The Mena weekly star., 1910-02-24
WANT CLEAN NOTES
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE OBJECT TO
 HANDLING DIRTY MONEY.
Consequently Uncle Sam Is Kept Busy Destroying Old and Making New BiIIs--6arometer of
 country's Prosperity.

"The redemption of wornout paper money is now averaging $2,00O. 900 A day. During the fiscal year just closed the government redeemed and de- stroyed the enormous total of s64O.. 000,000. which is easily the largest amount redeemed in any single year. These figures show that there is great activity in business circles through. Jut 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 rapid. ly from hand to hand When paper money, worn and ragged by rough usage, finds it's 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 S2,000,000 a day for long period. About six years ago the daily redemptions were less than s1,006,0O0 The great volume of worn. out bills now being presented are in denominations of $1 and s2. The ac. tivity of business Is further shown by the frequent requests for the ex. change of s5 and $l0 notes for ones. During the past six years there has been an increase of 50 per cent. in the total number of $1 bills in circulation.
 ''The people of the United States. 4 eaid 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.
 "A big money factory is maintained here for the purpose of renewing the supply, and 1t costs very little for banks to get it. The only charge in. volved in the exchange is 40 cents per S1, ,000 for transportation. The banks have learned that their customers like clean money, and they do not hesl. tate 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 a $1 treasury certificate is IA months Formerly a note would stay out for three or four years. Roughly speaking. the body of the circulation is entirely renewed every PIE years"
 The business or redeeming paper money has grown to such proportions that the government recently found fl necessary to improve it's machinery 1 tor destroying notes. For more than half century paper money for re. demption was destroyed by being cut ln two by giant steel blade operat. ed by strong-armed employe. 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 a knife also operated by electricity, which deftly cuts them longitudinally through the middle. Between soc. .0e0 and 100000 individual notes gre thus | destroyed every day