Year: 1879

GETTING MONEY BACK.


Whenever anybody mutilates national
bank or legal tender note, whenever anybody
comes into possession of worn cut note, or
whenever by accident, or his dog or calf,
apybody's money of this character becomes
so far destroyed that it will not pass, ne sends
it to the treasurer of the United States. The
mutilated currency goes to the redemption d.
vision of the treasurer's Office and there judg-
ment is made on it. This division is in charge
of Mr.. C. H. Davidge If the note is legal
tender and the numbers and denomination OF
it are still distinguishable, and satisfactory
evidence is furnished that the other portions
of it will never be presented for redemption,
a new note is issued to the owner OF the trag.
ments. If national bank note, the name OF
the bank must still cling to all that is left Of
the once crisp and new piece of paper, and
the same evidence be furnished that no other
fragments of it will be sent in before new one
is issued. Evidence that is considered satisfac-
tory in these cases, consists Of afidavits prop
erly attested as to how the money became so
dilapidated, and Endorsements by responsible
persons as to the good character and honest
intents of the person asking reimbursements
at Uncle Sans hands.


Of course every precaution is had against
fraud. Quite often woe begone piece OF q
note will be sent in, and after the crucial test,
will turn out to be the relic of a counterfeit
bill. Sometimes the afidavits accompanying
fragment of what was once greenback,
are manufactured" In such cases the re-
plies that the sender gets to his request for
redemption are more pointed than polite
Very often the simplicity Of the affidavit and
the accompanying statement Of the facts,
would be alone sufficient to convince any one
of their genuineness without the additional
safeguard of character" from some respon-
sible citizen. The pieces of notes that pass
muster are put into machine for the pur-
pose and ground to pulp, chemicals being
used in the process. When taken out, the
pulp is of the consistency Of mortar. 1t sold,
when dried, to paper.makers. The redemp-
tion of mutilated notes amounts to about
million and half month. Naturally, there
are some rather curious cases found In this
million and half Playful dogs, hungry
COWS, mischievous children, fire, water, rats,
mice, pigs, horses, lunatics, pure accidents,
and all, play their parts in providing work
for the some fifty men and women in Mr..
Davidge's division.


Among the curious cases was that OF
poor old woman in Philadelphia. She was
saving up money in order to accumulate
enough money to secure her admission to some
charitable institution. She had raked to-
gether SOS. Distrustful of savings banks, she
put her money on a shelf, we'll concealed. 1t
soon disappeared. She was certain that it
had been stolen. Some Of her neighbors per-
,suaded her to tear up the floor. She did so,
and, after close search, the fragments Of her
$65 were found in rats nest, the proprietors
of which had been exercising their nibbling
propensities on the money. She gathered up
the fragments and sent them to the treasury.
Most of the money was in national bank
notes, which were mutilated beyond the posi-.
bilitv of recognition. For them she could
regain nothing. Of the legal-tender notes
but sS could be redeemed, so the old lady lost
ST by rats.


Another case in which there was distrust
of banks, was that of farmer in Illinois.
He always kept his money in the house or
about his person. A short time ago he had
$11 900 in his coat pocket. He went to bed,
leaving his coat on chair. His wife com.
planned of the coldness of the room, and he
got up to stir up the fire. He had been back
in bed but short time, when the room was
filled with smoke and the well-kn6wn odor of
"something burning" He jumped up to find
his coat pocket burnt out, and his $11 900 a
charred mass. Fortunately. there was enough
distinguishable about the notes to secure him,
of{ fol off do 70 Of
facts, new set complete. He may patronize
the banks hereafter.


There is Georgia lawyer of the old moss.
back school, who is not yet satisfied with the
action of the treasury toward one of his eli.
ents. The client had $265 burnt up, and re-
liable witnesses to prove its total destruction.
He wrote to the department about it, but was
informed that nothing could be redeemed in
nothing only, despite the acknowledged fact
that there had once been something out of
which the question grew. The lawyer was
then applied to, and for the past four months
has been trying to convince the treasurer and
Mr.. Davidge that the government is the un-
lawful gamer by the destruction of the mon
ey, and that not to replace it is the most bare
faced of swindles. He quotes law, both stat
utory and moral, and spins out his arguments
at length. He has not made any perceptible
headway in behalf of his client.


Another Georgia man, though neither his
affidavit or statement state so directly, had
evidently been out with the boys the night be-
fore, and fourteen one dollar notes of his caught
fire. He had been down town, he asserts, and
came home sleepy. He laid down before the
parlor fre-'tis there he gives himself away
and went to sleep. He doesn't know how
long he slept, but when he awoke his pocket
book was on the hearth nearly destroyed.
He doesn't know how it came there. Selling
it as quick as possible, he put out the flame,
and sends on what is left Of his money to see
what can be made out of it. All fourteen of
the bills were redeemed.


| Perhaps one Of the most remarkable cases
that has ever come before the redemption d.
vision was the one, last week. 1t was Ne.
braska backwoodsman, a camp fire and SlO0.
The backwoodsman dropped the pocket book
containing the 500 in the camp fire. Before
he could get it out, the heat so acted upon it
that the book shriveled up into hard burnt
ball. The ball was cracked just as hickory
nut would be, in order to get at its contents.
Inside was found, perfectly intact and undam-
aged, the ten and twenty-dollar bills that went
to make up the backwoodsman's one hundred.


1t was rather curious also about the money
presented by the banks of Chicago for re-
demption after the great fire. Banks keep
their money in packages unfolded. The banks
which were burnt out in that fire, lost most of
the notes they had on hand In some in
stances, however, their replacing was possible.