Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1909-12-20
WANT CLEAN NOTES
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE OBJECT TO
HANDLING DIRTY MONEY.
Consequently Uncle Sam Is Kept Busy
Destroying Old and Making
New BiIIs-sarometer Of
Country's Prosperity.

1
"The redemption of wornout paper
money is now averaging $2.000,00O a
day. During the fiscal year just closed
| the government redeemed and de-
stroyed the enormous total of $780,
100000, which is easily the largest
amount redeemed in any single year.
These figures show that there is great
activity in business circles through
out the country"
The foregoing statement was made
by United States Treasurer Treat. He
says that one of the best barometers
of the state of national prosperity is
to be found in the daily reports of the
redemption division of the treasury
department. When trade is brisk
| throughout the country and people are
| buying and merchants are selling, the
medium of circulation passes rapids
ly from hand to hand When paper
money, worn and ragged by rough
usage, finds its way to the treasury
for redemption, it is an unfailing sign
that times are good.
All records have been broken in the
redemption division during the past
few months. The value of bills turned
in to be exchanged for new ones has
been running over $2,OOO,000 a day for
a long period. About six years ago
the daily redemptions were less than
$1,000,000. The great volume of worn
out bills now being presented are in
denominations of 81 and 50. The ac-
tivity of business is further shown by
change of SIS and $40 notes for ones.
During the past six years there has
been an increase of so per cent In the
total number of 81 bills in circulation.
1.-THE people of the United States
said a treasury official, are growing
more fastidious every year in the mat
ter of handling money. They have
gradually become accustomed to
fresh, crisp bank notes or treasury
certificates. and don't care to handle |
soiled and dirty looking money, sug
gestive of microbes. The government |
has encouraged this tendency to de-
mand clean notes.
ga big money factory Is maintained
here for the purpose of renewing the |
supply, and it costs very little for
banks to get it. The only charge in /
volved in the exchange is 40 cents per |
$1,000 for transportation. The. banks |
have learned that their customers like |
clean money, and they do not hest
tate to return crumpled and worn /
notes and demand new ones. Jt,is
rare thing for the department to lend !
back these notes with a ST. -
Inat they are yestf nc TOT crr4
The average wear of a 81 trea1 "a |
certificate is IA months. Formerly q |
note would stay out for three or four |
years. Roughly speaking, the body of |
the circulation is entirely renewed |
every 21z years"
The business of redeeming paper |
money has grown to such proportions
that the government recently found 1t |
necessary to improve its machinery |
for destroying notes. For more than
half a century paper money for re- |
demption was destroyed by being cut |
in two by a giant steel blade operat-
ed by strong armed employee. Now /
the notes are mutilated, first by an /
electric punch, which puts four holes /
in each bundle of stacked up bills. |
Then they are pushed Under knife, |
also operated by electricity, which /
deftly cuts them longitudinally |
through the middle. Between 500, 1000
and 100000 individual notes are thus
destroyed every day.