With the widespread use of paper money in the United Kingdom comes a complaint which has most familiar ring about it, namely, the dirty condition the notes get into after quite a small period in circulation. Point was added to the discussion, if it did not actually originate it, by a report of the death of a commercial traveller from blood poisoning contracted through handling dirty notes. There are certain safeguards adopted with regard to Treasury and Bank of England notes which tend to reduce any danger from such a source, for in both instances a note when once returned is never re-issued. But what is probably more comforting to people out here, who occasionally have to use the most sorry looking paper for currency, is the statement by a member' of the Institute of Hygiene.
"Undoubtedly," he said 'a bank note that has been in circulation for a long time—particularly when the paper is creased and broken—does tend to har-hour microbes, but in my opinion it is ho more dangerous than many other articles which are constantly handied, such as books, for example. Tt is a witter for speculation whether he would say the same thing if he saw some of the bank notes that are still in service along the China Coast.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.