The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-10
How American Money Goes Abroad
: By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN=

IN southern Italy, He had sent $50
from Buffalo, giving his wife 8 maiden
name, ond the name of her father, but
omlttlng to mention the fact that she
was married women, whereupon the
Italian postoffice refused to make pay
ment. 1t was explained to him that
although 1t was customary in Italy to
address married woman by her mai
den name, the husband s name must be
given before a money order could he
paid. He thereupon demanded that the
sou be turned over to him at once He
was going to Italy and would carry the
money in his pocket. After further
discussion, he was made TO understand
that the form of settlement suggested
was lmpracticable. With the bow of a
comic opera star, and elaborate com
pliments TO the young woman who won
his heart by talking to him in his ma
tive tongue, he expressed himself as
being satisfied, and invited the entire
office force to attend his show.
Another Italian sent 500 to his wife.
Francesca, in a small Italian city. The
postmaster who wrote the money order
for him wrote the name " Francesca, -
and his father received the money
Upon receipt of a letter from his wife,
the Italian demanded that the amount
be paid 10 her. Rome and Washington
we're soon in correspondence and the
Italian government is now trying to
force Francesca to disgorge.
In very rare instances the cause of
tangles in the international money or
der business is traced to the stupid
lty of Uncle Sam postal employees.
a Wyoming postmaster, formerly a
cow puncher had never heard Of many
~, I'm, NIB, ,ch 1n,f 4
by Italians and Hungarians residing
in his town. After trying vainly to
decipher a number of addresses on these
letters, he decided that they were no
good and kindled his fire with large
bunch Of them, For this piece of dense
ignorance he now wears convict stripes.
Many Greek immigrants adopt the
English equivalent for difficult Greek
names. The Greek name Vanayontis
means Peter, and Demetrius is Jim in
English For the sake of brevity and
understanding the Greek name Deme-
trius Nigropoulos becomes plain
".Gm Nig'' over here, the last part
resulting from retaining the first sylla-
BILE and discarding the rest of the name.
Oddly enough, uneducated Greeks also
translate and simplify the names of
their relatives at home Whenever a
HInHSS Ni'Ci 'hl'h''b i't beJuetIlu Us
Njgropoulous in the old country is ad-
dressed to Jim Mig it Of course
comes back to Washington, where it
is assigned to the ''bind readers of
the money order department. All cor.
respondence relative TO Russian money
orders is written in French The
Washington government at first OBJ
lected to using foreign language. but
when the st, Petersburg officials replied
that if the Americans used English
they would write back in Russian. Uncle
Sam was glad to compromise on French.
The money order business is swelling
so rapidly that the Third Assistant
Postmaster General has recommended
that building be erected 60 accommo-
date 1t. The great increase each year
in the volume Of money sent to the va.
rious countries by money orders docs
not by any means indicate that fer
eigners recently arrived in America are
sending all of their savings out of the
country The money orders to relatives
in the older countries, varying in
amounts from $500 down to a few dol
lars, merely represent savings made by
foreigners who have not become set
tied. or who have not learned that
money may be safely deposited in this
country, For instance, the remarkable
growth Of our money order business
with Italy means TO a certain extent
that Italians. aside from sending money
to their families at home, make heavy