The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Turning Into Pulp
Once Valuable PAPER
Sold to Lewis F. Hopfennaier, Who Dis
poses of Them and Gives Strict Account

There seemed to be the greatest care
exercised and yet to all fntents and pur-
poses it was but succession of dirty
bags lull of waste paper the men we're
carrying. First, far up at the top of
the great stone postoff1ce department
building men were dragging the bags to-
ward the freight elevator
A neatly dressed, prosperous-appear-
ing Government official watched the
bags with neyer-oeasing vigilance. Each
bag was tightly sealed in his presence
and weighed carefully. He saw that
each was deposited in the elevator.
Below on the street level there were
more porters TO pull and haul and drag
the bags toward the large closed van
waiting outside, but hers again was a
Government official who checked off
each bag as it made its appearance and
watched until it had been placed In the
van.
Watched Every Moment.
Th ~ the door to the van was locked
and rae Government representative
pocketed the key Not content with this
he walked slowly down the stpeet with
his eye constantly on the closed van.
Through the crowded streets of the
yards he watched the progress of the
van until eventually it drew up beside
the platform of a freight depot and
across this another Government official
watched the bags being transferred.
van load after van load each under
the same espionage, was received and
the forty-tor car was filed from floor
10 roof Then three Government ron
resepfatiyes assembled at the car door
af1: with eagnity enough to indicate that
'f,if DUTY was no ordinary one. they
soieI'nly watched the ordinary car seaJ
appiied ana then brought forth a special
lock or their own which further fastened
the door Then in joint custody they
CARED the Key of the lock to the Treas
ury department, where they each re-
ceived receipt showing that II had
been delivered
Bags of Money Orders.
fouS slrInise that the paper in the
oass was Government money is not cor
Inc bags contained naught but
waste paper, and forty-eight hours later
me contents of the three box cars filed
.iifs week IN Washington We're ground
W pup In the great macerating machine
.. d michigan paper mill. while acids
VI. INTO the mass and removed the
slshtest trace of ink or other impress
SONS on the paper.
mere We're more than a hundred
tons OF this paper in the three cars.
iney were the Cancelled money orders of
t. years 1897 and 1898. and uhiIa ,ba.-
included something like 3o.O0o.0oo sena-
rate pieces and at one time renresentea
value of nearly 81, 600 e00. COO. thew urer.
EalilelPSS in no no
person when hauled in the bags 10 the
freight cars.
No One Trusted.
Just thsre is the point The Govern
ment praslmes upon the honesty of no
man when ordinary or even ~extraortii-
nary safeguards can make If nossfhIe
for 1t not TO do so. Not only were the
original money orders issued during the
twenty-four months of the two yes,rs
rnt ntioned included in the bags. but The
srlb books from the different postoffices
in the United States. from which the
orie'Gses orders We're torn were included.
arf- II. = Ecnt into the maceratinp ma
chimes.
The Possibilities for a quick and sure
fortune e5.r a man skilled with a pen
and the Use of a mild acid in those
original money orders and the postal
advices in connection with them are be-
Jond power TO estimate The Govern
ment meets this possibility by appoint
ing a committee of its own officials.
who have charge of the handling of the
money orders to be destroyed and are
responsible for them Jointly with the
contractor who buys them by the pound
as waste paper.
The safeguards placed about the cars
do not cease here for the key to the
locks on the cars are sent to Michigan
TO the postmaster of the town where
the paper mill is located. Members of
the committee of officials go on from
this city and. in company with the
postmaster. who, as is well known is
a bonded official of the Government. go
to the side tracks and unlock the cars
They watch the bags as carefully there
as they did here, and are not content
until they see ti-sir contents dumped into
the macerating machines and ground and
cut into pulp. The law requires that
all money orders shall be kept as q rec
ord for eight years and then destroyed.
Hopfenmaier's Good Character.
To the minds of Government officials
mere, the greatest safeguard winch the
Government has is IN the character of
the waste-paper purchaser. Lewis F.
Hopfenmaier. He is a man who. for
a number of years, has played a most
important part in the handling of the
Government waste paper. and in buy
ing in all the secondhand material and
supplies which the Government con
dennis and places on sale
Hopfenmaier offers a good character
study He is short and stout, with
round. jOvial, gnod -natured face. adorn-
ed with d iisnt and flowing mustacIle.
He has ., pair of wonderfully shrewd
and twinkling gray eyes, whose light is
wonderfully kind and cheerful ordinari-
ly, but which can narrow down almost
10 points in their sockets when he Is
aroused and believes an effort is being
made to impose on him.
Eoes Little Things Well.
Jiopfenmaier ia monument TO the
habit Of doing little things and doing
~ To no