National Republican., 1877-06-29

added In the Department..
Under the authority of Congress named
above, the Secretary purchased machinery and
employed engravcrs, and the first work given
this small force SO hastily gathered together in
u small attic room was the preparation Of plates
| for the small notes to take the place of the
postage currency.
The plates were soon prepared despite all
these difficulties and given to the printers
and the new notes, called fractional currency
to distinguish them from the postage currency,
were soon being delivered to the Treasurer al
Il cost Of $2626l for each trcasurcr's assort.
| mcnt OF S5O,OO, as against - ,l2S5l for the
same amount for tho postal currency The
result was exceedingly gratifying to Secretary
Chase. Tho engraved work on these notes
was vastly superior to that on the postage cur
| tcncy, the printing was superior, the security
TO the Government against unauthorized
issues was assured, and all this at less than one
Wh the cost of similar work of u much inferior
grade.
So well pleased was Secretary Chase that he
determined to give the whole work of pre-
pairing the third series of the fve-twenty
bonds to the bureau, but the force of en-
grarcrs was too small, and he was compelled
to ask the companies to prepare and deliver
to the Department the plates intending
TO do all the printing in the bureau. But
the two oldest companics-for whom "Wc
Our and Us have such hearty regard
refused to do the work, and then an oppor-
| tunlty was given for n new company to come
to the surface. To this company, the Cont
mental, the work of engraving the plates of the
bonds was given. From plate 50 prepared
NJ y cost far in excess Of what the bureau
c,uld have done, had ii had the time and the
| facilities, these bonds were printed, and their
actual cost to the Government for each thou
sand impressions Of bonds was SI3.2i as against
sl.l paid the companies for tho same number
| Of Impressions of the SECOND series of this same
class Of bonds.
Following tho workings of the Bureau down
to the present time, there Is to be found the
same uniform disparity between its work and
that of the companies in cost as well as in the
quality.
That the bureau is as much q necessity now
as ever 1t was there Is no doubt save in the
minds Of 1--WE, Our and Us" Every Secretary Of
| the Treasury since Chase has encouraged and
fostcrcd it; the best committees of the best
| Congresses have Joined in sustaining it, and
the people of the Cnion protected by the cx-
cclIrncc and superiority Of the work turned
out by 1t from the counterfeitCr, have deemed
the act of Secretary Chase in founding the
bureau one of the wiscst of his worthy and
honorable life.
We are informed and believe that the force en-
plnytd IN some divisions was for number Of Yeas
nrnrcr ncTturmNrcc Uf the work and that In Others
WIS three times ~ great necessary. In one Of
hc'r dNi'.olls sort OF platform had been built un.
.".AtN'N Inc iron roof about seven feet above the
| I"Nr, 10 accommodate the surplus counters. On
tiIls sEl. on parts of which n person of ordinary
| height goull not stand erect-dcprlrcd of proper
ventilation, aud cNpUScd in summer tn the Joint
effects uf the heated roof above and the fumes OF
the wcttcd paper hcnchth-wcrc placed some thirty
| ar more women who had received appointments
and for whom room must be- found. IL now APP
cHrs that the room wns of ample size without this
rontrirance. to accommodate all Of the persons
really needed that the surplus force slowed away
III the lOit was entirely unnecessary and that some
OF them, at times for lack Of occunation, whilcd
away the time In sccp,-lIs, Orr aud T., pS
The above has been copied and quoted by all
| the enemies of the bureau, and the facts, as
found by THE REPUBLICAN, make "Wc, Our
aud U.s. appear in any but an enviable light
On 10 occasion has there ever been such a
Wholesale idlcncss or such an uncallcd for cx-
cess of force. 1t has been favoritc weapon
for years of those who We're powerlcss other
wise to injure the bureau. The largest excess
oi force ever carried was at time when work
was daily expected, but of which, owing to the
peculiar influences at work in behalf of the
parties then and now doing the work, the
bureau was robbed, although Congress, In as
explicit terms as the English language could
make 1t, said that II should have it. Over this
time of expectancy the force was all re.
tainod by the Secretary, but only on two thirds
time, or to explain, each person was furloughed
one week out of three, the force for this pur-
pose being divided into three sets. By this
arrangement, although the rolls We're one
third larger than otherwise, the expense was
no greater and hundreds of poor families In
this city were enabled to get through the win
ter This arrangement, resulting as II did for
the interest of the Government, as well as be-
ing great benefit to the unfortunate aud moor
in our midst, "We, Our and Us have no words
OF commcndation for, but on the contrary dis
tort the matter out of all proportions, to the
evident injustice ofthe late management of the
bureau.
That there was an excess of force. ms has
already been stated, in the bureau was known
by Secretary Morrill, and by Secretary Sher-
man long before I'VE, Our and U.s. were made
into a committee, and the pains with which
they endcavorcd to herald to the world this
great discovery of theirs (p ~ and their subsc.
qucnt report to the Secretary is very amusing.
Great are I'VE, Our and Us!"
Now as to that platform or shelf, and the
necessity Of II. 1t was erected because the
room devotedsto the work of wetting the paper,
being Immediately over the columns and under
the roof of the west front of the building. could
not be extended either way at q time when
there was a sudden and pressing demand upon
the bureau for deliveries of work, and when
the bureau was printing and delivering as high
as two hundred and twenty thousand impress
sions daily. To appreciate the vast extent of
this work can best be imagined by comparing
II with the amount of work now done by the
bureau, about twenty thousand sheets-just
one eleventh.
Without this platform there could have been
no place to pile this paper. To get 1t in proper
condition for the printer 1t has to stand some
times five and six days, causing over million
OF sheets OF paper to be piled up In this room.
Where was 1t to be putt
"Wc, Our and Us" evidently never learned
this, and have yet to discover that the work
IN this room is OF the most important of the
bnrnnu. that its l., n
pendent all the subsequent handling of the
paper, and TIE REPUBLICAN may, in all prob
ability, be the channel through which 1--WE,
Our and U.s. may learn It and appreciate the
unjustness and untruthfulness of their state
ment in this regard.
As to those people sleeping on that platform
We, Our and Us" makethc statement. That is
Of itself sufficient Only THE REPUBLICAN
yields to them the sole honor of its discovery,
and of the knowledge of the fact
PERSONAL.