Evening star., 1914-10-11
Growing Popularity of Bank
Notes as Medium of Ex-
change and Barter.
CHANGE is INDICATED
BY TREASURY RECORDS
Demand for Clean Currency il
Washington and Other Cities.
Old Bills Not Wanted.

>
place to the almighty paper dollar. The
growing popularity of paper currency
as a medium of exchange and barter
throughout the south and other Sec
tions where silver was formerly mas
ter money is shown by Treasury rec
ords. And the day may come when sill
yer will be the money only of the sill
yer mining regions and of the channels
of trade which lead to and from the
mine.
The monthly pay day Is largely
matter of history in factory, shop,
store and office and wherever a wage
Garner labors. The weekly and BIZ
weekly distribution of wages has fast
come into fashion in the business
world; where even the daily pay en-
velope is growing in Importance Gov
ernment officials and clerks. who get
theirs monthly and semi-monthly. rail-
way clerks and officials and officials of
big corporations are still in the old
rut, with perhaps a few others whose
earnings are called salaries.
These are two of many confidential
reasons given to account for a tremen-
dous increase in the demand in recent
years made upon the government to re-
deem paper currency. calling upon it
to give new for old money.
Assignment Of Reasons.
Among contributing reasons are:
Growth in the volume of paper cur
| rency in circulation has not corre-
sponded to the growth of national
population. This has also caused the
more rapid circulation of all paper
money. especially notes Of smaller de-
nomination.
Tendency toward the use Of notes of
| small denominations is shown in the
disproportionately increased demand.
Business activity is growing, faster
than the growth of money circulation
to meet Its increased necessities.
There is an increased necessity put
| good condition an increasing-even II
| inadeQuately increasing-volume OF
outstanding notes, which are circulat-
| ing more rapidly and put back into cir
| culation more often. to meet increased
demand for circulation.
Sanitary reasons, too, loom into the
situation. For there has been a lot of
| talk about the perils to health from
| disease germs billeted in soiled money.
This has made a consequent demand
| for clean money.
Annual Output.
There is something under 1oo, o,o00, ,oo0
l
nomination sent from the bureau OF
engraving and printing in the course OF
year to the United States treasurer
to go into circulation and meet de-
mands for redemption Eighty-two mil
lions OF these pieces are one-dollar
| notes, ten millions are two-dollar
notes. leaving 100000 pieces to rep
resent notes of larger denomination put
into circulation.
In fHA
put of the money factory. the bureau
of engraving and printing, was nearly
doubled. This ratio is not decreasing.
Redemption money. as offered for re-
States or at the subtreasuries, is most
ly in bad shape. Particularly are the
one and two dollar bills in unfit con-
dition, for they circulate faster and
pass to insanitary ownership more
often in the course of their peregrina-
tions.
The public of Washington, the Ma
tional Capital and center of its money
making activities. is more exacting
| than anywhere else in the nation The
government, in efforts to make a paper
dollar go farther-in circulation-tried
to get the Washington public to use
over again the money 1t wanted re-
deemed, but the banks wouldn't have it,
because they knew the people wouldn't
have it, and the government submitted
and handed out the green goods fresh
from the press and never before used
Washington wants and will have only
new money.
Standards Elsewhere.
The standard of paper currency fit for
circulation is high in Boston. Sanitary
propaganda and the general tone Of
business man and public demand clean
and practically new notes. But the
government, sorting out the filter
notes from those offered for redemp-
tion, manages to work select paper
currency over again on this center OF
culture and f1nicism.
New York city, the great money mart
Of the nation. has about the same
standard of At money Bankers and
business men generally are making ef-
forts to obtain new and clean notes.
One million dollars a day is offered for
redemption. AS the subtreasury has
only time to take in this money and
pass out new. there is no sorting out
of nearly At money to pass back into
business channels in the metropolis
The standard of fitness or redeema-
bility of notes seems practically what
it has been for several years. Several
factors enter into this Standardization,