The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-03-07
COUNTING OUR MONEY

For the first time in twelve years q
complete count Of the governments
cash has just been made. The total
was found to be, in round numbers,
$13,5O0,00O,000, and included all
cash and securities held as reserve
against outstanding currency.
The count, under the supervision
of a special committee of three, was
made by eight accountants and fifteen
laborers, the latter being employed
to move about the heavy bags Of
coins.
The vaults Of the United States
treasury are supposed to be burglar
proof and are of massive steel and
concrete construction.
The accountants handled money
of every possible denomination from
the copper cent piece to $4,000
bills. Many of the bills, particularly
those of large denominations, such
as $1,000, were in sheets of four each
and are held as reserve against cur
rency of smaller denomination in
circulation. There are a relatively
large number of $1,000 bills in cir
culation and each bank in the country
is supplied with list of their num-
bers, for use in case of theft.
The count just finished was made
necessary by the retirement of John
Burke as treasurer and was COM
pleted in the remarkably short time
of. three weeks thru the use of cleo
trio counting machines. Loose coins
passed thru these machines instead
of being counted by hand, as was nee
essary in the olden days. Paper cur
rency was counted by the piece, but
stored coins and currency were
counted by the sack or package in
cases where the wrappings were un-
broken and the seal on each intact.
The main supply of the govern
ment's money is stored in two large
vaults, but there are number of
smaller ones in the various divisions
of the department as we'll as in the
cash rooms where cash payments are
made by the government.
Gold coins stored in the vaults
were counted by weight. The gold Is
kept in sacks, sealed with the treas
urer's wax seal and containing $4,000
each, weighing about eighteen pounds
and seven ounces. First one sack
was weighed and then the others
were examiner. II both the seal and
covering were found intact they were
weighed against the first or test sack
and if the result was the same were
passed and counted. However. IL a
seal was broken or the sack torn or
if there was appreciable difference
in weight, the contents were counted
by the piece.
Standard silver dollars were
counted in the same way as the gold
coin. They are stored in sacks con-
tanning 1000 and weighing about 60
pounds. Work on the silver coin was
lessened, officials said, by the gov
ernment's melting 100000. 900 silver
dollars under the Pittman act for sale
to the British government to relieve
the silver famine in India during the
war.
Paper money is stored in packages
measuring about seven and half
inches each way and containing about
1000 notes. On each package is
stamped the amount and the demon
ination of the notes enclosed. The
packages are sealed with wax. Ex-
cept where a broken seal or package
necessitated an actual count of the
contents, the paper money in the
vaults was counted by packages.
Sealed packages parer money
are accented from the bureau of en-
craving and printing correct when |!
the warppings are intaC because the |
issue division of the TIRE .sury main |
tains an office in the bureau and in |
reality counts all the parer money be-
fore it leaves the bureau.
Coins of the smaller denominations
dimes, nickels and pen
nies-stored in sacks were counted |
in the same manner as the silver and
gold, by taking the weight of test |
sack for each denomination and
the other sacks in COMPARE
son with it.
Upon the completion of the count
vaults were sealed with the seal of
the special committee and a receipt
was given to MI. Burke, the retiring
treasurer, by Guy F. Allen, his sue
cessor, for the cash and securities of
the government held in the treasury.
When he signed the receipts, the act
ing treasurer became personally re-
sponsible for the safekeeping of all
the cash and securities in the build
-Co1t oL TriL,,~o /