The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-12-20
LAUNDERED BILLS
Uncle Sans Method Of Cleaning
Soiled Paper Money.
WASHED AND THEN IR0NED.

WASHED AND THEN IR0NED.
This Work Is Done In the Treasury
Department by Machines, Each Ono
of Which Can Daily Make 5000
Pieces of Used Currency Look New.
by washing soiled paper money we
save the government $500 every day,
said Miss Annie Il. Thomas, in charge
of the laundry of the redemption di-
vision OF the United States treasury in
Washington.
'Soilcd money" shc went on. comes
to us daily from banks ~ over the
United States to be redo "led. For
merly all of this money was destroyed
and new was issued in its place. Now
we take the least soiled and worn bills
and put them through the laundry to
be washed and ironed. These are al
most as good as new and are rediStrib
uted with the noes which come from
the bureau of/en@ravinS and printing
1--WE iaundcr about 5000 bills daily
and calL@lhls good days washing. II
costs/;50 cents to wash 100 dirty notes
AID S1.30 to print the same number
Through the laundry we save 81 on
100 notes. Washing, as we do an av-
erage of $4,000 bills a day, of which
many are not fit TO send out again, we
estimate that our saving amounts to at
least $500.
We wash 10 per cent OF all the
money thar comes to be redeemed.
Nothing higher than twenty dollar
bill goes through the washing machine.
The small bills are in constant circula.
ton and wear out rapidly, so they have
to he reissued more frequently than
those of high denomination Bills OF
high value are never Numbered.
Banking opinion is divided on this
subject of Numbered money. Some
banks desire new money and viii not
accept any other, while many banks
request the washed bills, saying that
they are softer than the others and are
easier to handle.
I'VE have received this testimonial
especially from men who have long
payrolls and must handle thousands OF
dollars to fill many pay envelopes
These men tell MS that the washed bills
do not stick together az do the others
and can be more readily counted out.
"The washing machines occupy a floor
space of about foiH square yards and
are combination washers and ironer;.
Two girls work at machine. which is
operated by electricity. One feeds the
soiled money TO the washer. and the
other catches the clean money as ii
leaves the ironer
-'"'Fhe bills are laid on 4 moving belt
OF wet blanket. which carries them ON
to meet another moving blanket from
above. Thus secured between these
two blankets they pass over and around
n number Of rollers in Il tank of soapy
suds. which cleanses and slerilizes
them. Then they pass through rinsing
water anu on to heated rollers, which
dry and iron them.
t"rhey drop out at the end of the
course into the hands of a. girl. who
scrutiniHes each bill TO determine
whether it is fit to be sent out into cir.
culation. AS she asserts the bills she
stacks those which she considers per
feet into piles ready for the expert
counters. When the counts are verified
the Numbered bills are made into pack
ages containing 1000 Of one denomina.
ton and kind and sealed for redistribu
ton among the banks.
by this practice of redeemiug mon.
ey by washing it," said Miss Thomas,
Eve also have an extra means OF check
Ing up on the counterfeters. Our ex.
pert counters spot counterfeits as soon
as they are sent in with the govern
ment money from the banks. They
puss these bills along TO the secret
service detectives. who trace them to
their makers.
"A counterfeit hasn't q chance to es.
cape us. From the time the banks
packages are opened by the counters
to be verified to the time the money
leaves this division finally it is watch
ed by expert eyes. When the washable
money is separated from the rest and
~ turned over to me TO put through the
laundry ! give it to the operators.
Taey look at 1t carefully at the time it
enters the washing machine and when
1t comes out. After this my counters
90 over it. BY this time you may be
SIRE any counterfeit is discovered.
sit is a remarkable sight to watch
the sixty expert counters, who average
10000 notes daily run lightly through
bunch of bills and stop short sudden.
~ when they come to counterfeit in
their hands. They identify these notes,
almost perfect as they often are, by the
feel Of the paper. Under their trained
vigilance counterfeits seldom get an
fur us the laundry. New York Sun.
One Kind Of Platform.
An American gentleman got ac-