M’Kinley’s Face on Notes

Treasury Officials Propose to Put His Portrait on Ten Dollar Bills.

     A committee of treasury officials is considering the question of placing the portrait of the late President McKinley on future issues of national bank bills of the denomination of $10, says the Washington Post. The matter is only tentative at present and is in anticipation of the extension of charters of national banks next year. The present law provides that charters expire in 1902. They were renewed in 1882, and Comptroller Dawes has held that the law does not, in his opinion, authorize a second extension of charters. That law, passed away back in war-times, declares, however, that on the extension of charters new bills must be printed. So whether the charters are to be extended or new charters issued in their stead new national bank bills must be printed unless congress takes some action to the contrary this winter.
     It is in anticipation of this situation that the advisability of printing the portraits of prominent men on national bank bills is being considered. The committee has already agreed upon the advisability of McKinley’s portrait for the $10 bills, of Harrison’s portrait for the $5 bills and of McCulloch’s portrait for the $20 bills. Still other portraits for other denominations will be selected and a recommendation made to the secretary of the treasury. There is now sufficient authority to print portraits on new issues of national bank notes. It is the opinion of experts that portraits on bills make it more difficult to counterfeit them, the subject having been investigated quite extensively by treasury officials. But while portraits have been printed on silver certificates and legal tender notes hitherto no portraits have appeared on national bank notes with the exception of Garfield’s. It is noteworthy that his portrait appeared on national bank notes in 1882, not long after his assassination.