Mohave County miner., 1907-11-30
Money Lost or Hidden Away.

Money and bonds, "lost, strayed or stolen" in the financial operations of the United States make an interesting chapter in our history. The quantities of money or it's equivalent in paper that have been uncalled for or un- claimed amount to so enormous a sum that it cannot be closely estimated. It is in the custody of the government, though it may not be truly cassed as a public asset. Except possibly in some cases, where enough was known about dormant obligations to make it safe to enter upon legal public apppo- priation of such funds, there are values awaiting legal claimants that date back in the lifetimes. It could doubt less be ascertained from the records of the treasury department how many dollars in United States notes, con- mOnly called greenbacks, have been issued through several decades, but any estimate of the quantity of ths paper money that has been lost in great fires, or misfortune at sea, or in many other ways has condignly dsap- peared must involve a great deal of guesswork.
 It is plain enough though, that many fortunes in greenbacks, even estimated at present views as to what is wealth, are beyond recall. The greenbacks are as good money as there is. They are redeemable by the government; but, they having been directly issued on the public taxing power, nobody is likely to want the specie for them, un less spectators should again be in a position to compel the government to issue bonds to get gold for redemption purposes. That was the game" dur ing the silver excitement, but the ac- tual redemption of the paper was com paratively small. The government is responsible, but there will be "green- backs" which the people will look upon as equal to gold, dollar for dollar, VIII oi'iO oidii pC pdiolCu.
 The treasury gets an irregular but large profit from the failure of bond holders to present their valuable paper for redemption. In 1861 unclaimed money amounted to nearly million dollars. It must be much more now. Of a loan which fell due in 1890 the sum of 32,000$ remains unclaimed. There is still unpaid nearly 1OO,OOO$ of the per cent bonds which were due in 1904. More than 100, O,OOO,O of 3O- year per cent bonds became due on the first of July of this year, and there were special inducements to secure early redemption, but the treasury de- partment is still harboring about 12,- GOO, ,O00$ of them, and on them no in- terest is paid.
 Why has so much value been ne- glected? Losses by fire or other dis aster cannot reasonably account for all of it or possibly not even for a consid- erable part of it. How many of these bonds may have apparently lapsed, merely through the ignorance of busi- ness methods among the stock hold CTS? Some of these valuable holdings may have ultimately fallen into the hands of men and women who did not comprehend their worth, and through the succession of generations allowed them to be carried away in rubbish heaps. This will doubtless be hooted widely as far-fetched theory, but it has at least some support from many well-established incidents of almost hopeless entanglement of real estate titles. Nearly every old community knows of well-authenticated instances. Cincinnati Enquirer.