The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-05-02
WAR TIME GET RICH.
QUICK SCHEME

~SsSN SSss.U".
Il paid IS the other day for a shin
claster of a face value OF 15 cents"
said an old-time printer, according to
the New York Sun, which was one Of
an issue Of war time small
change currency out of which, IL ! had
AN inkling Of present day financial
ability and q corresponding genius for
applying 1t, I might have accumulated
a comfortable wad. This particular
relic and reminder Of those days of
small currency scarcity had In some
way come into the possession OF q col
lector of odds and ends of similar GU
riosisies. accidentally came face to
face with 1t, and as I recognized 1t as
one among thousands of others ! had
myself printed nearly so years ago,
with the possibility Of its being or
that l had put into circulation myself,
l did not hesitate to a the collectors
price for 1t.
'In 1862 I was working In a weekly
newspaper Office In a Pennsylvania coal
region village. Twas a youngster OF II.
Besides myself. the office force was the
editor, who was no a practical printer.
and an apprentice boy. The small
change famine had begun to be felt In
that town early In the fall. The place
was Of considerable business impor-
lance on account Of the coal trade. and
as the scarcity OF currency Increased
h situation became a matter of deep
concern to every one, II I may except
the printing office in which ] worked.
During the three months I had
worked there I had received 81 In cash,
in sums ranging from Cd to 4s, that
being the style of denominating small
money in those days in that locality.
To be sure. l had traded out orders on
a grocery for crackers and cheese. on
q restaurant for oysters. on a bakery
for pie and cake, on a tavern for one
weeks board, So; On a clothier's for a
linen buster and q 10-cent straw hat.
had advertised with us, but these did
not relieve my financial embarrass-
ment.
The small change famine came to
such a serious condition that business
men had to do something to relieve the
stress. Postage stamps were the only
things that could be depended on in
the way of small currency, but they
had a fatal drawback to efficiency
owing to their disposition to stick to-
gether, so that while a person might
have a dollar in postage stamps the
available value Of 1t as a circulating
medium would not be more than 8
cents; m as far as postage stamps at
forded any relief to me personally they
were nil, for to get postage stamps to
circulate one had to a money to put
Gown for 'em. So business men began
10 issue individual notes in denomina-
lions of s, 10, % and SO cents, redeema-
BILE in bank notes when presented to
he makers in sums of SIS or over.
Several Of the prominent local busi-
ness men had their notes printed at our
office. l did the work myself, There
were 10 notes Of each denomination
made up in a form for the press and
printed on one sheet. The impressions
were delivered in that way to tina per-
antRs np..sv. Ah~ - A.
size OF their order for sheets and were
cut off by the makers as they wanted
them for use. AS these shinplasters were
issued In large numbers and the sign
ing of them would nave been an ar
duous task, the signatures of the maxi
crs were engraved In facsimile and
printed with the notes. The notes were
printed or bank note paper, some In
green ink, some in blue. some in red,
according to the choice Of h person
issuing them. ! set up the type for the
shinplaSters n printed them on the
old hand press. They were as good as
gold in that place and it's vicinity, and
relieved the financial distress wonder
fully, except as 1t affected that printing
office as a printing office.
Il had been instructed by the editor
that after printing an order for shin
plasters, all of the forms being kept
standing, ] was to lock the forms in a
closet, which / did. j had no instruc-
tons though not to unlock the closet
and take them out again, and / could
see no reason WHY ! shouldn't be enjoy
ing luxurious times as well as any one
else. So one evening l took a form Of
notes out of the closet, put 1t on the
press, pulled off a sheet, and had 50 in
just as good money for that bailiwick
and adjacent ountry as the United
States government could have issued
TO me.
Il made no undue display Of my
wealth, but I think that the improve
ment in my financial affairs was no.
iced, and II the editor had heard Of 1t
l believe he could have gone out and
got some credit somewhere, for the
people thought he was paying cash. I
continued to a issue of funds to
myself in this way as circumstances
prompted. II / a a little short OF
money I took out the form of notes that
was handiest n simply pulled off a
rev sheets. Then / was heeled again.
IF ! had been q real financier I
might have left that town with a bun
die simply by presenting o and then
SIS worth or so OF shinplasters to their
makers and getting bank notes for
them. But I didn't think Of that. and
although two months passed before the
issuing Of those individual shinplasters
became no longer q necessity, ! was
soon in such financial straits again that
| was obliged to find my way out Of
town on a canal boat, dire misfortune
having overtaken that printing office"