The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-29
UNCLE SAM HAS MONEY ID BURN
Government Destroys Worn
 Out Bills In Quantity
PEOPLE WANT NEW NOTES
Treasurer Treat Says Large Amour. Destroyed Last Year, $64o, o,o00,- 900, lndicates-Nation Is En-
 toying Great Prosperity.
From the Washington Herald.

rroH the WaSnlngton Herald.
 "The redemption of worn out paper money is now averaging s1000,0O0 a day. During the last fiscal year the govern ment redeemed and destroyed the enor- nous total of $64O, ,oOO, 900, which is easily the largest amount redeemed in any sin- gle year. These figures show that there is great activity in business circles throughout the country"
 The foregoing statement was made re- gently by United States Treasurer Charles H. Treat. He says that one of the best barometers of the state of na- tional prosperity Is to be found in the daily report of the redemption division of the Treasury Department. When trade Is brisk through the country and people are buying and merchants are selling, the medium of circulation passes rapidly from hand to hand. When paper money, wornout and ragged by rough usage, finds It's way to the Treasury for re- demption 1t Is an unfailing sign that times are good.
 All past records have been broken in the redemption division during the last few months. The value of bills turned in to be exchanged for new ones has been running over s2,0OO,OOO a day for a long period. About six years ago the daily re- demptions were less than a million dol lars. The great volume of worn out bills are in denominations of s1 and s2. The activity of business is further shown by the frequent requests for redemption of $5 and s10 notes with new ones. Dur 4r,ar tI,e 1acf rt. In, lAA~ increase of 50 per cent in the total num- Der of S1 bills in circulation.
 People Fastidious as to Money.
 "The peaple of the United States" said a Treasury official, "are growing more fastidious every year In the matter of handling money. They have gradually become accustomed to fresh, crisp bank notes or Treasury certificates and do not care to handle soiled and dirty looking money, suggestive of microbes. The government has encouraged this ten dency to demand clean notes.
 "A big money factory is maintained here for the purpose of renewing the sup ply and it costs very little for banks to get it. The only charge for the xe- change Is 40 cents per s1000 for trans portation. The banks have learned that their customers like clean money and they do not hesitate to return crumpled and worn notes and demand new ones. It Is a rare thing for the department to send back these notes with a statement that they are still fit for circulation. The average wear of s1 Treasury cer- tifcate is fourteen months Formerly a note would stay out for three or four years. Roughly speaking, the body of the circulation is entirely renewed every two and a half years.''
 The business of redeeming paper money has grown to such proportions that the government recently found 1t necessary to improve it's machinery for destroying notes. For more than half a century pa- per money for redemption was destroyed by being cut fnsstwo by a giantblade operated by a strong-arm employe. Now the notes are mutiated, first, by an cleo trjcal punch which puts four holes in each bundle of stacked Up bills. Then they are further pushed under knife, also operated by electricity, which deftly cuts them longitudinaly through the mid dle. Between 600,000 and 1,200000 individ- ual notes are thus destroyed every day.
 What Is Legal Tender?
 q venture to say that not one banker in hundred and not single member of the Senate or House can tell you accu- rately what parts of the United States currency are legal tender and what are not legal tender,'' was the surprising statement of Treasury official Learned Senators who are devising a new currency system would have to re- sort to the laws in order to find out just exactly what is meant by this term.
 Gold certificates are not legal tender, but are receivable for customs, taxes, and all public debts. Silver certificates are not legal tender. Neither are re- ceivable, however, in payment of taxes. excises, public lands, and all other dues to the United States except duties on imports. Trade dollars and fractional currency are not legal tender. Fractional currency is receivable for postage and revenue stamps. and also in payment of any dues to the United States less than s5, except duties on imports. Foreign gold and silver coins are not legal ten der
 '"rhe following are legal tender in all that the term means: Gold coins of the United States, standard silver dollars, subsidiary silver coins, minor coin of copper, bronze. or -copper-nickel up to 25 cents United States notes or greenbacks, demand Treasury notes, Treasury notes of 1890, Columbian half dollars and Col- umbian quarters. Subsidiary silver coin, Including Columbian half dollars and quarters are legal up to $1O."
 Hiding Money in Stoves.
 Tt Is about time that the newspapers were printing the usual warning against hiding money in stoves and ranges" said F. w. Lantz chief of the redemption di- vision of the Treasury Summer is the time of year when women like to tuck away a roll of bills in the back part of a stove that has been put out of commis- sion for the summer. If cold day comes along a servant or the absent minded owner of the money is apt to start a fire in the stove and the money goes up in smoke.
 "We have more cases of burned money sent in for redemption than any other class when destruction Is alleged The total number of cases of this character reaches a surprising number, and I am now keeping track of them just to see how many persons are foolish enough to resort to this insecure method of hiding money.
 "The trick of depositing money in stoves is confined largely to the North and West. The people of the South pre- fer to bury their money. This probably is habit that was acquired during the days of the civil war. We get many bundles of moldy, routed paper money