Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-01-07
OUR PAPER CURRENCY.

In July, 1866, letters patent were
Issued, through the Scientific Ampri-
can Patent Agency, to Jas. NJ. Will
cox, bank note-paper manuf;,ctu-
rer near Philadelphia, for an
improvement In paper, to prevent
counterfeiting. As this peculiar pa-
per has been adopted by the Treasu-
ry Department for United States se-
curtieS, and reaches the hand of
everybody In the shape Of green
backs, n few words in explanation
will be useful to all handlers of money,
Protection In paper, as in engraving,
consists In peculinrity and in difiicul
ty of initiation; nothing else. Many
years ago bank note paper was made
peculiar by the mixing of r d, blue
and other colorcd silk shreds in the
pulp before converting H. into sheets
of paper. This pccuarity was CON
sidered test of genuineness, and was
so to IA certain extent. Paper made
In that way, however, came into the
open market, and could be bought by
counterfeiters as well rs by bank ofii-
cers and engravers. Mr.. Wilcox has
added "A new feature in the introduc-
tion Of cOlored shred+, which makes
a paper SO peculiar that it cannot be
made by hand process, or by cylin-
der machine, but only by the better
class or Four,lrinier machine. Even
here special machinery Is required to
locate the cOlOred shre,ls In certain
parts Of the note and not In Others.
As this machinery exists only In
his own mill, and the process is pro-
tected by patent, the paper Is kept out
Of the market, and the Government
and the public have the advantage of
its exclusiveness. The mill IL guard
ed night and day by an armed force
In the pay of the Government, tn
prevent robbery, and there IL every
reason to believe that this paper wifi
be kept out of unlawful hands.
! 1t will be observed that n line of
blue shrcds cross the left. t.hand end of
all legal tender notes new issue) OF
the denominations Of one, two, five
ana ten dollars; and similar line
crosses the right hand end ofall notes
above ten dollars. As these lines are
ingram, and cannot he altered, the
alteration Of low note to high one
would he at once detected by the po-
sition of the localized shreds. As
these slired| are interviewer with the
fibres of the paper, care should be
used to make sure they are neither
entirely under the surface nor entire
ly on the surface, but both.
In the United States currency a
double process IL carried out. In the
first place n red fiber Is mixed indis-
criminately through the pulp, and
consequently through the sheet
This Is done In the grinding engine.
a second process with special ma
chinery) is carried out in the Four
drinier paper machine by the localiz-
ing of "a blue fiber as the pulp l.
changed into paper. All isinterwOv-
en- together, and when the sheets are
cut into notes the blue iibers find
their position as described.
The new fifty cent note which the
Department ispreparing to issue, will
the localized blue tibres occupying
one end only of the notes, while all
the remainder will have the indis-
criminate red. The double process of
manufacture will he prominent.
The thanks of the community are
due to the Secretary of the Treasury
for his earnest and well directed efforts
to protect them from coupterfeits;
and their attention Is called to prop
er understanding Of this new feature
i'm protection.
As IL has been placed under the
guardianship of the Department, it Is
believed to he eIfectual, and we are
glad to have an agency in bringing II
into use.