Bisbee daily review., 1909-12-08
ERRORS COST MUCH
LARGE SUMS WASTED BY VARi.
Gus GOVERNMENTS.
Sss One MisspeIled Word 100000
United States Telegraph Blanks
Were Destroyed-KaiSer Viii
helms Editorial Work.

Enormous sums of money are fro
quently expended by various govern
ments to rectify errors, often appar-
emily trivial, in government printing.
The United States, some years ago,
destroyed 10000 telegraph forms
owing to the missDelling of a single
word.
In 1883 several hundred thousand
greenbacks were cancelled before IS
sue owing to the same cause. An en-
ploye was convicted for attempting to
steal some of these worthless notes.
with the intention OF selling them to
collectors.
The Austrian government is so in
tolerant of mistakes that 1t cancels
documents. not only on the ground OF
serious mistakes or misspelling, but
even as the result of a misshapen let
ter. The use of a small instead OF a
capital ''B" in the word "Briefe" led q
, short time ago to the destruction of
$4,000 forms issued to the various
post Offices.
In 1850 an Austrian designer of bank
notes signed his name in tiny letters
at the foot of a drawing The en-
| graver copied the name. ard before
the mistake was discovered 10000
notes were printed. al OF which had
20 be burned.
Before the union Of Italy, more than
one attempt was secretly made &c
turn official papers and notes to prop
| agandist uses. \ custom house regu-
lation form so spaced by the compos-
itor that the initial words in every
| line, if read consecuively, were a de-
| cIaration against the papal claim TO
govern Rome
In another case the spacing of
| words in certain bank notes was so ar
ranged that by drawing a pencil line
! in a particular way a rude outline of
the arms of Savoy resulted. These
notes, of course. neyes saw the light,
the device being too obvious to escape
detection
In 1901 a Spanish engraver was
heard Boosting that he had signed
his name" on every one of the 10000
bank notes Just about to be issued.
When called on and asked for an ex-
PLANTATION. he declared that he had
been joking.
But an examination OF the notes
showed that certain letters in one line
! were raised q microscopical distance
above those next to them.
These raised letters spelled the en-
ploye's name. Seven hundred and
| fifty dollars was the price paid by the
authorities for their engravers' joke.
The kaiser's persistent interference
in all matters of art has cost the ia
| therland heavy losses in cancelled
printed matter One of his first acts
as sovereign was to show his subordi-
| mates how the imperial arms should be
printed
After many thousand forms and doc
uments had been impressed with
these arms an antiquary Of high au-
| thority proved to his majesty that the
new design was not only wrong, but
also huniliating to himself. r Seven
thousand FIVE hundred dollars worth
of papers were promptly reduced to
ashes.
In another case the kaiser Sub
eOiteo the herman money order form
In such way that the public could
not make head or tail of It. Finally
the new form had to be called in and
thousands OF gnissued copies de-
stroyed.
Fifteen thousand pounds worth of
postal orders had to be DESTROYED bv
the British general post Office some
time ago owing to the poundage
stamped on the face having been ID
stead of I'D. as It should haze been
The estimated loss to the country was
$500
France has been a bad sufferer. In
1858 more than twenty thousand hun.
dred-franc credit notes were printed
with a wo-s s-Siy misspened. the err
rcr not Being noticed until some OF
The notes had been issued to banks.--