Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-11-17
FOR CLEANER MONEY
Schemes Before Congress for Retir-
ing Soiled Bills.
SOiIed and Tattered Currency Con-
signed to the Maeerating Ma
chine and Reduced
to Pulp.

to Pulp.
Cleaner paper money, one OF the great
est needs OF outlying sections of the
country, especially in the west and
south, is the end toward which several
proposed projects Of legislation are d.
rected this session. Representative Wi
ley, of New Jersey, has introduced bill
prohibiting the reissue of paper curren-
cy when it has once returned to the
treasury. This is now the rule at the
Bank of England, and its example is
cited by Mr.. Wiley in the preamble of his
bill to prove that the scheme is practi-
cable, says the Boston Transcript.
Under the present plan the treasury
has, besides the usual paying and re-
ceiving tellers of bank, redemption and
asserting tellers. At the redemption
window any one can exchange soiled or
otherwise undesirable bills for fresh
ones. The asserting teller is responsible
for the sepa ration Of the bills which are
fit to go into circulation again from
those which are not. If pacEag OF bills
comes from an eastern city, perhaps one
half of it will be judged fit for reissue;
if from the south or west, 1t is very likely
the entire lot will have to be destroyed.
Five minutes watching Of the man
doing the actual sorting shows that no
bills are sent out again on their travels
to which the Ordinary customer in a
store, for instance, would think Of OBJ
jecting Yet they are rot perfectly fresh
and, prCsum2 bly,, after Das5 9 y e aver
age number of times from hard to hand
before coming back, will be trife dirt
Ter than if they had started out brand
new
The destruction Of the unfit currency
in the macerator is one of the thin es in
which visitors to Washington are always
interested, and little statuettes made
from the resulting pulp are among the
most popllar souvenirs. The result Of
putting all instead of only part Of the
paper money passed over the govern
ment's cG'''- RS into this beneficent ma
chine wolid be that perfectly clean bills
would be ecnt out where practically
clean bills ere to-day, and that large
amount of additional work would be
thrown upon the destroying apparatus
and upon the bureau of Ell craving and
printing, which must furnish the substi-
tute bills It is pointed out that the Bank
Of England's experience, dealing as it
does with no piece of paper OF less value
than a five pound note, is very different |
from the handling of our millions of one
and two dollar bills.
Another plan proposed for the "puri-
fication of the currency" is that OF Rep
resentative Gaines, OF Tennessee. 1t is
that the government transport free of
charge the sOiled or tattered bills which
banks or private citizens turn in for
redemption, and send back the fresh as
well, at its own expense. That would
mean, OF course, that the backwoods cit
izen, if he cared to take the trouble,
could keep the contents Of his pocket
book in just rs presentable condition as
the resident of sub-treasury city.
This Is not a new idea, as in past years
two appropriations have been made for
carrying United States notes for this
purpose. In 1882 the amount SO allowed
was $4,000, and in 1888, $4,000. Though
1t does not pay carriage, the government
still does something to encourage these
exchanges by registering without charge
parcels of money for redemption. 1t is
willing to do SO, at least, and makes the
offer in treasury department circulars,
sent out by the hundred thousand; but
few people are aware OF the fact. A
dozen or more letters containing bills
TOR redemption are received from pri-
vate individuals daily, and hardly one
,hird OF them are registered. 1t may
more readily grasp the opportunity to
'eceive transportation as we'll as regis
ry free
The fundamental difficulty OF the
alton in the world can affect the cur
ency which Is in the pockets of the
'eople of passing from hand to hand.
There are microbes in money, and there
5 money In microbes" as a newspaper 4
umorist has put it. But the treasury
mployes who handle the money sent for
exemption do not think their calling
angerous one. An officer who has been
Or IS years in the department says that
e does not recall a single case Of con-
agious disease contracted by handling
be soiled currency.
rhsy May sQuabble Among Thsm-
selves, But Are Warm Toward 9th
ers-A CurfOua Instance.