File:Picturesque Washington- pen and pencil sketches of its scenery, history, traditions, public and social life, with graphic descriptions of the Capitol and Congress, the White House, and the government (14769896401).jpg

Identifier: picturesquewas00moor (find matches)
Title: Picturesque Washington: pen and pencil sketches of its scenery, history, traditions, public and social life, with graphic descriptions of the Capitol and Congress, the White House, and the government departments ..
Year: 1884 (1880s)
Authors: Moore, Joseph West
Subjects: Washington (D.C.)
Publisher: Providence : J.A. & R.A. Reid
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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s of dollars. They sit at longtables, on which bank-notes are spread as thick as leaves in a forest.Package after package is opened, the notes are closely scrutinizedand rapidly counted, and are then turned over to officials who cancelthem by means of machines which punch them full of holes. After-ward the dead currency is placed in water and thoroughly macer-ated, nothing remaining but a mass of paper-pulp. It is then giveninto the hands of a special officer, to be burned. The national cur-rency received from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, andfrom government depositories throughout the country, is also care-fully counted and verified before it is accepted, and the amount cer-tified to as correct. In the redemption bureau a great deal of delicate work is done inverifying currency which has been partially destroyed by fire orother causes, and which has been sent to the Treasury to be ex-changed for new notes. Ladies who are expert in this business take THE REDEMPTION BUREAU. 183
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THE MASONIC TEMPLE. the mass of burned or otherwise damaged currency in hand, andwith long, thin knives and powerful magnifying-glasses slowly andcautiously separate the pieces, and then endeavor to trace out eachnote allecred to be in the collection. Sometimes the entire amountcan be thus verified, even if the notes were badly burned ; but usuallyfrom ten to thirty per cent, is lost to the owner from sheer inability todistinguish in the mass of debris anything that bears the slightestresemblance to a bank-note. Hundreds of thousands of dollars — infact, an astonishing amount—rendered worthless by various accidentsare received every year, and the greatest of care is taken to redeemas much of the money as possible. One day a mass of cinders, theremains of a package of bank-notes of the value of $1,700, was re-ceived from Missouri for redemption. The money had been placedin a stove overnight for safe keeping, and was entirely forgotten thenext morning until after the fire was lighte

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