El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-01-09

the most popular methods Of
getting rid Of money.
From the little town of Tango, in
West Virginia. there came to the treas
ury department, only the other day, a
large candy bucket filled with very
ordinary looking ashes. Accompanying
it was letter that gave a curious ex-
PLANTATION
A woman resident of Tango, it ap-
pears, had hidden the sum of $3.50, the
same being paper money in a pillow
ON her bed The house took fire, and.
her first thought being for her savings,
she ran to get the pillow. But in her
haste and panic she took the wrong pill
Iowa fact that was not ascertalned
until too late.
Grabs Wrong Pillow.
The house, which was of frame con-
struction, burned to the ground, and
nothing further was done for two
months. Then neighbOr suggested to
the woman that the remains of her
money must be somewhere among the
ashes of her dwelling, and that, If she
would take the trouble to collect the
debris. the treasury at Washington
might identify the remains Of the cash
and make good her loss. Accepting the
idea, she gathered up all the fine ashes
she could find. packed them in a candy
Unfortunately, however, the govern
ment experts, although they tried their
best, could not discover in the mess
particle of anything that looked in the
least like money.
More picturesque was the recent case
of a badly burned pOcketbOOk, sent to
the treasury by the Great Falls Ma
tional bank (Montana), with an expla-
nation from the effect that it had been
taken frOrl the pocket of a customer
who was struck by lightning while
driving over the prairie. 1t had con-
tanned about $780, but only few
charred fragments Of notes remained,
and all that was recognizable was 4 $40
bank note, two IS notes, and a 81 silver
certificate. Of the last there was only
a corner less than an inch square, but
when an affidavit was furnished, 1t
was redeemed in full.
1t used to be the fashion to hide the
family savings in the tea caddy,
cracked teapot, a dictionary, Bible, an
old stocking, or an old shoe, all such
receptacles being deemed rObber proof
but such methods of concealment are
now out of date apparently, the stove
being the preferred and favorlte place
Of cOncealment for the household hoard.
often it is the parlOr stove. but in
majority of instances it is the oven OF
stove a Poor Savings Bank.
Unfortunately. the parlor stove is
liable to be lighted by some member OF
the family VINO QOES lOL hALDN AllsL ~
is in temporary use as bank OF, as
frequently happens the frugal house
wife starts" the kitchen range IN for
Eetfulness Of the fact that her savings
are in the oven. IN either case the
money is inCinerated. being either de-
stroved entirely or else reduced to
condition of char In spring and tall
such cases are referred to the treasury
at a rate of more than one day A
sudden cold snap (Which prompts the
Of eFor-nel fu to hiring a
number of appeals from people VINO
forward melancholy testimony of their
losses in the shape of pasteboard boxes,
or other receptacles containing the
In a majority Of all such instances
nothing can be done to help the losers,
because the burning has been so thor
oughlv accomplished rs to leave no re
mains recognizable as money. Indeed
the treasury experts say that the parlor
stove and kitchen oven are unequaled
in efficiency as destrOyers Of paper
currency. The work they do in this line
is thorough and complete
Leaving such cases aside, II IS sur
prising how large a percentage of the /
burned money sent into the treasury is !
identified and redeemed The pracuee
of lighting cigars with greenbacks Is
common enough. this sort OF thlng De-
ing a manifestation Of the smokers IN
difference to vulgar wealth. But 1t IS |
rs one might say, conVlVlal phehoHl-
enOn. and the perpetrator OF the rech-
less act usually tries to recover the |
l11burned fragment of the spill when |
he has had time to get sober; or else |
the bartender picks 1t up. Accom-
panied by an affidavit it may be re-
deemed.
Pays for Fragments.
For three-fifths Of a note the treas 1
urv will pay in full. For little over |
two-fifths il will pay one-halt OF race
value For a fragment, however small I
I'll & 6 H--r n ilFI fT
satisfactory affidavit But in the case ]
of a national bank note there must pc I
something left to show the name OF 4
the bank, or its charter number, or at J
least one Of the signatures Of its Of /
Sometimes paper money is put into !
a DOcket with a lighted pipe, ana IS !
partlv burned. By such an accident /
not long ago, a Chicago man lost the 1
only uair of trousers he owned, togeUn- /
err with some greenbacSs that were in /
a wallet in the rear pocket Inc noles |
were reduced almost to ashes, though (
when they reached the treasury with j
the wallet they were found to have re- /
tanned their shape like the leaves Of a /
hook that has been consumed by fire. !
Though perfectly black, even the num-
bers on them could be made out and /
the money was redeemed FROM the 4
viewpoint Of the expert 1t was an /
easy case"
II a few pages of printed matter be |
thrown into a fire, they will shrivel |
and char. But even when entirely black /
(unless absolutely cOnsumed), the ]
printing on them may still remain legi- /
BILE When currency is burned, it re-
tains its shape remarkably, owing to /
the fact that the linen rag paper OF /
Which it is made is Of such fine quality. /
In fact, burned money looks almost like /
burned linen cloth, and the engraving (
on it persists recOgnizablly.
Women Passes on Burned Money.
Thus il is that the treasury is able to /
identify and redeem so very large
part of the burned money sent in. All /
of it goes through the hands Of one
woman, Mrs. Brown, who has had |
charge of this particular work more /
than quarter of a century. Her eX-
pertness in handling such pieces is
nothing short OF astonishing. There /
must be no guesswOrk in her business;
every note or certificate redeemed has
to be absolutely identified. But to see
her take quantity of hopeless looking +.
charred scraps, and handle them in
such a way as to convert them into so /
much perfectly good money for the los
err, is positively miraculous.
Get All Except 50.
Not long ago there was a banker in
n small town out west whose business |
establishment was burned UP, the Drin-