New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-11-11

10 that Just witnessed 70 the Papcrroom. Inc
sheets as they leave the dryine-room are brought
here TO 30 counted, examined, and packed prepare
tory to delivery IN the'Chiefs Office down stairs.
Women, most frequently young girls, are employed
on this work. Gs they quicker and more accurate
thar men, Six are employed in this room, and their
aggregate daily count is about 10 900 sheets.
Here also and in the PspcI-room the work is given
out TO the printers. In the morning each man re-
ceiyes the plate which he is to print and the neces
sary paper to fill the ORDER These are charged to
him in his pass.book. At night, when his day
work is finished, be brings back tho plate with the
printed sheets, which are credited to him in the
book. The whole enormous aggregate Of each days
and months work showing, as before remarked,
methodical but simple system Of Debit and Credit
Leaving the Paper and Packing Rooms, few steps
further bring us to the Hydrostatie Press, or
Dry PRINTING ROOM.
This is splendid apartment, 100 feet long by 80
wide and contains over so presses, which have been
supplied 20 DE Department at al aggregate cost 81
s. 200. 10 was suggested to tho late Secretary oil
the Treasury hat much greater security and econ
omy would be attained IL notes could be printed
without weting, Tins securing the paper from iuee-
ular shrinkage, and also giving the engraving a
clearer and more perfect Impression. Toeiect this
much greater pressure necessary than could be
obtained by the common roller presses then in usc
Requisite machinery was therefore obtained, and
the impressions taken by hydraulic pressure. The
experiments made TO secure this end have been ap-
Piled only 70 part of the fractional currency; and
though many objections were made BY expcr'sto the
practicabty Of this plan still il is believed tchaye
proved successful, and over a million OF dollars OF
fractional currency have already been produced by
this process. This work is Of very superior quail
ty, and the sheets thus printed separated by ma
ehinery. II would be nearly if not quite impossible
for countorfeiters 20 procure and operate the ma
ehinery necessary 10 the manufacture Of currency by
this process with the secresy necessary 10 escape de-
lection. Specimen sheets show clearer impression
and a remarkable dstinctness with which the faint
est water line is made TO stand boldly ont All sorts
Of stories were circulated of tho building being
crushed down, OF there being an iunpossibility to
take with n machine more than seyentylvc impress
zion. per day, and hundred Others Of a similar
character; but, inviting men of Judgment and skill
in machinery TO test the feasibility Of the plan, Mr..
tinue the experiments and perfect the system. The
first tests were made with hand pumps. Ma
chine pumps have now been rugged, and the whole
is in motion. by very ingenious continuance IN
the basement and outside Of the building, areservoir
Of hydraulic power is created from which these
presses are fed.
WET PRINTING.
The wet printing which il carried on in simi.
liar apartment. in the adjoining wing Of the build
ing, may be thus briefly described. The wetting IL
done by cloths instead OF by dipping or sprinklng,
az in newspaper printing. room is prepared es-
pccially for this with iron weights for pressing.
Each man las his particular place assigned him, and
all work in harmony, aud with precision aud celer-
ity. The printing is now done on the oldfsshioned
engTavers press which is nothing more than sim
PIE iron roller, covered with cloth and paper, 10
press the printing paper into the indentures, placed
in strong frame and turned back and forth by
hand, by spokes placed in the ond Of the roller.
Two persons work at each press, man and woman,
the former attending the plate the latter tho paper
The plate is kept warm while working By gas
heater. Tho sheets, when printed, are each laid be-
tween other ssceu of thin brown paper TO keep
them from bluring, and sent in hundreds 70 the
drying room. The trst process of bond printing Is
numbering the coupons aud the denomination with
yellow mordant and "a they 1y from the preN
are bronzed rs they appear when issued.
Yellow is used because it cannot be photographed
withou, showing too plainly 70 be mistaken, az was
remarked about the fiber in the paper.
There ore upwards OF 100 presses at work in this
and the adjoining room, which are also used for the
wet or roller press printing, the whole employing
about 900 hands. At the time OF our visit the whole
Of this large force was at work and the scene pre-
scented very interesting and not little exciting.
These rows Of presses ranged parallel with each
other, with sufficient space allowed between each
row 10 allow workInen 10 operate the press, and
running the whole length Of the room. Each note,
as now produced, requires OF least three separate
prntings LIST, the black 3D. the green on the face,
and 3D. the green on the back THIS Is independent
of the numbering and sealing which follows. 1t
may be matter Of surprise why there ia such dis
parity in the number OF hands employed in working
the two kinds Of presses 1t mus, be remembered
that the other is yet an experiment, while this pro-
cess Of printing is the old established method. The
number of impressions which good workman can
take in day by this process Is about 500, and the
average number OF sheets from the entire force in
the wet printing rooms frequently range as high as
80 or 60 thousand sheets. Al the end Of each dayt
work before stated the sheets delivered 10 the
Superintendent of drying-room, dried again count
ed pressed and then delivered to the Superntend.
ent Of the Sorting and Examining room, where they
Rare inspected, the muta,ed or imperfect sheets be-
ing placed by themselves, and the whole sent to tn,
Superintendent of the counting room in the base