Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-09-02
REFORM IN CURRENCY
MacVeagh Wants Worlds Ma
tions to Adopt Uniform System.
SAME COLOR FOR SAME VALUE

Smaller Paper Bills. Alike In Tint and
Design, to Be Tried In United States.
Secretary of Treasury Wants an In
ternational Conference to Take UP
the Project.
Secretary of the Treasury Franklin
MacVeagh, now at his summer home
in Dublin, N H., has big scheme for
reformation of the currency. particu-
larly paper money. When he returns
to Washington he will make an effort
to have the representative financiers
and statesmen of other nations meet
and discuss for the first time a plan
for the uniform size, color and denom-
Lnation of the currency.
Money goes everywhere" said Sec
retary MacVeagh, as he sat at his
work in his study. "A nation is
known first by its currency. The
German. the Frenchman, the English
man, the Spaniard, even the poor saw
age, may know little of the United
States, but he may often see and han
die its money And he will judge by
its money to n great extent. Any one
merely looking at Il French note would
Immediately conclude that the French
are a highly artistic and civilized ma
ton. Glancing at five pound note
again. the observer may easily see
that the British nation is not in the
van of the artistic countries. for the
commonplace design gives her away
Immediately.
81 want America to follow the mod
el of France and give her best work
to her paper money, that the world
may know that we have artists, that
we know art. that we appreciate it
and that we value it.
Big Success In Philippines.
"Some time ago we got out some
new paper money for use in the Phil
ippine Islands The size was. as an
experiment. new one. 1t took about
three-quarters of an inch off the long
edge and about an inch and three
quarters off the short edge of the pres
ent bills. The success of the bills
was amazing. The natives were great
ly pleased, and the treasury depart
ment was unanimously complimented
by Americans, who found the bills su-
perior in vast degree to those in
present use in the mother country.
Reducing the size of the paper cur
rency means a saving for the United
States treasury. The present admins
tration is making an effort at iudicious
and justified economy. Economy is the
watchword in Washington. and | am
determined to see that there is no
waste in the department with which |
have been intrusted In my new
scheme / shall recommend new de-
signs-that is, the designs at present
on our bills are, of course, too large
and unwieldy for the more graceful
small bills. That means new designs
Uniform Bill Portraits.
"Then / want the portraits to be uni
form. Every note of a certain denomi-
nation shall have a certain portrait on
it, no matter whether the note is ma
tional or bank currency. Thus when
the portrait of Grover Cleveland-a
beautiful innovation of Mr. Cortelyou
is seen every one will instantly know
that the note is a ten dollar one. moth
Ing else.
"A certain color should also Indicate
the denomination of note. Thus
green might always Indicate to a per
son unable to read that the note is a
dollar note; red. a two dollar; blue, a
five dollar. and so on. whatever the
color might be. Another scheme we
are now using at Washington is to
launder the old bills that come in in
stead of destroying them as hitherto.
The laundry system will enable the
government to keep infinitely more
new bills in circulation and will make
the green rag a thing of the past
This is an advantage which scientists,
physicians, hygienists and thinking
people everywhere will recognize.
Uniform Currency.
above all. these changes and i'm.
provements am dreaming-and it will
not be long n dream-of having the
big men of the countries of the earth
meet in an international congress to
adopt for the benefit of humanity in
general new and uniform system of
money. This must at present extend
only to the size and color of the mon
ey. The various standards of money
make anything more seem merely Chi
merical
AT present we will begin with our
own country. Having shown the 9th
ers what we can do with uniform cur
rency, they will perhaps see the wis
dom of our plan and gladly consent to
intarna ~