Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-03-11
SENATORIAL
GRATING
UNMASKED
How Little Thieves Are Punished
and Big Thieves Are Protect
ed With Appropriations

Oped Ihe Iact that ABOUT 81 per cent
expressed themselves in favor of post
check currency. The larger part OF
the remaining 90 per cent. asked for
further information and only very
small percentage offered any opposi-
tion.
The plan provides that in the future
all one, two and FIVE dollar bills shall
be printed with blank spaces on the
face. No change is to be made in the
financial policy in any way 1t simply
involves change in the plates from
which the bills are printed. The new
bills would entirely replace the pres
ent one, two and five dollar bills. A
farmer, perhaps, desires to send two
dollars TO his country merchant either
to pay a bill or to buy groceries or for
any reason whatsoever. He would not
be required 20 make the journey to
town to personally deliver the money.
/ or If he desir, d to send IL away he
would not be obliged to travel to the
postoifice to secure a money order but
would simply take a two dollar bill
from his pocketbook, write in the name
Of payee aud address, sign his own
name ms sender afiix two-cent POST.
age stamp,and cancel it with a pen, en-.
close it in an envelop, and the Job
would be done. The receiver could de.
posit this in his bank, or send it TO
the postoiiice for redemption. The bill
would then go TO the treasury and
new printed bill be issued in it's place
and the old one destroyed. This plan
would solve the problem of clean
money by the continual reissue of bills
And the reader will please bear in
mind that every one Of these pieces of
money that is written upon and used
ms check win yield the government
two cents, for twocent postage
stamp will be placed upon each note
and cancelled with the pen of the
sender Thus Uncle Sam will be actu.
ally paid profit for rcprinting the
bills and furnishing the people with
clean money. Now please notice and
contrast the proposed condition of
thrift and economy with the present
nncicnt, unthrifty and tremendously 4,
expensive management of affairs bv
the postolicc and treasury departments.
The annual report Of the treasurer Of |
the United States for June 30, 1904, !
says;
with allowance for every item of |
expense attending the making and is.
suing aud redemption of this paper cur.
rcucy, AN elaborate Investigation upon
the experience Of the fiscal year 1908,
shows the average cost for each piece
to ho something less than cents. ex.
actly l7OO5 cents"
II is "a notorious fact that the bu
reau of engraving and printing, whore
the money is made, still us the most
primitive form Of hand presses aud
machinery, because the influence Of the
labor unions has prevented the intro.
ductiou OF steam presses and cconomi.
cal methods. II is estimated that M
least one half Of the present cxpendi-
ture Is absolutely thrown away. aud !
that under proper conditions the bills
could be printed for littlo over
three fourths OF cont piece, and
that pricc is considered very high by
printing experts. Under modern meth,
ods il the hill cost as much as a, Of
a cent each aud the government rc.
ceives 2 vents each for reissue it would
show profit Of IA cents each. The
total number of one, two aud i've dol
lar hills is iSS,ai6.67S; therefore when
all the hills will have been reissued
ouly once, the total profit ou the on.
tire. issue will be $s.ssa. .Ss097 and the
people be supplied with convenient aud
clean money, But the United States
treasurer Roberts one of Senator
Platt's men, SAYS il would cause him
"too much trouble 20 rearrangc his Of
hco and routine work. DO YOU begin
Go see how wcll the plans are laid and
how Plaits express interests are
guarded by the government oaieialsi
Perhaps, when these facts are made
Known 80 the President, no influence
Of senator Plstts win avail 20 prevent
him from hnding a capable man viii
ling 20 SO 10 some "troublc" 70 save
this amount of money for the people
aad fursish them with the needed con,
venlcnces.
Now look at the cost TO the gov,
cEnmcnt Of the present moucy.Order
service, aneient aud clumsy as Il Is
devised by a man whose relatives %. u
'eFsd pFoht from the manufacture Of