The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-08-18
NlNETY.NINE TONS OF GOLD.

rusged About and Weighed, a Hundred
qhausand Dollars Worth at q Time
How it is Tested and why 1T is Boiled
In Acid.
Iteosts 81, 200 to sen $4,000, 900 in
bullion from the New York Assay Office
the Philadelphia Mint. That is why
suom in the Assay Office is at present
vailed around with gold bricks. The
weight Of 5000, 600 Is eight tons and
sqaarter, or, more accurately, 1855
pounds. Congress was asked for $780,
alo to cover the expense of transporting
talion to the mint, but it only appro-
pnaed $4,000. Between the I'd of
August last and Nav /, 800, 900, 900
hgold was received in the Assay Office,
snd for lack of money to send it to the
mint $50, ,000,00 yet remains on the
iands Of superintendent Thomas C.
Teton. This sixty millions weighs
about ninety nine tons. A man who
should own it would be able to wall
himself up in it as in well, and the
veil would not be so wide or so high
mt that he could stand in the middle
ndtoueh every brick. The number of
ysntlemen in this country who could
pefarm this interesting experiment
With their own gold is small. The bricks
the Assay Office average about 81, 900
spiece in value. The most of them are
not much to look at. They are as black
snd dull in color as a cheap quality of
aove-pipe. If you scratch one with a
mite You make bright yellow mark,
nd this mark will not get black again.
These black bricks are composed of
melted foreign coins, containing about
Tie right amount of alloy for American
eonage and so the alloy is allowed to
rmain in them. When the melted gold
spoured into the moulds the oxygen of
'as air attacks the copper of the alloy
md turns it black. If it were worth
While to protect the bricks from the air
mtil they got cold they would never get
any darker in color than gold coin
would Two-thirds of all these bricks
y srs made Of French twenty-frane pieces.
Nose bricks made of gold directly from
lae mines are very nearly pure metal,
sa0 are as bright as coins. The drain
age from all this gold, if it were put at
interest at five per cent, would make a
splden stream of S342 an hour RUNNING
esy and night.
!, 1 know just as well how much gold
mere IS in this room,' Superintendent
Aelon said, as he gazed about at the
p'leo up wealth, "as know my own
'se, but notwithstanding that it must
Y % weighed again in anticipation of
xeoant to be rendered by July l. If
3 q aad 3, !, had money enough to send it to
e Philadelphia Mint, we would not
!. ave the great trouble of weighing it.
.ss a0ous slOo. GOO of it only is put on the
eales at time.''
oA men were at work. Down the |
ases n OF all but two of them the sweat
~ u,ea, and their hands were grimy |
y ssn black oxide of copper. They tug |
~ ~ ~ the gold bars like 'Iongshoremen |
n'vaalag a.ss pig iron. A heavy platform |
ssca; y. !. ON four small wheels, was rolled |
~ sne room, and ON this about twen- |
raa 1--WE bars or bricks, taken from the
ls,is = up golden walls ON three sides of |
i - room, were laid. The truck was
asa asa orawn along the floor by four
~, |, a TWO pulling and two pushing, into
) .. salolnlng room where the scales
- IL ine. scales are about five feet
3. ss, anu the index needle is more than
~ ) .eet long. The beam and the pans
y ! 1s; 1sa;spended on steel edges as sharp
) Anile ~. nlades to avoid friction. When
y ) slnal weights had been added to
H.. i ~ ge ones to balance the gold, the
:. ys y y tne index needle would tremble
=. ,,aa 'ne middle line of the ivory grad
"a ,sa scale. This pair of scales is of a
a slsnao ~ ueileate that when brought to
NAL aee with two pieces of paper of
+, : Sl1e IN the pans, the mere writing
j n;a aalle with a lead-pencil on one Of
! s;ah. pleces OF paper will add enough
as :. 70 the paper to turn the scales
ma lasor. This has actually been
nm ~, "a one OF the scales in the ASSAY
~ a,'. out that pair is protected from
y sa'rents by a glass case,
i d;aas:n .n VINO handle the gold, though
,ce ulng - - much in outward appear
- ,ssa = lne casual observer from coal
sn,,ss M ], are IN fact, men of intelligence,
,Oa ap,oseu NV reputation, and who receive
ID would not have all this trouble"
d 5S00on eas chief weigher, as he put
In h;s hsuee weight gently on the scales
ew s w;,h iigat hand and wiped off his
tha ".sl .a1 nis left, "if we had arrived
parliament Of man. the federa-