The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-04-22
In the United States Treasury,

ulduc, Uut where you QOu learn &c
make money. Fine granite structure
accessible by muscular penance Of
many steps. Why so many flights Of
stairs to public buildings in an age wher
elevators elevate the race? Why now
render it imperative to climb up into 8
building in order to get downstairs
Money all about here cheap as dirt-but
only to the eye. Otherwise, touch not
taste not, handle not. Under guidance
and close surveillance am taken to the
Monetary Sanctum Financiorium where
are kept many millions for immediate
use. l bow in the presence of mammon.
Mammon in gold, mammon in silver,
mammon in paper, mammon in stout
canvas bags of dollars, mammon in 81,
50, S., $40, 800 and 81, 200 packages
of bills, which resemble packages OF
tea. | am given to lift-only to lift "a
thousand bags of dollars. l mean a
bag of thousand silver dollars. A tax
on the muscular system. / am then
given to lift S2,OOO,O0O package of
greenbacks in $1,000 bills. No tax at
all on the muscular or any other system.
Balance of weight and clumsiness in
favor of the silver; balance of hghtness
and convenience in favor of the paper.
Hence, | prefer paperin mine; if there's
much of it. l laid the $2,0O0,0OO Of
greenbacks down and went away sor-
rowing. Those bits of paper, which
for few seconds l had held in NV
hand, would secure. me honor, consid-
Grafton and position among men, des-
pite crows feet and a radically ugly
face. s--,-.
Shot up stairs to Treasury top floor
per- elevator to. bureau of money en-
craving and printing. Very interesting
and hot with. a variety of mechanical
smells. Money smells good deal while
it is being made. Lots OF women print
ing sheets of money, cutting them and
counting them. Money being baked in
ovens to make it dry and crisp. Rich
financial upper pie crust. Bewilderine
series OF complicated machines for
making money. Here is the financial
stomach of the nation, where its life
blood of trade, commerce. dignity and
position is being prepared for circula-
ton, and that ofswhich the inordinate
love Is the root of all evil turned out by
the tom Also, all manner of revenue
stamps. More women handling great
sheets of uncut bills with rustling like
that OF the withered leaves of autumn,
which, as Patrick Henry remarked.
every gale from Wall street north
brings to our ears" Here are the en-
gravers making the heads of old Presi
dents and politicians more beautiful
than ever were they in life, to adorn
money. Here are. dyers up to their
elbows in green dyeing money. here
they are at the employees lunch counter
eating pound cake with moist, green
dyed fingers, and drinking coffee
from white cups, and leaving
upon them the impress of green.
dyed thumbs. Here be the safes
where are kept the bank note
plates, third of each separate plate
m a separate safe, locked by
and individual lock and kew.
md each lock different from the others,
md the key kept by different man,
md no one man allowed access to the
,ther safes or granted to know even
he others combination of lock, where
)y no one man can steal a whole bank
tote plate. Eternal vigilence and pre-
caution is here. The price of safety
md enforced honesty in the United |
states Treasury policy. Here the mar
'ow passages are now beset by swarms
II visitors, each swarm in charge of
treasury guide, each swarm counted
~ watchful officials as they enter this
department. on going in and counted
gain on coming out, lest some deceit
I'll and desperately wicked human
leart might be left to rummaee about
lmong half-made money and bank note
plates. Here the swarms of visitors
and jostle each other, and
employees moist with green and black
I've squeeze through them, and the
'utdes are troubled to keep their re-
pectlye swarms from straying apart or
offering by the way, and their respect
We mechanical and monetary manufac-
urlng explanations get sometimes
ouch mixed up, and at all times dulled
the ear by the hum and clank of
money making machinery and the chat
er OF the money makers voices, who
axe critically if not quizzically on the
lsltors In retaliation for being them
elves exhibited.
Carried, then, down stairs to the
Bond Room" Kept here millions on
liilions of securities from our 2,1OO
ational Banks, All inelosed in card
GARD boxes, and. each box holding a
Nv sheets of paper. All these hun
reds of millions of paper. Our mann
ION seems paper god, after all. You
lay mold in gold and silver, but if
gu want to carry your financial pen
les around you, you fall back on pa
er. Lady visitor in the bond room ex-
atiated volubly on the benefits of
ealth and the convenience of having
lenty of money. Popular subject.
ppropriate place the Treasury bond
ault for such lecture. Lady wanted
luch money because she '.could do so
uch good with it." 1t is what all of
want it for ere we get it. ITO do
bod with it." After we get it we find ,
is necessary to do much more good
ourselves than we previously imag-
ed. Give man $4,000 who before
ever had at once over 800, and in !
lree months time he'll feel as poor as
yer, and be longing for million, Just I
Tor the good he could do with it."