The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-09-10

alone. The saving in the cost of paper
would be almost $4,000, and the de-
crease in the cost of plate printing
would amount to almost $270,0OO.
These, with a possible reduction of the
force in the redemption division of the
treasurer's office, due to the smaller
number of notes redeemed because OF
the longer life of the smaller notes,
represent the chief items in this esti-
mate of $612,000.
1.-The temporary reduction of force,
so far as it concerns the personnel of
the treasury department, may be dis
regarded, / think, for we have already
instituted, in adopting other new pro-
| cesses. the policy of filing vacancies
/ from the inside instead of the outside,
| The disturbance of our forces would
be very slight, and all employees drop
ped would be taken care Of quickly
| If not at the start. 1t must be borne
in mind that the business of the gov
eminent is growing all the time, and
| that hundreds of vacancies occur In
the treasury department every year
and we can usually avoid personal
| hardship in the case of employees VINO
are displaced by re-employing our oWr
force as vacancies occur instead Of
taking i'm outsiders. We have followed
this policy in the recent installation
of labor saving methods in the bureau
of engraving and printing and Other
branches of the treasury, and it ha:
worked well.
| Would BE Popular.
ION the popular side, am inclined
to think the change would cause littl
| IL any inconvenience and would quick
ly be commended by the people. Tn
smaller notes could be carried fiat and
being preserved in that shape, woult
not wear from folding and would b
more readily handled by cashiers, tell
lers, and clerks. We have CAREFUL
experimental with clerks and tell
ers in the city of Washington an
, learn that the smaller notes do no
tend to cramp the hands of person
, manipulating them, as do the presen
notes, and that they are just as easil
; handled and counted as the old notes
The smaller notes could be more close
| | ly packed on the counters of the bank
and, in fact, banks as we'll as sub
treasures probably could store rs pc
: cent more of the new than Of the oil
notes in their vaults.
1T will not be necessary to chang
) the dimensions of cash drawers, till
compartments, ETC., which now hol
t the present size of money as they vii
hold also currency of the size Pre-
; posed. This would not be true, (
E | course, if the suggestions were to er
large the size of tho notes.
The only objection to adoptir
! smaller notes which seems to me
4 special Importance is that for SON
= time two sizes of paper money wou
a be in use and bank tellers and IL
business public would be correspond
ingly Inconvenience. / think, how
ever, that this objection could
largely if not almost wholly overcon
by preparing in advance enough of IL
new notes so that they would be e.
| changed for old notes on a fixed da
at all sub treasures, banks, and 9th
.. large financial institutions. Prepar;
ton for the change, including Il
making Of designs and plates and Il
= printing of notes, probably would r
quire about eighteen months, al
within that time, no doubt, enouj
new notes could be printed to ma
possible an almost complete chang
:, The people themselves would aid til
: change naturally and rapidly in the
desire to secure specimens of the ne
money. | am convinced that the cri
icisms of the proposed issue are bas
rather upon considerations Of ter
q porary inconvenience than upon esse
- tial and insurmountable objection
, If this Is the case, these objectio
>. should hardly be permitted to sta
~ in the way of permanent progre
~ and economy.
= No Special Legislation Needed.
h, mo special legislation is necessa
ct to enable the government to redu
ID the size of United States notes a
to gold and silver certificates. In ord
lie however, to effect a reduction in
Of size of national bank currency wit
Id out legislation, and at the same til
le continue the present multiplicity
n. designs, it would be necessary to ELI
m mate the 10000 plates now in use a
We to engrave as many more. This COZ
MT be done, / presume, only by the &C
c. ernment's assumption of the exper
tn of the new plates. and as each plt
ed costs SIS, the total cost of the new 81
of les would reach about 100000.
lg, would be quite possible, however,
c., use the same uniform engraved pla
ar for all bank notes, and to print la