The Washington herald., 1912-07-07


II has been decided that the paper
money is too big. A dollar bill to-day
is more than three inches wide. and a
little over eight and one-quarter inches
long. 1t is to be cut down to six by two
and one-half inches. The Treasury thinks
that this reduced currency will be vastly
more convenient to handle
In addition, II will s4ve a good deal
Of expense. The saving on paper alone
(for 24o, 900 notes issued per annum)
will amount to $1,000 There will be an
increased output of at least twenty-five
per cent for a given amount Of labor at
the Bureau Of Engraving. where all the
paper money is printed This gain. car
ried through all the processes Of print
ing, examining. counting. drying. num-
boring, &C.. will IN itself represent more
than 10000 a year.
Tho notes being smaller. less engrav-
ing will be required for the plates from
which they are printed. Less ink will be
used-an item much more important than
one might imagine. Taking other items
Into account. 1t Is reckoned that the to-
tai saving to the government by reduc-
ing the size Of paper currency will be
$751;. 800 per annum.
A dollar bill of the new size is ex-
pected to have a much longer life" than
one Of the pattern now In use. Requr-
ing one less fold. in order TO be slowed
away conveniently In the pocket or peck
etbook. It will last at least one-third
longer IN circulation, according to the
estimate OF the treasury experts. Con-
sequently there will be fewer notes to
be redeemed as unfit for furthr use.
and the force OF the redemption division
at Washington can be cut down suffi-
GENTLY to save $4,000 a year IN salaries.
When it Is considered that 1t costs the
government one cent to print a paper
dollar and put II into circulation. the
Importance Of prolonging its life" be-
comes manifest. Fortunately, the treas
ury has had an opportunity to make
some advance tests, as they might be
termed, of the small size money. All
OF the paper currency OF the Philippines
(Which has replaced the old Spanish
notes. has been printed at the Bureau
Of Engraving. 1t Is Of exactly the size
now proposed for our own greenbacks
and certifcates-that Is to say. six by
two and a half inches. Up to date It
has proved exceedingly satisfactory in
all respects
The new paper money is small enough
to be carried fat E.. without folding
in a pocketbook OF very moderate size.
II will be much more easily handled.
Experiments made with bank clerks and
telIers in Washington recently have
shown that the small notes do not
cramp the fingers as do the old ones.
And they have the additional advantage
that banks can store In their vaults .
per cent more of them within a given
space.
The only objection TO the new departure
seems to be that for some time there
will be two sizes Of paper money in
circulation. But this difficulty Is to be
obviated as far as possible by preparing
in advance great quantities Of the small
notes, which on a fixed date will be
changed for the big ones at subtreasuries,
banks. and other large financial institu-
tons all over the country.
Incidentally. II is planned to reduce the
nineteen designs on the currency now IN
use to nine. using the same portrait on
one denomination throughout Thus the
81 bill. whether Treasury note. bank note,
or certificate. will bear the head Of
Washington in the center OF its face Its
holder will know the denomination with
out looking at the numbers on It.
Cashiers Of banks, and others who han
die money. will be enabled thereby to
detect counterfeits more readily. For
nothing is so hard to counterfeit as
portrait. the engraver OF which cannot
reproduce his own work with exactness.
The slightest variation alters the express
sion of the face; and money-handlers get
faces in their memories.
For the backs OF the notes and certif-
Gates more artistic designs are wanted,
and these, for use on new paper money,
will be solicited from the best artists, in
At present the designs are
not only inferior in an artistic sense, but
confused. For example, on the IS national
bank note a portrait OF Benjamin Harrt-
son is used: on its reverse is picture
Of the Landing OF the Pilgrims. What
connection or association of ideas there
can be between the Pilgrims and Mr..
Harrison is not apparent. On other pieces
of money are Indian chiefs, a frontiers
man protecting his family with an ak.
and other such pictorial freaks OF no
significance.
When Mr.. Taft became President OF
the United States. an engraving from
one OF his photographs (chosen for the
purpose by himself was made for use
on paper money. Eventually 1t will be
thus employed. but not until after his
death, because 1t is against the rules
to print the portrait Of any living man
on our currency. In earlier days there
was no such restriction, and one finds
that in the days of the civil war the
likeness of several men thus appeared
for example, that of Gen. Spinner. on
the 5O-cent and other fractional notes.
II somebody other than Mr.. Taft be-
comes President next March, a similar
engravd portrait will likwise be made OF
him at the Bureau of Engraving. and
will be added to the collection Of such
likenesses available for future use,
among which Is numbered. of course,
that Of Mr.. Roosevelt. All OF them, from
George Washington to the present occu-
pant Of the White House. are repre-
scented by prints in a large frame in
the corridor OF the bureau. An expert
of the highest skill makes them, spend
ing from six to eight weeks on each
picture.
plemented by sections of "geometrical
lathe" work never used but kept on
hand as stock" IL would be easily
possible for the Bureau of Engraving to
supply notes of entirely new designs
within a few hours. II they were or
dered In the morning. they could be
printed before closing hours, at $50
o'clock
1t is a fact worth mentioning Incl
dentally that, whereas monarchias usual
~ have portraits of their. sovereigns
on their metal money. 1t has been
deemed best hitherto not to present the
likenesscs OF our Presidents this being
a republic) in a similar way. On tha.s &C.
count Washington was the only Presi-
dent to whom such an honor was given.
his head appearing on l-cent piece
which was in circulation only for a short
time. But recently Mr.. Roosevelt upset
the rule by putting Abraham Lincoln on
the copper penny.
Our own country Is at present giving
lessons &c all the world In the business
of making paper money. and the nations
IF Europa are Initiating rs recoSniZinC