received for redemption. That does not apply to the night watchmen, but to the day watchman.

Mr. STAFFORD. Are none of the subtreasuries equipped with burglar-alarm systems?

Mr. HUDDLESON. They have the equipment, but not the current. The equipment was put in all the subtreasuries at the same time. It is still there, and the wires are there.

Mr. STAFFORD. What is the expensive character of its operation? Mr. HUDDLESON. It costs practically $1 a day for each vault. Mr. STAFFORD. How many vaults are there?

Mr. HUDDLESON. They vary, according to the subtreasury. In Chicago they have four vaults.

Mr. STAFFORD. Is the charge simply for the amount of current used?

Mr. HUDDLESON. They charge a dollar a day for the service of each vault.

Mr. STAFFORD. Is that by reason of the amount paid to the electric companies or by reason of the royalty paid to the controller of the invention?

Mr. HUDDLESON. I do not imagine that this electrical protection uses much current. It is something that when you close the door of the vault the door comes in contact with pins set in like that [indicating], and whenever the door opens the contact is thrown off and the bell rings in the office of the protective association, and they immediately send some man to find out what the trouble is, unless you telephone that you are going to open the vault.

Mr. STAFFORD. It is a charge for their service?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir.

Mr. STAFFORD. Are the banks and trust companies utilizing that burglar-alarm system generally, or have they abandoned it? Mr. HUDDLESON. I can not say.

CINCINNATI, OHIO.

Mr. BYRNS. What is the situation in the Cincinnati office? Mr. HUDDLESON. The Cincinnati office had $33,000,000 on hand. They received $250,000 and disbursed about $500,000 of that to-day. They have rather a small force in Cincinnati-16. Last year the assistant treasurer, in his efforts to help Mr. Barrett, the cashier, to procure a salary commensurate with that paid to chief clerks in other subtreasures and in accordance with his duties, suggested that Mr. Barrett take over a portion of the currency vaults from Mr. Brasher. Mr. Brasher's salary was reduced to $1,600. As a member of the subtreasury committee I opposed this, because Mr. Brasher is a hard-working man; he is a good vault clerk, a careful man. When he is not employed in receiving or paying out money in the vault he counts currency. He is a hard worker. He is actually entitled to the $1,800 which he was receiving. Congress took the $200 off of Mr. Brasher's salary, but they did not add it to Mr. Barrett's salary. The chief clerk in Cincinnati receives less than the chief clerk in other offices that perform similar services. So does the vault clerk now.

Mr. BUCHANAN. He is not down here as chief clerk; what do you call him?

Mr. HUDDLESON. We call him the cashier, and that is correct. I should have said "cashier" instead of “chief clerk."

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for the creation of a position to be known as coin paying teller and propose to drop a position of clerk at the same salary, $1,300. I suppose the reason for that is similar to the one you gave in connection with the Baltimore office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir; simply because he performs that service. Mr. BYRNS. In this connection I want to say that Mr. Espy, the assistant treasurer at Cincinnati, happened to be in Washington last Monday and spoke to me about this item. I suggested that he write a letter to the committee, stating such facts as he wanted to state in connection with this appropriation. I feel this letter should go into the record in connection with the Cincinnati office. He says: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, UNITED STATES SUBTREASURY, OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT TREASURER, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 28, 1916.

Hon. J. W. BYRNS,

Member of Congress, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR SIR: Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity of an interview with you yesterday, when you were so busy with your committee work. You suggested that I write you relative to my request.

When I am not present the cashier in this office, Mr. R. B. Barrett, has the responsibility of the thirty-three-odd millions of dollars which are the assets of this office, and his salary of $2,250 a year has seemed to me to be very small. Last year, after I found there was no possibility of an increase in salaries, in my zeal to bring about an increase for him I suggested, if no other way could be found, that they be readjusted. This resulted in a cut in the vault clerk's şalary and no change in Mr. Barrett's.

I believe that the salaries of the vault clerks in the subtreasuries have been standardized at $1,800 a year, and I am very anxious, indeed, that the salary of my vault clerk, Mr. Brasher, be restored to this amount. I also have renewed my recommendation for an increase in the cashier's salary. These recommendations have been concurred in by the Secretary.

The work in this office and its usefulness have, I think, been very greatly increased in the last few years. The appropriation for salaries amounts to only $24,830 for 17 employees, including myself, and I simply am asking that it be increased to $25,280.

Yours, truly,

ARTHUR ESPY, Assistant Treasurer.

NEW ORLEANS, LA.

What is the amount of business done by the New Orleans office? Mr. HUDDLESON. They carry $30,000,000 to the credit of the Treasurer's general account. On November 29 the receipts amounted to $63,000 and the disbursements amounted to $596,000.

Mr. STAFFORD. Here I direct your attention to the fact that the cashier receives $2,250.

Mr. HUDDLESON. At New Orleans?

Mr. STAFFORD. Yes, sir; a small office of the grade of Cincinnati. Mr. HUDDLESON. Cincinnati does a little more business than New Orleans on an average.

Mr. STAFFORD. Their deposits are not very much more?
Mr. HUDDLESON. A very little more.

NEW YORK, N. Y.

Mr. BYRNS. What was the situation at the New York office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. On November 29 in New York the amount of money to the credit of the Treasurer's general account was $325,000,000; the

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receipts were $14,375,000 and the disbursements $6,898,000, less than half. They vary. There is no way to determine it; it is simply the supply and demand. You can not tell in advance a thing about the amount of receipts and disbursements.

Mr. GOOD. Taking the period of a year, the receipts are greater than the disbursements?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes sir.

In New York he asks for an increase of two messengers-that is, to drop two $800 messengers and to create two $1,000 messengers. He does that for the purpose of promoting two $900 men who have been there a long time and also to promote two from $800 to $900, dropping two at $800 and taking up two at $1,000. He drops two clerks at $1,200. We ask to have one transferred to our office, the Division of Public Moneys, the $1,800 man. He is carried in New

York as assistant receiving teller.

Mr. BYRNS. Is there any vacancy in the $1,200 grade in the New York office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. In addition to the two dropped?

Mr. BYRNS. Yes, sir.

Mr. HUDDLESON. I think not at the present time.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for one in charge of money-laundering machine, $1,200?

Mr. HUDDLESON. If there is a man in the United States who earns $1,200, that man does. He has four laundering machines there. He is a machinist, originally a marine engineer, a splendid man. He is receiving $1,050, and we ask for an increase of $150 a year. We pay $1,200 in Chicago where we have two machines and we pay $1,200 in Washington where we have three machines. This man is a splendid man. He saves us a great deal of money in keeping the machines. up. He is able to repair almost anything, except supplying new material for the machines.

Mr. STAFFORD. What is the purpose of transferring this assistant receiving teller to the Secretary's office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. That gentleman is Mr. Glover. He was brought from New York to the Treasurer's office after the issuance of departmental circular No. 5, which transferred all disbursing accounts to Washington. Men were brought from the different subtreasuries here and Mr. Glover was one of the men brought at that time. He remained in the Treasurer's office until we procured his detail to the Division of Public Moneys where the work was so heavy that we could not keep it moving. Last year the Treasurer dropped all of the clerks that were detailed out of his office. We did not know that. The result was that Mr. Glover was left without a position. We had a vacancy in New York and he having come from New York, while his salary was $2,400 when we brought him to Washington; $1.800 was the best we could do and we put him back on the New York roll with the understanding that we would ask to have the position transferred this year.

Mr. STAFFORD. There will be no one required to do that work in New York?

Mr. HUDDLESON. No, sir. The position will be abolished in New York if you transfer it to Washington.

Mr. STAFFORD. It will not be filled by anyone?
Mr. HUDDLESON. No, sir; not in New York.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 1, 1916.

THE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,

House of Representatives.

SIR: Referring to the estimates for the clerical force of the New York subtreasury for the fiscal year 1918, I have to advise you that a position of clerk at $1.200 per annum, which has recently become vacant and which it is not deemed necessary to fill, may be omitted from the appropriation for the clerical force of that office for the fiscal year 1918.

Respectfully,

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

B. R. NEWTON,
Acting Secretary.

Mr. BYRNS. In regard to the Philadelphia office, what money was on hand and what business was done on the date you have mentioned?

Mr. HUDDLESON. There was $25,000,000 on hand. They received $487,000 and paid out $705,000.

Mr. BYRNS. This estimate involves an increase of salary for the receiving teller, the redemption teller, and also for one of the clerks from $1,600 to $1,800, and the creation of a messenger at $840?

Mr. HUDDLESON. The assistant treasurer in making this recommendation suggested that he wanted to fix the salaries to be more commensurate with the duties performed and that he thought the clerks were entitled to this increase.

Mr. BYRNS. What particular reason is there for a messenger?

Mr. HUDDLESON. He wants to have the messenger on the floor of the subtreasury, because he is using the present messenger as a money counter. That is not different in Philadelphia from anywhere else, except New York. We use the watchmen and messengers for either counting the money or else putting the coin up for shipment; they work them all the time.

ST. LOUIS, MO.

Mr. BYRNS. What is the situation in regard to the St. Louis office? Mr. HUDDLESON. They had $43,000,000 on hand; they received $146,000 and paid out $536,000.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for a vault clerk at $1,800?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir. The cashier in the office at St. Louis has been for several years acting as vault clerk. It takes him away from his duty as cashier, and it really hampers the office. It is an inconvenience to the public. If we are going to have the subtreasuries as a convenience to the public, we should have a vault clerk there. He has one man who acts as an assistant to him, but that makes that man equally responsible, because he enters the vault, and he has to give bond, and so forth. We have vault clerks in other subtreasuries that are doing less work and carrying less money than in St. Louis. They really should have a vault clerk there.

Mr. BYRNS. You ask to increase the salary of the coin teller from $1,200 to $1,500 and also two clerks at $1,100 to $1,200 ?

Mr. HUDDLESON. The assets of the office in St. Louis have materially increase in the last two years, as they have in one or two of the other subtreasuries, perhaps not so much. I think the work in St. Louis has increased almost 50 per cent. The work there is pretty heavy.

Right in that connection I brought a copy of the letter that we received from the assistant treasurer in regard to shipping mutilated currency. We cut that currency, as you know, in two, shipping the upper halves at one time and the lower halves at another time by mail. The act of May 18 last provides that parcel post postage must be paid on all Government shipments by mail outside of Washington. We can not ship anything under frank any more in packages of more than 4 pounds without the payment of postage. That has materially affected our appropriation, and we will have to come in for a deficiency, and perhaps a large one. Under an arrangement with Mr. Hitchcock, the former Postmaster General, he permitted us to put this cut money in pouches and pay a 10-cent registration_fee on each 4 pounds unit. That did not require the package to be absolutely 4 pounds, but if the contents of the bag should weigh 80 pounds we would pay $2 for the registration fee.

Under the present arrangement we have to pay parcel-post postage and in addition we have to pay the registration fee in order to have any security at all, because parcel-post mail is hauled to the station and thrown on the platform and is simply left there in charge of the station porters. In 1916 I think the part of our appropriation used for that purpose was $17,000. After this law was passed the Postmaster General promulgated his regulation on August 18, and we asked him to defer action on compelling us to meet the requirements until we could get the instructions out to the different subtreasuries. They were put into effect recently. New York had been getting about $1,000 at a time to last three months for all registration charges on public moneys shipped by mail. We immediately got a requisition for $4,000 to carry them through the month of December. In San Francisco we used less than $300 a quarter. We have advanced them already $1,500 for the remainder of this quarter, and we have a requisition in now for $3,000 more. We advanced the Denver mint $500, and each quarter for the past two or three quarters they have reported a balance of the $500 still on hand. Now we have a requisition for an advance of $5,000 for the remainder of this quarter, which is December.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Can you give us any definite idea about the amount that all of the subtreasuries use for the purpose of shipping mutilated currency, freight or postage, whatever it is?

Mr. HUDDLESON. It would be almost impossible to estimate it, because we do not know what the requirements will be.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Take the past year, for instance; I just want a general idea myself.

Mr. HUDDLESON. Up to November 1, for four months, including insurance, I should say that the transportation charges on all public moneys would amount to, perhaps, $4,000 a month, not including, of course, national-bank notes, the amount of which is reimbursable from the assessments made against the banks.

Mr. BUCHANAN. $4,000 a month?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir; perhaps less than that. From now on under the new arrangement it will perhaps amount to five times that. Mr. BUCHANAN. That is under the regulation that the Post Office Department has in force?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir.