The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-09-28
Fredcfick Haskin' S etter
OFFICIAL SIGNATURES

Mrs. Viola p. Pugh Of Washing.
tom il the person nov authorized 10
affix the presidential signature.
She has been doing 80 during the
present administration.
The presidents signature writing
Job is not tho biggest in the govern
ment BY aay|means. The man who
signs The most checks is William
"A. Holmes, disbnrsing officer Of the
veterans bureau. Last July, the
bureau sent out s3l, $50 checks or
nearly $4,000 day. This would be
more than 100000 . year. Mr..
Holmes has two assistants who help
him but he does most OF the sign
ing himself. As it would be a
physical iupossibility to sign 25.-
900 checks day every working
day, a machine is used. 1t is called
. signograph. 1t consists of a light
frame which holds usually 10 foun-
tain pens. The checks which are
to be signed are placed beneath the
frame. The signer grasps the pen
at the lower left hand corner Ut
the frame and writes his signature
in the proper place. The frame is
SO constructed in relation to the
uniform size Of tloe papers to be.
signed that each of the other pens
writes the exact duplicate of what
the signer writes, in nine other
places. These machines are used
in all government departments
where many checks have to be
signed by hand:
Treasurer a-Busy Signer.
The Postoffice department has
soHse 100000 checks year to sign
and the pension office 100000
checks. The treasurer of the Unit
ed States is one of the busiest of
the signers. Treasurer Frank
White and his chief deputy, Frank
j. F. Thiel, sign away more money
than probably any Of the others as
their checks frequently are for very
large amounts. The regular treas
urywarrants which they sign num-
Der about 250,000 a year, while
miscellaneous checks number an
other 10000.
Disbursing officers Of all the gov
ernment departments, boards, bu-
reaus and commissions must be
included in this group of busy sig
nature writer's. All of those whose
Signing runs into the thousands
employ the signing machine where
it is possible. The limitation of
the machine is that it can sign in
duplicate only where the papers to
be signed are uniform in size and
shape and where the signature. is
to be placed in precisely the same
position on each paper. This limi-
tation prevents the use Of the ma
chine for signing the general run
of papers and correspondence.
Outside of the government but in
manner connected with it are the
signers of the national currency.
Readers will recall that all nation
al bank notes bear the signatures
of the president and the cashier of
! the issuing bank. In recent years
some of these officers have used
rubber stamps, but by no means
ALL Many Of them, probably most
of them, sign the notes with pen
and ink 90.
4 The annual total cannot be pre-
]cisely arrived at because there are
new issues and unrenewed retire
ments, but it has been estimated
that about 100000 notes are is
sued each year by the national
banks. There are nearly 5000 ma
| tional banks so a division would
give each bank nearly $500 notes
year to sign, or about 80 a day. In
times Of imitation when larger sums
are issued, this number increases
materially.
! The banks have urged congress
to permit them to have their Of
ficers' signatures engraved on the
notes but congress never has gitTa
this permission. @
On United States currency tn,
names of the treasurer of the Unit
ed States and of the secretary Of
treasury are engraved. If they were
not those officials could scarcely
find time to do anything but sign
money, SO numerous are the notes.
1t is nothing new for the writing
of official signatures to be regard
ed as a burdensome duty by per-
sons in high office. 1t is an his
terical fact that Carinus. one Of
the emperors of Rome about the
second century, either was too lazy
or too busy to sign his name. He
made inquiry in the prisons TO find
out who was the most dexterous
and skilfull ferger in custody ami
had him freed and promoted to the
post of secretary where his sole
duty consisted in initiating the en-
peror's signature and affixing it 10
documents Of state.