The Baltimore County Union

A Novelty in Money Orders.

Postmaster General James has hit upon a plan of facilitating the transmission through the mails at a cheap rate, of small sums of money.

The new device is an improvement upon the system of postal orders recently adopted by the English postal authorities. The improvement consists of three columns of figures, one to represent dollars, the second tens and the third units. Two denominations of these orders are to be issued—one for all sums within $2.50, and the other for all sums within $5. The $5 card has four figures and a cipher in the dollar column and all the numerals in each of the other columns. The postmaster selling the order will designate the amount to be drawn by punching the figures in the respective columns. The orders will be payable to bearer, and the postoffice will not be responsible for their safe delivery any more than for fractional currency, for which they are intended as a substitute.

Both sets of orders are to be printed on bank-note paper, to be finely engraved and other precautions taken against counterfeiting. It is expected that the department will be able to sell them at from 2 to 3 cents for a $2.50 order and from 4 to 5 cents for a $5.00 order. The postmaster will enter the amount of the order in writing on a stub, which will be the only check the department will need, and will contain only the amount of the order, the date of issue and the name of the office upon which the order is drawn. This will do away with a great deal of clerical labor, since the names of the remitter and the payee will not be entered at all in the records as is done in the money order transaction, nor will any advices be issued.

In order to prevent the use of the postal orders as currency, they are to be redeemable only for three months after date of issue.