Evening star., 1925-02-01

ing out money which less than four
weeks ago was blank paper
1T costs one and seven-tenths cents
to manufacture and keep a piece of
paper money in circulation one year.
II it's life is only six months, the cost
becomes more than 3 cents year
the equivalent of savings bank inter
est on deposits, or about as much as
the interest yielded by some Govern
ment bonds.
1T costs only one cent to coin a
silver dollar, and 1t lasts in circula-
ton indefinitely. Its manufacture and
subsequent career are subject to no
vaRaries of material. For example.
our paper stock for money used to be
made Of linen rags pure. now we have
to be content with 25 per cent cotton
rag paper, which won't stand up to
wear"
"a Red Cross nurse OF the A. e. r
arrives here with some necessary IN
formation. Don't blame 1t on the poor
rag man, she says; blame it on the
war. we had TO have q thousand
million pieces of linen over there, and
the whole blessed country tore up its
old tablecloths and sheets and petit
coats and things, and sent them
across When the women bought new,
they mostly bought cotton or silk ma
terial, because the price Of linen had
gone spire-high. No, certainly don't
blame tho poor rag man.D
I'VE have got" pursued the Assist
ant Secretary, "to build up our re-
servo of 81 bills, and as their demand
is increasing and their life decreasing
that is a difficult thing to do. II we
can push an additional 100000 sill
yer dollars into circulation. they will
take the place of one months supply
Of paper dollars, and permit that
quantity Of newly printed bills imme-
ditely to go into the reserve stock for
ono month to season. That will help
us out all down the line of processing.
'If by doing this we can lengthen
the life of the paper dollar by about
Ave months, we shall be saving one
cent on every paper dollar issued. and
that will amount to about $1,000, 900
saved a year in the cost Of running
tho Government.
The addition of these 40,00o,o00
silver dollars to the currency will be
in both continental and insular United
States. and the issue used will be the
new 1924 Peace dollar, one of our
handsomest coins.
Notwithstanding any popular no
tion to the contrary, the 40,0o0,00 ad
dition will not weight the peoples
pockets down The average person
Will not see or carry, in a year, many
more ounces of silver than now. For
example, in the average change re-
ceived from a $40 bill there won't be
nine silver Characterization indi-
cate there probably will not be more
than one. And-why, say"
The gentleman thrust hand into
trousers pocket and dumped on his
desk loaded key-ring, several
scrawny coins. a penknife and some
odds There" he said. See? That's
the stuff we garry around, and it will
wear out any respectable lining more
quickly than seven smooth silver dol
lars.
Now, will the public help us? The
Treasury has nowhere else to turn"
d 9 TO BURGLARS: II you genu-
L Ne inely want to be suicide in
your profession, why not pass out in
the near-company of real money?
Why trife with the Treasury at
Washington? Why not pick on the
Federal Reserve Bank vaults in New
York, 3o-32 Wall street, where there
is more cash kept than in any other
known spot in the world? But take
a whisper: Look out for the Ave
story underground trick mirrors with
in the double walls OF reinforced con-
crete! BY glancing into any one of
the four of them any one of the rub
ber-soled armed guards, day or night,
can see all over the four faces of the
five-story buried vaults, where lie
stacked billions of dollars in paper,
gold and silver, behind the marvellous
double combination time locks. IT'S Q
suh