Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-24
BY HUDSON GRUNEWALD.

kind Of money. The bills and
~ banknotes. greenbacks and yel-
lowbacks, that the nieccs and
nephews of Uncle Sam have been striv
ing to gain for three generations are 60
ing to be taken back by the Government
and destroyed forever.
The old familiar dollar bill. the two
spot" the Eve the ten and
twenty" the occasional fifty" the
more occasional hundred" the five
hundred" the thousand" and five
thousand" and the very rare ten
tlousand-dollar note will all be-
come museum pieces. To fill their
places the Treasury Department is now
producing a new and improved variety
of bills, smaller in size, different in de-
sign, easier to handle and easier to dis
tinguish. but no easier to get. They
will make their first appearance in pub
lie circulation in all parts Of the coun-
try early in July, when the first issue
will be released.
The Bureau OF Engraving and Print
ing in Washington. the model plant
where the United States Government
manufactures its paper money. is work.
ing night and day under full force to
have this new issue ready on time and
to turn out the largest order in its his
tory. It is producing tons of the new
money every "a hours. Eight hundred
and ffty-seven million pieces of this
fresh, crisp currency is being stored in
the great vaults Of the Treasury to be
soon distributed to every State in the
Union.
THE first paper money issued by the
present Government, it will be re-.
membered, were the old demand notes
of 1861 and 1862. These were followed
by the legal tenders" or 'greenbacks"
of 1852 and other kinds of paper cur
rency of the size now in use, namely,
United States notes, silver certificates,
national bank notes and Federal Re-
serve notes. The proposed change in
size in the first one in 66 years.
Many years of careful study and
planning were required before the
change was finally decided upon and
the first steps taken to effect it two
years ago by Secretary Mellon and his
associates. While many have cham
pioned it, urged it and worked for it,
no one person can be pointed out as
the author of the idea.
The suggestion, it seems, first came
early in the century from American adj
n1inistrators, Army officers, school
teachers and business men who had
lived in the Philippines and had be-
come accustomed to the smaller sized
currency being used in the islands,
which they found far more convenient
to handle. This money was being print
ed in Washington for the Philippine
government, and because of the appre-
hersion of Elihu Root. then Secretary
of War, that there might be confusion
If both currencies were of the same
size, the islands were furnished paper
money in sizes one-third smaller than
that used in the United States.
On September 10. 1910, Franklin Mac
Veagh, then Secretary of the Treasury,
issued statement to the press an
nouncing a contemplated reduction in
size and systematization of design of
paper currency. The size was to be the
same as that of the Philippine cur
rency. Three years later. on February
IS. 1913. Secretary MacVeagh instruct
cd the director of the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing to proceed imine-
diately with the engraving of dies and
other preliminarieS toward the issuance
of the new-Si2e currency, but later,
under Secretary of the Treasury Will
liam c. McAdoo, the matter of printing
notes from the new engravings was or
dered held in allegiance until more was
known as TO the probable course of leg
islation in connection with the reorgan-
1z2tion of the currency system.
Other delays ensued until August
20. 1925, when Secretary Mellon desig-
n2ted a committee for the purpose of
giving consideration to designs. size
ard other related matters" The de-
cision at this time to change the size
Ct the paper currency is the direct re-
suit of the study and investigation of
this committee.
K y r x
'E'HE committee found that "the
4 money printed for the Philippine
Islands was satisfactory for its in
tended use" 1t decided that 1.-The face
of each denomination for all classes
should have portrait peculiar to it,
and that the back Of each denomina-
tion should have single design for
the five classes of paper money" And
q slight change in quality and in the
distribution Of small particles of silk
in the paper on which the money is
printed was recommended to make
counterfeiting more difficult.
When the new bills make their ap-
pearance in July they viii be s and
5 IS inches by 2 and 11/16 inches as
compared with and 1/16 by and
10 inches at present or two-thirds OF
the surface area of the old. They will
be printed on paper with greater en-
durance for folding and in which the
small segmentS of silk fiber Will DC
more widely distributed. and they viii
be Of a greater uniformity OF design
Some of the portraits now used VIII
be reallCcated Or Discontinued in order
n avoid repetition and to follow the
rlah Of restricting the use OF par
F1rv4 N a.