The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-10
AMERICAN MONEY
 POURING ABROAD
S79,000,000 Above Receipts
 Will Go This Year
IMMIGRANTS SEND 1T HOME
Government Encounters Many Prob lens In Handling Money Orders of Ignorant Foreigners Who
 Make Many Mistakes.
BY FREDERIC HAsKIN.

BY FREDERIC HASklN.
 While the steamship companies are pouring stream of immigrants into the United States, the foreigners already here are pouring an ever increasing stream of American dollars inte the old world, The vast sums that go abroad from the United States tell the story of the thrift of new ly arrived foreigners In a land of plenty, and mark the margin between what work ing men can earn here and what these from other countries can live upon. At present the federal government, through 7534 international money order offices, does direct money order business with flfty-seven foreign countries,
 Each week these offices are sending abroad, in excess of receipts, more than s1,50o,00 In other words American del- lars are crossing the ocean at such a rate that within the year 1907 the older countries will get from the United States more than S7S,00o,00O in money or- ders over and above the amounts sent to this country through tho same channel The increase In the amounts sent annual 1y to the various foreign countries has been so great during the last five years that to estimate what the grand total will amount to in the next ten years staggers the imagination.
 In the fiscal year 190o-1901 Austria re- ceiyed from the United States in the form of money orders payable in that country 6, 5,S19 crowns. in 19o5-1s06 that country received 28.2O7, 493 crowns, an increase of 3O9 per cent. Hungary, in the year first mentioned, received 476S,77S crowns, and in the year last mentioned, 2s,954,5s5 crowns, an increase of 526 per cent. Italy received 7,7O3, 42s francs as against 6,e7b,- 96s, an increase of 72s per cent. Japan received s734,OO0 as against s2,s5ss0o, an increase of 2s6 per cent.
 The bulk of the money sent to foreign countries in money orders represent the savings made by immigrants during the first few years of their residence in this and begin to invest their excess earnings here. During last December fifty extra clerks were employed in New York to handle the Christmas money orders sent to foreign countries. and 1t was not until month after Christmas that normal conditions were restored in the money order department of the postoffice. For the month the number of money orders was more than twice the average num- Der for the eleven preceding months.
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 The lnguists employed in the postoffice department at Washington encounter no tn c,th- mitted to them when money orders go astray, or cannot be paid, because of errors in address. For long time end less confusion arose from the refusal of Croattans to address their money orders to Hungarian cities. Croatia was as- signed to the Kingdom of Austria some time ago. but natives of the province dis like to be called Hungarians and decline to send their home" letters anywhere but to Austria. Each of the governments went through a great deal of red tape to secure the delivery of these letters until the Austro- Hungarian government final ly decided that 1t was not Uncle Sam 8 duty to spend time and money taking care of mail which Croatian patriots misdirected, and made an arrangement by which such mistakes are corrected at the other end of the line.
 A money order from southern Euro peari country was recently directed to a woman with three unpronounceable names at Hillsdale. Ky. In due time 1t found it's way to Washington with the information that the woman addressed did not reside in Hillsdale. The letter was held until 1t was found that 1t was intended for Hillsdale. Ore, just outside of Portland. A F'renchman in Washington, D. O.. re- gently received money order addressed to him in Washington, U. s. A" As there are thirty-seven Washingtons in the United States he was compelled to wait until the money order came back from Europe with the ID. C." attached.
 Russian living in Washington re- gently sent to his wife in Russia money order for thirty-four rubles. After a time he appeared at the postoffice de- partment fairly foaming with rage. His wife had informed him that the amount of money delivered to her was three rubles and ninety y-eisht kopecs. less than the amount he had sent He firmly be- lieved that some employee in the Wash
  bles and ninety eight kopecs and felt no delicaey about making the charge. His English was worse than the little Rus sian at the command of the best lngust in the office, but after an hour or so he was convinced that If he had been robbed the United States would reimburse him. The matter was taken up with the Czar' s government and traced down to small village in the interior of Russia, where it was found that the woman had re- ceipted for the full amount. She had written the letter to her husband in the hope of squeezing few more rubles out of him, having no idea that the letter would involve two great powers in cor respondence and put them both to con- siderable expehse.
 An Italian tight-rope walker performing in this country, rushed into the money order department in Washington and de- olared that he had been defrauded. Ho had been told that he could send money directly to his wife in southern Italy. He had sent $50 from Buffalo, giving his wife's maiden name, and the name of her father, but emitting to mention the fact that she was a married woman, whereupon the Italian postoffice refused to make payment. It was explained to him that although it was customary in Italy to address q married woman by her maiden name the husbands name must be given before money order could be paid He thereupon demanded that the