The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-08-19
To REDEs|GN
PAPER MONEY
MAY REDUCE THE SIZE-SMALL,
CONVENIENT BILL WOULD AT
FORD NEW ECONOMY FOR
ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, d. c., Aug. V-
The order of Secretary of the Treas
ury Cortelyou, made shortly before
he quit Office, that the portrait of the
late President Cleveland replace the
portrait of Michael Hillegas, of
Pennsylvania, first treasurer of the
United States, on $40 bills, has eve
been carried out and this fact has
caused comment in Washington. A
suspicion arose that politics might
have led to the countermanding of
Cortelyou's order under the new adj
m~inistration, for it Is no secret nat
Roosevelt's last secretary of the
treasury was not at all popular with
President Taft because of his alleged
attempt to gobble southern delegates
to the Chicago convention, which
Taft wanted for himself.
But treasury officials say the Cor
telyou order to place Cleveland's por-
trait on the $40 bills was not held
up because of political considera-
tions. The failure to carry it out
under the Taft administration has
been due to the fact that Secretary
MacVeagh, Assistant Secretary Nor
ton and Director Ralph, of the bu-
reau of ~engraveing and printing have
under consideration a general scheme
for improving and systematizing the
designs of all the issues of paper
money. When this scheme has been
worked out it is said, Cleveland's
portrait may appear on one of the
new bills or Il series of them.
The treasury officials who have the
matter in hand are seeking sugges-
tions from the artists of the bureau
of engraving and printing and from
artists and experts outside the gov
eminent service. They have even
gone to Europe for new ideas by
which u issues of paper money may
be improved in appearance.
One of the suggestions under con
sideration is that the portraits of
former presidents or other noted Am
orleans be not restricted to a single
denomination or class of paper mon
ey. but that the same portrait or
design, such as the buffalo, be used
on all classes of bills of the same
denomination-silver certificates,
gold certificates. treasury notes and
SleeIDdChS- IHlS, IL Is III,
would help the public to avoid mis-
takes in the quick handling of cur
rency. If Cleveland's portrait, for
instance, appears on all $40, bills
that fact would it is thought, render
it less likely that a bill of that de-
nomination. whether gold certificate,
silver certificate, treasury note or
greenback, would be paid put or
taken by mistake for So or $40 or
81 bill.
Even a more radical change than
this has been suggested and some of
the treasury officials are inclined to
favor it. This is that the size of our
bills be reduced to about the size of
the French and Italian notes of
small denominations. These notes are
about three-fifths the size of ours
and are therefore more convenient to
handle and carry. By reducing the
size Of our notes a considerable saw
ing could be effected in the expense
OF getting them out, and this is a
consideration with the present adj
ministration, which has adopted a
policy of small economies in all the
departments with Il view TO bringing
the government expenses down to the
revenues and thus wiping out the
present deficit.
IN general it is the purpose of the
treasury officials to adopt new de-
signs for different denominations
and classes of paper money that are
simpler and nor artistic than the
present ones. 1t is the feeling of the
officials and of artists that the
present designs are altogether too
elaborate, with too much scroll work,
etc. More plain surface, they believe
would greatly improve the appear
ance of the bills.
It will be some time yet before the
plans for the new designs have been
worked out and adopted.