The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-21
SILVER DOLLARS ARE RARELY SEEN Washington Takes Care of
 the Pennies CRISP PAPER USED No One Wants To Carry Silver Dollars and All Get Rrid
 of Them As Soon Alas
 Possible
RY WALTER HARPER

Washington, September 2o-(Special,)- Silver dollars are as scarce in Washing ton as s10o0 bills in Birmingham.
 There may be bushels of them in the big vaults of the government treasury but they are not in circulation
 I have a faint recollection of having one silver dollar after running the Pull man blockade on my way to Washington last June. It is impossible now to recall just what became of it or who took 1t from me without my having been arrested on suspicion. All I know is that that was the last silver dollar. that my eyes have rested upon.
 Now, l am not joking. l mean, liter ally, that l have not seen silver dollar in more than three months.
 There are other people in Washington who have probably not feasted their eyes on the silver. engraving of Liberty In just this shape for years.
 There was shower of silver dollars in Washington about a month ago, but only a few people became infested with them. They got into the unwilling hands of a few tradesmen who persuaded the banks to take them off their hands. The banks hurried the bulky pieces to the United States treasury, where they are still tarnishing unless they have been freighted away to some other parts of tie country where the people do not ob- ject to having a few bucks" dragging them down to the ground on the gee side
 But Washington will not have them.
 About a month ago the Southern rail- way brought it's pay car to Washington and raid off its employees in cash instead of in checks as had been the custom. This pay car carried few bushels of silver dollars and they got scattered over town in this way. The recipients hurried to their tradesmen and got rid of them as soon as possible. The trades people rushed them on to the banks and they were soon out of circulation.
 The cashier of one bank, when receiving P silver dollars from one merchant, re- marked that he had already received 50 pieces of this species of money follow ing the shower.
 The unit of value in Washington is the penny. The price of most everything is in odd cents. You buy one pound of sugar for cents. Two pounds for F
  on. The small housekeeper does not buy quarters worth of sugar. She must take 24 cents worth or some other pound unit.
 Tradesmen and customers soon lean to appreciate the value of the pennies here. In Birmingham you may take one or two pennies back in change for the children. Sometimes you do not bother, but there are so many little corners of finance ler he ba iliSt eynrt1X fills that you soon learn to hold them at their true value.
 WhenNyou buy plain wire hairpins you are not expected to get nickel's worth. A penny will get you a package with as many as any ordinary rat demands. If you buy more you are considered ex- travagant. The shopkeeper is just as careful to return every penny in change as if they were quarters or dimes.
 Newspapers are sold at l and pennies each except on Sunday. Everybody seems to read all the papers both morning and evening" There was an exception in this on the night Henry Beattie was convicted for the murder of his wife at Richmond. Beth the afternoon papers got out big extras just at supper time, and the news boys took advantage of the big story to charge a nickel for the papers. There was much vigorous protest. but the boys won out Taking the claims of the newspapers as true, and newspapers sometimes tell the truth, more than 1O0,- 00J papers were sold that night.
 But returning to the main subject. If you want change for ten spot bill in Washington you get a five, four one dol lar bils, half dollar, one quarter, two dimes and nickel or pennies if you want tiem. No tradesman is ever shy of pennies.
 You also see great deal of crisp, new money in Washington. If you get it at bank it is almost invariably as crisp as icing and as bright the face of a lrioe. The banks catch worn. torn and dirty currency and side track 1t to the government laundry, redemption bureau or the currency scrap heap. Bad money finds its way to Washington as surely as water finds the ocean.