Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-06-10
PRcE|T ON LOST MONEY
Uncle Sam Reaps It Whenever
a Bill Fails to Return
Fifteen Million Dollars Worth OF Shin
plnstcrs Unrcdeemed Sixty Years
after They Were Issued-Fires
FIJI Federal Coffers
(By Frederic j. Haskjn)


you forget to take your package of bills
from its hiding place in the parlor stove
betore lighting the fire in the fall? If
you drop dollar bill and 1t blows into
the gutter and is never recovered. who
profits? If you fall into the river and
drown and your remains take their place
permanently in Davy Jones' locker, who
is to the good to the extent of the modes.
roll in your vest pocket?
The answer to one and all Of these
questions Is. Uncle Sam. Every piece Of
paper money that goes out from the
treasury and fails to return. profits the
government to the extent of It's face
value. If it is gold or silver certificate
the metal which was placed in the
treasury for its redemption is never call
ed FORTH If 1t is a federal reserve note
or national bank note, the securities
that have been deposited as a guarantee
at the time of its issue, or their equiva-
lent, remain in the treasury. So is there
solace to the patriot who so loses his wal
let that if it is not found by another it's
contents are applied to the expenses of
government.
At the treasury department II Is i'm
possible to determine from the records
just how much money has gone out that
will never return. There are, however,
certain facts available upon which to
base an estimate
SHINPLASTER PROFITS
During and Immediately following the
Civil War the government issued about
81 million dollars in fractional currency.
called at the time shnplasters. of de-
nominations below a dollar. Now, sixty
years later, there are still Is million dol
lars worth of them unredeemed. 1t is
believed that much of this money was
buried with men who died in battle. The
bills were of such small denominations
that they were carelessy handled. Any
way the government profited to the ex-
tent of sl5,Oo00o from the shinplasters
that were lost.
Between the dates of 1862 and 1887 the
government issued one-dollar United
states notes to the amount of S1SS 900 900
and then discontinued them. 1t has been
80 years since any of them were issued.
In 1907 $4,000 worth of them came in for
redemption. In 1916 5000 came in. There
arg still 100000 of those dollar bills that
have not come back. and it does not seem
probable that they ever will. Nne-tenths
of one per cent of them were lost. If the
experience of these dollar bills be taken
as typical it may be estimated that
nearly one per cent Of the dollar bills put
out never return.
There was an issue of two-dolar bills
about the same size that went forth dur
ing the same period The percentage of
them lost is less than of the dollar bills
because the larger the bill the more
careful is it's possessor with 1t. Seven
tenths of one per cent of the two-dollar
bills never came back and because of this
fact the government profited to the
amount of 81 $4,000.
! EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS PROFIT
From figures available it is estimated
that bills of larger denomination are
less frequently lost. Probably not more
than three-tenths of one per cent of them
fail to return. Taking it all together it is
estimated that aside from the shin
pastors that were lost, there have been
about 100000 worth of paper money
| that went out from the treasury and
never came back. These were United
States notes, and gold and silver certiti-
Gates.
In addition to this there are the bills
put out by the national banks. The
| federal government guarantees THIS
money. and to it and not to the bank OF
issue comes the profit from bill that
! is never presented for redemption. The
national banks have about a third as
/
issued by the treasury and it is probable
that the government has made three or
four million dollars out of lost national
bank notes
| Federal reserve currency is so new a
thing in the monetary life of the nation
that none of its issues may yet be writ
| ten off as lost. Federal reserve banks
have a stupendous amount of currency
out, however, and. hasing judgment on
the experience of the past there are GER
tain amounts of it that will never come
| back There are some three billions OF
| federal reserve paper now in existence
! If one-half of one per cent of that money
never returns. which seems reasonable
percentage, the government will find it.
| self in possession of a velvet from lost
, money of that variety aggregatlhe
sl5,Oo0,nOo.
FIRES FILL FEDERAL GOLFERS
Certain occurrences have added mate
rally to the government profit on money
that never comes back for redemption
There is an item on the books of the
treasury deliberately charging off mil
lion dollars as destroyed in the chicago
fire The treasury admits that 1t profted
to that extent. 1t undoubtedly saved IL
self the necessity of redeeminG much more
than a million. Wherever there is fire
of any considerable size there is sure &c
be IA direct profit to the government or
burned money. The San Francisco anc
Baltimore fires were directly profitable
| TO the government when the Titanic
went to the bottom of the Atlantic un
known amounts of currency went dowr
with it, There was American papei
money in the strong boxes of the Lusitanis
whom tho German submarine sunk hci
and there was American paper money II
tho nockets of most of the people or
board The same was true of many ships
that went TO the bottom during the
World War All Of this that remains un
recovered is profit to the government.
When the Chicago fire occurred anc
sus.ldod, many people scrambled through
the embers to find the safes In which
their money had been put away With
impatient hands these safes were opened
to see the condition of the contents. In
many instances this haste was expensive
Flames were not able to penetrate THESE
safes to consume the contents. Beinl
alright there was not enough oSyge'
in them to create a blaze. But iE many
of them there was stil heat. When All
was let into these safes they burst into
flames and the contents were consumed
Had they not been opened Unit! they
were entirely cooled the contents woult
have been intact.
BURNED BILLS REDEEMED
Ry the time the Baltimore and Sar
Franciso fires came, such safe owners
as banks had acquired more wisdom