receives half dollar in payment for it, the house does not give the customer a copper cent, but instead gives the customer little en- velope, which on being opened is found to contain a common ] cent postage stamp. in case 2 cents in change is coming to the customer an envelope containing cent postage stamp, and so on. So far as known no business house has yet inaugurated the plan of giving pennies, yet it Is manifestly more convenient to handle pennies than to handle the postage stamps.
 Another indication that the pennies are soon to be here is found in the fact that pennies are more and more frequently rendered at the post office in exchange for postage stamps. Prob ably the customers know that the gov ernment cannot refuse to accept any coin of the realm, even though it be of copper while it would be a diffi- cult matter to have the coppers ac- cepted anywhere else. It is the GUS tom of the post office, too. when it has any of these coppers on hand to give them out in change, instead of giving an odd l cent stamp, when necessary to make the requisite change.
 The banks of the city frequently get the copper pennies in |. one way Suu AuOtuSls UuC IL lieiS hOl DCSA JuCll policy to ever give out pennies in change. The banks now, as always. throw off the odd cent or the odd two cents. and charge up as five cents the odd three or four cents. When pennies get into the bank they are placed in the vault and allowed to accummu- late. If the banks of Butte put into circulation all the copper pennies they have accumulated there would be oP ,Se, ;,, Butte, without the necessity of the importation of a carload or two of them.
 Every visitor to Butte from the East and almost every Butte man return Ing from trip east, br1nga back one or more copper pennies and these add to the total of cOppers now on hand in the city ready to be put Into active circulation as soon as some merchant advertises that he will give pennies out in change at his store.
 There will be general regret when the copper cent gains it's foothoId in Butte, but 1t Is bound to come, and when here it can never be eradicated. But 1t Is bound to come. It Is more persistent that the Russian thistle. The copper penny has nearly com pleted the conquest of the great west. From Chicago 1t travelled to Omaha and St Paul. Firmly intlenched in St Paul as basis of opera tions, 1t has been slowly but surely conquaring it's way toward Montana It flooded west Srn Montana and then pemetrated the Dakotas. Information i1 that 1t has eained a footing in eaetsrn Montana and can be 1een occasicnAlly n f4r Into Montana as Billings and Livinks- ton. Furthermore, the copper penny 3Umpe0 from tho east CtQn1 to the Eeetern eoeSt towns. Thue Ges 6rnAll le1ain1 tesxftory fn Wht< 4l1 &oppAf IT nun uAbn0Wp IT t16nf m ' 1llll S3ei