The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-08-02
SAVING AlNLAItDMoN.Y
OF sKILLFUL WORK IN
THAT LINE
GOATS FOND OF GREENBAcKs
Hardest Task Presented by Money
e That Has Been NibbIed by
II Mfce-Chnrred Bills
49, Difficult

! = AAAASC-SHaTTSu hlllS
! Difficult,
| The receipt on Friday OF the fragments
Of SIX fiVe-dollar bills, which had passed
through the stomach of an Iowa goat
and We're offered atsthe treasury Depart
! ment for redempticn, has revived inter-
!. est In that division of the department.
Which. concerns itself with the redemption
| OF mutilated money, says the ST. Leuis-
! Globe-Democrat The bills We're the
| property of Charles j. Allen, a farmer
living at Ogden, 10. The affidavit which
accompanied the mass of pulp gave the
circumstances under which the bills pass
| ed into the stomach Of the goat
1t appears that Mr. Allen became warm
While doing some manual labor and re-
moved his coat and vest and placed them
on a renee The articles of wearing APP
parel fell from their resting place to the
ground and an in9uishtive goat happened
along and nosed the six tive-dollar bills
out of the pocket. No one saw him eat
the bills, but when Mr.. Allen replaced his
coat and vest he found they had disap-
peared. A companion wagered that the
goat had eaten the bills, and it was
agreed that if Mr.. Allen did not find them
In the goats stomach after it was killed
the price Of the. goat would be forthcom-
ing. The goat was killed and the bills
We're found in a little lump in the
stomach. When received at the treas,
ury department two days ago the mass
had hardened into a little dark brown
lump that resembled anything but money
The experts took the mass in hand and
soaked the whole until the minute parti-
cres separated. Then skilful fingers ac-
customed to the work separated each
piece and in two hours the entire six tive. ri
dollar bills had been pieced together and
were ready to be sent up stairs to the
united States treasury for redemCtior
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 depa rtment ex-
perts In this case in separating the bills
was q comparatively easy one, and not
to be compared with others which ,he
department has had to handle But a.
re" weeks ago a case parallel IL nearly
every particular with that of the Iowa
case was presented to the department.
Michigan tax collector. who had little
faith IN banks, stored something like $500
Ill tin can for safe keeping over night
and placed the can under his house 1t
appears What the house was elevated, so.
that the family goat was able TO walk
under it. 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 a 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 affi-.
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 bill.
shall be recovered before the government
Will pay for the mutilated BILL Each,
mutilated bill is carefully pasted on n.
backing Of paper theGsize ofzthe cann5,,ete
+ Dill. sThe expert has. q piece of glass OF
the exact size of the bill This glass is
divided into forty, squares. When placed
over the bill, If the expert can find that
the remnants of the bill fill twenty-fomr
of the squares. or three f1fths of all Of
them, the bill will be redeemed.
A case within the last three weesk came.
from farmer Of St. Clair county, Mo-.
who While STOPPING over to feed his hogs;
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 slaughtering, which it had been his
intention not to have until several DAYS
later. What resembled tie remains Of
the money was found and sent on to
Washington. Three hundred dollars was
returned to the Missouri farmer.
It is now the custom of the department.
to return mutilated money found by any
person to the finder If it is reasonably
certain the case is bona-f1 de 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 sly
oaI .fy,k@
at Chicago for redemption, confessins
that they had found the amount. 1t
was forwarded to Washington but the
ruling of the department was that it
could only be redeemed when one estab-
lished possession of it.
the finders got nothing. More recently
two negroes found several hundred doll
lars near the Meramec Heights hotel. not
Tar from st. Louis. They turned the
money over to the St. Louis sub-treasury
and it was sent to Washington The
money was sent back from there with
the instruction that the department held
that unless some one came forward and
established beyond question proprietor
ship IN the money it had been the custom
to give 1t to the finder. This was the find
which Was connected by some with a SEN
sational assault which occurred near the
resort where the money was found.
Burned money is the hardest for the
exception Of the. money which has BEEN
|. gnaued by mice. Saturday afternoon
there came into the department CIGAR
box full OF money which had been sent
from Philadelphia with the necessary
afhdavit showing that 1t had been inside.
OF poorly constructed safe and had BEEN
burned to the condition in which It was.
forwarded. Evidently with the idea that
the original package ought NOT to be-
broken. the sender inclosed the eharres
pieces with some silver coins which had
also been badly burned in the same safe.
During the passage Of the money
through the mails the heavy silver was:
there was hardly a piece left big enough
Each of the pieces looked as though.
taken from CRATE into which papers had
been thrust Mrs. Brown, who is I'M
charge Of the experts who handle The
nutilated money, all Of whom are women,
did not despair, although she deplored tho
th0ughtfulness which had allowed silver
and charred paper to be packed together
She called two Of her assistants and the
three, by the aid of magn1fying glasses,
soon brought out four $50 bills and With
IN an hour recommended that they be re-
deemed by the treasurer
The mice-chewed bills make puzzles fer
the exEerts which can only be solved
with infinite patience and care. Each OF
the pieces is carefully laid out on hard.
fiat surface and then with the assistance
of strong glasses magntfied 50 It can Ee
Placed m a proper position In relation
to all Of tie others. The experts have a.
scGnv of every hill which has q ger been.