Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-10-25
Mysteries OF the Conscience Fund

Only Bazac himself could propcrlv
describe the Conscience Fund II. the
Treasury Department ut Washington.
1t consists, us most people know of
money which mas been stolen from
the government and afterward re.
stored to it. A government official
states that conservative estimate of
the number of contributions sent to
the fund since its beginning, less than
one hundred years ago. would place
them ut upward of five hundred thou
sand Think or it. Five hundred
thousand. and everyone of them an
evidence That tortured soul, rilleu
win remorsc. was seeking to quiet M
accusing conscience that. like tn.
wrecked and terror stricken kim
Claudius in Hamlet, they have fo6n,
that one may not be pardoned and ro
tain The offense. Nor can the sin
cerity of their restitution be question
ed, because in each case it is anony
nous. One gains no glory from it
therefore. only the knowledge that ho
has done right
The fist contribution which the
Conscious Fund ever received was
made in 1871. The second was six
teen years later. Since that time ne
year has passed without contrbu
tons. Indeed there has never beer
year since that at least one thou
sand dollars has not been sent t.
The treasury for the fund while il
some yeats the total has reached as
nigh as sixteen thousand dollars. Ac
cordng to the last report of the
Treasury Department, dated June 80
1906, the entire fund amounted tc
$39i ,05022. This has been turnef
into the general fund of the Govern
mont: but as the source or ever,
penny must h. properly accounted for
IL is classified as conscience O,
moneys received from persons un
known"
Returned Two Cents.
Such money mas been received iron,
every State and Territory in tn,
Union, and from almost every civilized
country The largest single contri
buticn-it was between eight and nine
thousand dollars-came from London
England: the smallest-two cents
from the city OF New York. Tn.
money had been appropriated in man,
oitierent ways; eYading the customs
laws, defrauding the post office. fail
IRE to pay the revenue tax, pilferini
in contracts. and dozens of others. II
each case. as has been stated. III,
contributions have been ANONYMOUS
The Treasury Department, therefore
IS unable to give proper receipt 70,
them Nevertheless. every effort IL
made to notify the domor--no matte
how small the amount-that the
money has been properly received
This is done through the great organi
cation of the Associated Press. Eacl
envelope in which contribution is
received is carefully scrutinized by
the authorities and the place whe.,
II was mailed is ascertained. Tht
Associated Press is then notified. ano
dispatches are sent to all the news
papers in the immediate vicinity OF
the post office where the letter was
posted. stating that the money has
reached its proper destination. Thu,
the donor, If he or she reads tho
newspapers. may know that thsii
atonement is complete, at least as fa,
as the government is concerned.
a study of the letters which nc
company the donations permits man,
odd glimpses of the strange complex
ties on human nature. One thing II
seems to prove conclusivaly: that is
that deep seated in every human
heart there is strongly intrenched the
desi.e to do what is right. None Of