Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-02-25
FOR CLEANER MONEY
Schemes Before Congress for Retir-
ing Soiled Bills.
SoiIed and Tattered Currency Com
signed to the MaceratinR Ma
chine and Reduced
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 di-
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 separation Of the bills which are
fit to go into circulation again from
those which are not. If q package of bills
comes from an eastern city, perhaps one
half of it will be judged fit for reissue;
if from the south or west, it 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
store, for instance, would think Of OBJ
jecting. Yet they are not perfectly fresh
and, presumably, after passing the aver
age number of times from hand to hand
before coming back, will be a tride dirt.
ier than if they had started out brand
new.
The destruction Of the unfit currency
in the maceratOr is one of the things in
which visitors to Washington are always
interested, and little statuettes made
from the resulting pulp are among the
most popular souvenirs. The result OF
putting all instead of only a part of the
paper money passed over the govern
ments counters into this benefcent ma
chine would be that perfectly clean bills
would be sent out where practically
clean bills are to-day, and that a large
amount of additional work would be
thrown upon the destroying apparatus
and upon the bureau Of engraving and
printing, which must furnish the substi-
tute bills. 1t 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-
fcation 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
we'll, at it's own expense. That would
mean, OF course, that the backwOOds cit
zen, If he cared to take the trouble,
could keep the contents of his pocket
book in just as presentable condition as
the resident of sub-treasury city.
This is not 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 $50, 900, and in 1883, s4S, 900. 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
Wiling to do So at least, and makes the
)ffer in treasury department circulars,
sent out by the hundred thousand; but
ew people are aware of the fact
lOZen or more letters containing bills
or redemption are received from pri-
Iate individuals daily, and hardly one
bird of them are registered 1t may
,e wondered whether the public will
more readily grasp the opportunity to
eceive transportation as we'll as regis
ry free.
The fundamental difficulty of the
Whole situation is that not all the legis-
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
umOrist has put it. But the treasury
mplOyes who handle the money sent for
exemption do not think their calling a
angerOus one. An officer who has been
)r 35 years in the department says that
e does not recall single case of con-
agious disease contracted by handling
le soiled currency
IOSPITAL ENDOWED BY TOTS {