Post Exchange Methods / A Manual for Exchange Stewards, Exchange Officers, Members of Exchange Councils, Commanding Officers, Being an Exposition of a Simple and Efficient System of Accounting Which Is Applicable to Large and to Small Exchanges Alike.

by Paul D. Bunker

In General.

Figure 13, Cover (Reduced in size)

Figure 13, Coupons Actual size

Coupons, as it may be superfluous to explain, are credit slips sold to enlisted men by the Exchange. They are sold on credit, being secured by notes signed by the purchasers; these notes constituting a lawful lien on the drawer’s pay are supposed to be redeemed at the next pay day. The credit slips can be used at any time for purchasing articles at the Exchange. Exchanges formerly used metal coins or “checks” for this purpose, but it was considered inadvisable to permit credit to be so easily counterfeited, transferred, etc., hence the use of paper coupons has become universal, being covered by mandatory orders in certain circumstances.

Kinds of Coupons.

There are two classes of coupons, the first being the well known “Coupon Book” shown in Fig. 13. These books are made in various denominations ranging from one to five dollars. They are composed of a cover and several interior pages, the latter being divided by perforations into five coupons each, representing values of five, ten or twenty-five cents, depending upon the value of the book. For instance, a $1.00 book contains three sheets, two composed of five 5c coupons each and one composed of five 10c coupons. On the cover of each book is printed the serial number of the book, its value and blank lines for the insertion of the signature of the person to whom issued, the signature of the Exchange Officer and the date of issue. It is also customary to have printed on the cover the words “Not Transferable”. In some cases, on the back cover of each book is printed a promissory note which, after being signed by the soldier, is torn off and kept by the Exchange authorities until the value of the book is collected in cash from the soldier. A variation of this scheme is to have a separate sheet in each book so printed that it will perform a like function. In either case, it is expected that when the book is depleted, the clerk making the last sale shall take up the cover of the book in order that it may be filed in the Exchange for such period as the Exchange Officer shall determine. This, for the reason that sometimes a man will claim that, although he signed up for certain coupons at a certain time, he failed actually to receive the coupons. The possession and production by the Exchange of these used-up covers are conclusive evidence to the contrary.

These coupon books have certain inherent defects that are more or less serious. In the first place, it is found that they can be used as stakes in gambling games and can also be sold or otherwise transferred by the original drawer. This is objectionable, not merely because it is against regulations, but also because the person who so receives the coupons is not apt to draw coupons of his own, thus tending to curtail the amount of coupon sales transacted by the Exchange. This transferring of coupons can be accomplished in several ways. In large garrisons it will take a little time before the clerks will know each man by sight, especially when there is an influx of recruits. If a customer is not known to the clerks, he might be able to use another soldier’s coupon book unless the clerk should require him to write his name and compare it with the signature on the book presented. This would be impracticable at certain times of the month when the coupon sales were heavy, as it would consume too much time, thus preventing the clerks from waiting upon other customers as promptly as they should. It is evident that this kind of a transfer could be effected with any kind of coupons, and there is no preventive except to have the clerks become acquainted with every man in the garrison at the earliest practicable moment. When there is time, the clerks should, in doubtful cases, require the customer to write his name and then compare it with the name signed on the book. All clerks should understand that when any person presents a coupon book not his own the book is forfeited to the Exchange and the occurrence is to be reported to the Exchange Officer.

Another way in which coupons can be transferred (unless each coupon is numbered to correspond to the cover) is as follows:—Private A borrows from Private B fifty cents in cash and gives him a dollar coupon book in exchange. Private B removes the staple which binds this book together, takes the book apart and throws away the cover. He then loosens the staple in a book which he himself has drawn at the Exchange and carefully inserts enough of the loose coupon sheets from A’s book to fill it up again, and bends the staple back into its original position. This scheme is of wider prevalence than most Exchange Officers would imagine, and it is very hard to detect.