Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-12-18

UNCLAIMED FORTUNES.

UNCLAIMED FORTUNES.
Lots of Them In the United States
Treasury.
The treasury Of the United States,
next to the English court Of chancery,
Is probably the most extensive deposit
ory Of unclaimed wealth in the world.
The secretary Of the treasury has In
his possession In cash alone over $1,-
O00, 900, and there are many other mil
lions in his custody in the form Of
bonds and other securities that seem to
have no owners.
Maybe you have some old papers left
behind by miserly uncle or an eccen-
trio aunt. II 80. It might be worth
your time to look them over and find
out II by chance they include documen-
tary evidence Of claim for one Of the
snug little fortunes which now lie In
the treasury payable on demand In
gold or treasury notes to their proper
owners. Should you come across any
thing of the kind 1t will be readily rec
ognizable, because 1t viii be In the
shape of an expired bond.
Somewhere, in just such situations
one here, two or three there and
package Of them in another place a lot
Of bonds Of this description are lying
about, mislaid or hidden. They have
ceased to draw interest because the
terms for which they ran have expired,
but, as promises to pay by Uncle Sam,
they are as good as ever for their lace
value. More than $160,000 worth OF
them date back to 1885 and earlier.
The total is $1,256,s20-surely big
sum to be withheld from the pockets OF
persons who are rightfully entitled to
the money. or course, when bonds are
called in at the end Of their interest,"
bearing term, 1t Is expected that the
holders will send them to the treasury.
through the banks or otherwise, and re-
ceive their face value in cash. So they
do, but not always. People sometimes
hide their bonds and then die, or other
accidents happen, and, as result, the
documents never turn up. II they are
not found they remain unpaid and the
government is just 80 much in pocket.
Every now and then, however, q few OF
such expired bonds are discovered IN
some odd corner or hiding place and ara
sent In for redemption. They are just
as good as ever and nothing is lost ex-
cept the interest on the money.
There seems never to have been q
loan issued by the United States that
has not had a hangover balance OF
this kind. Sometimes 1t has been very
small, as In the case Of the loan OF
1882, which was all paid of but $500.
and the loan Of 1858, which shows only
one 800 bond missing.
On the other hand, the Largest out
standing claims Of this nature against
the government are for the 6-2o notes
of 1862 equivalent to .honds), which;
exhibit on the account Of books OF the
treasury an unpaid balance Of 32ls,7So.
What, in goodness's name, can have
become Of all of those $50 interest,"
bearing notes? .saiasE ~
Nearly all United States bonds now
adays are registered and track OF their
ownership is kept in such a way that IL
is hardly possible for one Of them to re-
main unpaid. OF the bonded debt OF
the nation at the present time about
5000, 100000 is held by private indiyid-
uaIs, and of this sum something like
500, 600, 900 is owned by 1000 persons,
approximately. II one could obtain q
list of these fortunate 1000 rich men 1t
would be worth great deal Of money,
but the treasury keeps their names
most carefully secret.
A ledger account Is kept Of all hold
ers Of registered bonds, and, as these
holders buy or sell, they are credited
or debited, as the case may be, just as
In the business of a merchant who
keeps tab on his customers. It requires
seventy -eight large ledgers, each con-
tanning over 100 pages, to contain the
accounts Of the owners Of the per cent
loan of 1897 alone. Yet 30 expert is
the bookkeeping that all Of these books
are kept by one clerk, who, in addition,
prepares the bonds for transfer and
reckons up the interest to be paid to
each holder each quarter. Inasmuch as
the holdings are constantly changing
the interest due frequently alters IN
amount.
The most luxurious Of all occupa-
tions is supposed to be the clipping OF
coupons for government bonds-an en-
ployment commonly attributed to the
envied multimillionaire. AS a matter
of fact, however, rich men do not both
er with coupon bonds; they prefer to
have them registered, inasmuch as they
are much safer and equally negotiable.
| If you lose bond anybody can convert
| 1t into cash as easily as II 1t were
treasury note. A registered bond, on
the other hand, is non-legottabie ex-
cept by it's proper owner ard II lost or
stolen will be promptly replaced by the
treasury. For generations past the
Vanderbilts have been large holders OF
| time Of his death, owned $4S,ob0,00o
worth Of 4 per cents. One OF his quar-
terly interest checks, Cancelled, for
| $3.50, 500, Is exhibited today as curios.
| ity at the treasury. He got one like II
every three months from Washington.
The interest on his personal loan to
Uncle Sam amounted to $5,265.76 ev.
cry day. For every hour Of the day ana
night the treasury paid him $219.4O.
He drew 1886 for every minute, or a
little more than six cents second,
| throughout the year. The registered
bonds held ten years ago by Cornelius
and w. K. Vanderbilt ran up to thirty
L a. dollara