S.S. [Samuel Sewall] Greeley Tells Tales of War Times

Stories of the vicissitudes which early settlers in this section experienced are always interesting. Samuel S. Greeley, head of the Greeley Howard Engineering company of Chicago, and honored citizen of Winnetka, who is in his ninetieth year, is one of the pioneer who delights in telling of his early experiences.
With the recent passage of the currency bill Mr. Greeley's mind returned to the war times when "shin-plasters [unclear] and stump-tail" money were the only available denominations. He also recalls the time when water was sold at 10 cents a barrel in Chicago.

Oldest Harvard Graduate
Mr. Greeley claims the distinction of being one of the oldest surviving graduates of Harvard in the middle west, and even in the United States for that matter. He will [illegible] years of age.
Mr. Greeley was graduated from Harvard university in [illegible]. He was born in Boston, Mass., Oct. [illegible]. He came to Chicago in [illegible] and went to work as a bookkeeper in a [illegible] at $50 a month.
During the following years, Mr. Greeley engaged in surveying and [illegible] work in that line has involved [?] some of Chicago's largest buildings including the Auditorium hotel. He was elected city surveyor in [illegible] on the "know nothing" ticket [illegible] Boone for mayor, re-elected [illegible]f out a year in [illegible] elected, after a defeat in [illegible] year 1859 [unclear]. Subsequently the position was abolished.
The present [illegible] recalled to Mr. Greeley's mind [illegible] attention

[Page 7] "We had no greenbacks then. We had merely the notes issued by the various banks. They were issued on one third security and sometimes a doller note was worth only 5 cents. Naturally enough, therefore, it was not long before the Chicago people began to call this stump tail money.
"In the meantime there was little actual money--silver--in circulation. People were hoarding it. If a man went to a store to buy 20 or 30 cents worth of goods he would pay in postage stamps--they were then of 5 and 10 cent denominations. The dealers were willing and anxious to get the stamps. That was the only way to make change. But this caused hardship, because stamps would stick together.

"Shin Plasters" are issued
"The government came to the rescue by issuing postal money or "Shin plasters" as they were called. This money never had anything to do withthe postal department, but the name came from the fact that it was issued as a substitute for postage stamps as a medium of trade. There were 5, 10, 25 and 50 cent certificates.
"Next came the government bonds called seven-thirties. That's because they earned 7 percent or 1 cent a day[unclear] on a bond of [unclear]. These bonds were used as currency. It was easy to figure up the interest and [unclear]. The government paid this high rate only while it had difficulty in obtaining [unclear] loans. The next issue of bonds was at [unclear] percent.
"Yes, Chicago is quite a different city today than what it was in those days," Mr. Greeley said, after recounting some of hte scenes that came back to his mind as he gave himself up to reminiscence.

Peddled Water in Barrels
"The water carrier used to drive out on Lake street into the lake until his wagon was in water up to the hubs. Then he would fill the tank in his cart. He peddled this water at 10 cents a barrel. He came to my house once a week and I took two barrels for 20 cents. That was the week's supply of drinking water. We had to depend upon catching rain water for washing purposes."
Mr. Greeley is in good health and enjoys his daily work at the office despite his age. He lived in Chicago until fifteen years ago, when he moved to Winnetka, and since that time he has been a daily commuter.