Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1896 — CHEATING THE TREASURY. [ARTICLE]

CHEATING THE TREASURY.

Attempts Are Frequently Made, but They Are Rarely Successful. Frauds on the redemption division of the treasury are constantly being tried. What are called “drawer scraps” are presented almost every day with demands for new money in exchange. These are the torn-off fragments of notes which are found in tills and cash drawers. A young man employed in a New York bank once sent in a boxful of them, claiming S2OO. They were the result of many sweepings carefully accumulated. Unfortunately they represented SI,OOO or more, if anything, and the youth was lucky to escape prison. An Ohio woman not long ago mailed to the treasury a number of rolled-up pellets of paper, which she said represented a $5 note torn up by a child. The pellets were straightened out and found to be thirteen center strips cut lengthwise from as many $5 bills. It is hardly necessary to say that the woman got nothing in return. People seem to think that Uncle Sam is precious green; at the same time the redemption division does get cheated now and then, undoubtedly. Late in the year 1892 it was discovered in the redemption division that the full number of SSOO notes of the series of 1874 had been redeemed. Nevertheless, notes of this series were still coming in for redemption. At first it was thought that there had been an overissue by some strange mistake. Accordingly all of these notes from that time on were withheld from -the customary destruction, and their numbers were registered for the purpose of seeing If duplicates would appear. But no duplicates did appear and It Is now believed that the trouble arose from nn error on the part of the officials ap-

pointed to act as a destruction committee. They must have made a mistake in their record of notes destroyed, putting down the figures 1874 instead of some other year.—Philadelphia Times.