Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-10-05

shO" AA -Nete A-aper - Ssaa%.
One 81 series Of articles On "Curious
Manufactures, published In The Pniladsl-
phis North AnerScan. is description OF the
manufacture of bank note paper. The
writer says:
There are bnt three mills in America
making bank note paper ard but enc
That invariably makes il Of the highest
standard Of excellence. Time was that
rigid restrictions were thrc@n around the
production Of this material. AIR. .. 81.
" ilcox. at Glenn Mills, some distance from
Philadelphia city, makes most OF the bank
note paper used in this country, and great
deal iha. is ordered from abroad. Ho in
herits a business that in the time of bis
grandfather was conducted only under the
eve OF an agent Of the government. When
an order came for supply an agent came
with 1t. or the portion Of the mill whore
the work was done he took possession. He
supervisor the entire process, from the
maceration Of the pulp to the cutting Of the
sheets. Every spoiled sheet was accounted
for, and the scraps and cuttings ~ere inva-
riably gathered up and carried away by
him. When the amount required was FIN
ished, no more paper could be had excep.
through the authorized source This eau
ton is now done away with. Any man
may make She best or the poorest paper
that he can, and sell it to whom be please,
The counterfsitsr has vast des, IF trouble
with his plates, but with his paper very
little.
Tho American National, the Continen-
tai, and the British American engraving
companies buy the paper and print the
DAtpa rharpinO tho nj ri nv .-oJ
price per sheet. The usual size for bank
note paper is l4x17 inches the sheet, each
sheet making just eight notes. The mate
rial Of the paper is wholly linen. II was
once made of silk. not BY machinery o it
now 10. but BY hand. IL was not an object
70 bleach it. This very article il written
upon venerable sample Of pinkish paper,
in which may be seen threads of scsrlet
pulp in which the dye has been purposely
left undischarged. Machinery new does al
this work. The material 10 linen, imported
from Ireland expressly for the purpose, and
the paper is therefore white a. snsw. This
material was formerly made expressly for
bank note paper. for the Msssfs. Wilcox,
direct from the fax but the linen facto-
riss-of course at high prics-ksep up the
supply from the cuttings Of their products.
miscellaneous rags come from continental
countriss-ItaIy, Spain and the nsishbor.
ing kingdoms chiefly; but these people do
not wear linen, and consequently do not
have linen tattcrs TO dispose Of.
disclosure OF the minutise Of making
this precious paper would b violation Of
confidence. The mills are situate upon .
hmpid creek in Swanbury township, Della.
ware county. They produce oil kinds Of
fine and collar papers; but this especial
manufacture comes under the head Of Gu.
rious, aud therefore receives cur attention.
1t 10 interesting oil through; for the linen
taken into the fourth story Of the building.
BY one uninterrupted process, all done by
machinery, is delivered in sheets from the
cutting machine upon . snow-whits table,
in front Of a girl dressed % carefully as il
at ladies' tea party, who packs it into
wrappers for delivery.
American government and bank paper
needs to be good. 1t Is longer in use than
any otho paper money in the world. II
| could not be SO il it were not the best.
The Bank Of England does not second
time issue tho aame note; ours go from
hand to hand sometimes until their idcn-
| lity is Amos. obliterated. Mother English
nor French bank notes are nearly SO we'll
| looking as ours. Neither the paper nor
| tho ensraving approXimates in excellence
The WORK done for our'own banks and cur
own government. Tho paper from Glenn
Mills IS always the same, vhether TIE price
OF material and skilled labor rise or fall.
The eastern makers (0f whom there nre
two) differ from the Philadelphia mill in
furnishing tho article in proportion OF ex-
oellencc TO tho price they agree to take
for it.
" Mr.. Wilcox recently delivered a lot OF
paper to the office of the American Bank
Note Company in this city, ordered for the
printing Of it's paper money by the little
kingdom Of Greece. Every sheet bears in
inerasable and uncounterfeitabe letters q
specific mark, made in the pulp by the del
lcate wire sievins upon which it is dried.
II this were introduced by banks in gene
RAJ, counterfeiting would DO virtually i'm
possible Tbs writer is told that Treasury
Department Is reducing TO pulp and again
working over it's worngut and cancelled pa
| per.
- 10 make bank note paper three things,
or rather four things, ale necessary: A
considerable capital absolutely purc
water, that must be. even then, filtered be
tore lit FOR use; elaborate and especial ma
chinery; and last, but not least, an init
mate and perfect knowledge of the bust
ness Hard water, though coming from
crystal springs that weep from rocky, moss.
clad walls. won't do. These springs are
glorious institutions for picnic parties,
mako capital punch or lemonade, but they
won't make linen into pulp. In these mills
the soft pellucid water Of tho creek is car
red to tho apex Of tho building. where a
ten thousand gallon tank is never empty
and each drop undergoes fltration tina,
gives It all the softncss and ali tho purity
OF the distilled water on tho shelf Of the
apothccary.