The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-04-23
LEGAL TENDER is DocToRED
So That With 1t Jack May Pay Jill
and No One Other Without Jack
ReneWs lt-Novel Post Currency
Plan Presented by Senator McMiI-
Ian in the Senate.

bills presented by Mr.. Mcmillan in
the senate and Mr.. Gardner of Mich
igan in the house, their purpose, &C
cording to their title, being ITO pre-
vent robbing the mail, to provide a
safer and easier method of sending
money by mail and to increase the
postal revenues"
The bills are Identical Involved
in them is a project to create a pos
tai currency. The system is not orig
inal with the senator or the repre-
sentative from Michigan but was de-
vised and patented by a private citi-
zen, who offers 1t to the government
Tree of all costs. His aim has been
to provide for the preparation of pa
per money, especially the smaller
bills, so that it can be safely trans
mitUed through the mails without dan
ger of being stolen. The Idea is to
provide currency which, when util-
lied as postal currency, will be avail
able only by the person for whom in
tended
The bill begins with a provision
that all paper money hereafter issued
by the United States of the denomi-
nations of one dollar, two dollars and
five dollars-except national bank
notes shall be of the form known as
the post check, to be convertible by
the holder into a check to a named
payee, if desired. 1t is designed to
do this by providing that on each bill
there shall be an appropriate Llank
space in which the holder may write
his name and post office address and
the name and post office address of
the payee, and also a space wherein
the payee, upon payment thereof may
write his own name as a receipt, and
also space wherein postage
stamp may be affixed This currency
shall also contain in plain letters on
it's face the. words post check" and
the words before sending through
the mails write name and address of
sender and payee in designated
blanks" and the space for the post
age stamp Shall contain the words"
riace here a cent stamp and cancel
with the initials of sender in ink be-
fore filling blanks, under penalty of
rs For the clause making such cur
rency payble to bearer shall be sub
stituted a clause making it payable
to bearer if said spaces be not filled,
otherwise the payee named thereon.
For some reason there is in the
bill a provision that if any person
shall fill or partly fill any space in
tended for a name or address with
out first affiXing and cancelling a 2
cent stamp, such person shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction shall be fined not
more than $25.
Any post check when transformed
by the addition of stamp and writ
ing in of the names and presented
by the payee or the sender, shall be
eXchangeable at any money order of
flee for current funds, The postmas-
ter is required to Immediately perfor-
ate and cancel the check. after which
the check shall be no longer valid
for circulation, and the postmaster
shall forward the same to the deposit
tory designated for his office and
shall receive credit therefor as for
any other money deposits These
cancelled check notes are to be for
warded Immediately by the deposit
tories to the treasury department for
exchange, as in the case of other cur
rency unfit for circulation.
Any post check when transformed
as provided and presented by the
payee or the sender named thereon,
shall be redeemed by the United
States treasurer or assistant treasur-
ers in like manner as if the spaces
were not filled out. If the post check
becomes mutilated or unfit for circu-
lation, it may be exchanged for a new
post check of like denomination
1t is the idea of the author of this
scheme that the bills shall pass cur
rent just as all other bills before they
are transformed into post checks. In
other words, the blank spaces upon
the bills do not change their charac-
ter as currency. They do not differ
at all from existing bills except when
it is the desire of the holder to send
them through the mails.
Then by the filing in of the names
and the addition of a cent stamp
the bill has ceased to exist as cur
rency and has been transformed into
a check on the United States govern
ment, having all the safety of any
bank check. The payee on the re-
ceipt of the check indorses it exactly
as he would any other check, cashes
it at the nearest bank or postoffice or
deposits it to his credit. When the
paid check reaches the treasury de-
partment it is destroyed and a new
bill OF similar character is issued in
its place. This keeps the circulation
uniform. There is no change what
ever in the financial policy or cur
rency system of the country outside