Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

whose face had been added an extra
cipher cut from two other ten-dollar
bank notes. $50 in all having thus been
pasted together to make 800 Moreover.
the two notes from which the ciphers
had been cut were also sent in for re-
demption, and these are being held as
the most damaging evidence against the
offender.
a similar but more skillful device was
employed some years back by none less
than one of the trusted woman experts
employed to detect such very frauds.
She would take home with her of even
ings ten of the worn and ragged notes
sent in-for redemption and would cut and
tear nine of them to pieces, which. when
pasted together. would make ten ragged
bills sufficiently complete to pass mus
ter These she would pass down the line
next morning. but she would keep the
tenth note, which she had left untouched.
She worked with bills of high denomina-
tions, and it was detected that within
three days she thus appropriated $40.
A peddler from up in Pennsylvania who
came into the redemption bureau some
time ago with pill box filled with scraps
of paper money told a pitiful tale of
gaining in speculation $4,000. which, in
the form Of greenhacks. he had secreted
beneath his springhouse floor. But when
the other day he had gone to find them.
10 and behold! he had been Mortified to
discover that rats had devoured them,
leaving only what he had brought with
him. The scraps were spread on glass
plates by the woman experts and found
to be corners OF twenty-five one thousand
dollar notes; but the fact that the rats
had had such a voracious preference for
centers alone and such a pronounced dis
like for corners aroused suspicion. and the
Treasury refused to make good the pre-
tended loss. 1t was evident that the fell
low had pinched of small corners Of the
notes mentioned and had then passed the
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treating others received in exchange.
Rats!
Quite different method was employed
by man who wrote that he was sending
the mutilated remains Of a large sum by
express and his package was received
empty. His scheme was to have the
Treasury make claim against the express
company for the full amount but he got
frightened and let the matter drop.
At another time the department received
on the same day the halves Of the same
note from different parts OF the country,
and accompanying each was an elaborate
statement as to how the other half had
been destroyed. Although 1t was evident
that one. If not both, had intended to de-
fraud, the department paid the full face
value to the man who appeared to have
the stronger case and left 1t to the other
to fight the matter out In the courts
should he see fit.
Some recent bona fide redemption cases
have contributed not a little to the gayety
of Treasury history. One Walsh, a Ia
borer. paid $40 for some work at Man
kato, Mimi, lately had it changed into
two twenty-dollar notes and then put out
for Minneapolis. but wishing to econo-
mize decided to walk the seventy-five
miles. Being afraid that he might be
robbed on the way, he placed bill in
each shoe. but at the end Of the two
days tramp was Mortified to discover that
his hard-earned cash had been worn to
shreds One of the bills was successfully
patched together and accepted by a
bank, but the other had to be redeemed