The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-03-26

nahus, ana, nnally, the printer rubs his inky
palms on ball Of chalk and then polishes the
Plate until IL is brighter than when first made.
While he Is doing all this his female assistant
places it between on setting" paper to pre-
vent, the ink from, blurring, and prepares
hno,mGr sheet by rubbing vet sponge across
on the press everything. IL ready for another
impression. And thus they work. continually
workman viii print about GOO sheets pcr day,
hundred; and Of this sum 81 .25 must be paid to
his assistant. In this division there Is u large
corp, Of inspectors or watchmen. and as an
additional check on thicving propensitics, there
are registers on every press which note the
number OF Impressions taken during a, day.
Each sheet Of legal tenders passes through this
department three times. and national bank
currency four times. a. the backs of these notes
Are Are printed , in two eolors Printing the back i
tender, the tintinr on the face. followed by all
Of the black designs. the portrait and vignette.
numbering mach ne is that Of the 'rreasurers
senl, which is imprinted on steam power
presses. Ms cNactness is not necessary in this
part OF the work.
THE BIG dREESBAcKs.
The largest denomination Of legal tenders in
existence are the $4,000 notes. none of which
The next highest is the SO, 600 note, and In sue
session inii9w 600 500 500, $50, $50, SO.
is nothing larger than 81 900. and the smaller
denominations are the same i'll legal ten
ders While Internal revenue paper, varies in
size according to the use for which ii was de-
signed, some sheets containing 40 or so match
stamps. and others only "a OF the beer stamps
bank note paper is almost invariably s4N3'a
inches, On sheet OF this size four notes are
printed. each 3ax7'i inches. leaving from
s sboS,q ~ to one infh or Ttmnng On
the same but the national banks usually have
combnations three los and II 90 on sheet,
! convenience Of the banker. As soon as II is
discovered that note has, been successfully
Snn py new T ordered the 6 na
| have made ut the bureau. For some unex-
plnlnahln reason the Government is troubled
very little, with countcrfets the present series
| OF notes having been running since l969-70
while on the contrary. nearly dozen national
bank bank nIates have been retired for this reason
From the plate-prnting room the freshly
aiming room. accompani"d by the " p rim
! certificate of the amount and class of work done
II registered work-that is, II the back has
! been prlntrdand one or more impress ions Otthc
! face taken. young lady holds each sheet up
20 the light TO see If the impressions ON back
| paper. and. II they do not. such sheets are laid
aside cancelled and returned to tue Treasury
| with the finished notes. Should Il sheet OF notes
| or stamps be missing an investigation is made
| immediatsly and If it is not found, an assess
! ment Sufficient to cover the face value Of the
| sheet, whether - or 81 900. is made on the EN-
! ployees IN the pate-printing division: and this
| Is also the rule in all ether divisions OF the
! bureau II the work is found correct. however
! the sheets are spread out on racks and the
racks placed in immense drying ovens, which
| have a temperature Of 100 degrees Fahrenheit
! In the evening these ovens are locked and
| sealed, and when opened the following morning
! the previous days work is perfectly dry. when
! II Is returned TO the wettinG room. counted.
| dampened, and sent to the pressing room, where.
| under the powerful pressure of hydraulic
! presses, the sheets are Strengthened out again.
| for in the dry ing ovens they pick up curls and
| wrinkles. Then back TO the wettine room they
~ again ain, are damnened wet coantein and
! pres ,lnn on back or lace. In the course OF a
few days these same sheets. if not finished. will
! come back 70 the drying ovens. or hydraulic
| presses again. and thus they keep going for
weeks. always under the eyes OF Waterman
or locked in Il vault. until finally ready to 60 to
| the seal printing presses on lower floor where
| the money not only grows. but fairly flies from
| four Hoe presses.
THE NUMBERING MACHINES.
The time required for the printing Of bank
| note. or greenback. is twenty-five to twenty
| four days, and during that period it passes
through the hands Of ffty-two persons; yet
with note OF either old or recent date and
ask Col Irish the chief Of the bureau to trace
| the name of every employees through whose
hands it had passed while being printed, for
everything is recorded ~ we'll as guarded in
! thi, building
Sixty-two young ladies working at sewing
| mach incs-no, numbering machines. But they
look jus AZ though they were sewing each with
sheet oi bank notes before her. feeding il as
she would piece Of cloth This is the division
and Treasurers numbers. and national bank
| currency the charter number Of the bank and
number of the note, those figures in red ink
with capital letter denoting the series and u
! curious character following No series and no
number Of any series is ever duplicated and
| there are curious combinations known only 10
the Resisteri Treasurer. and Comptroller. by
means OF which complete record is kept Of all
! the money printed. Near the top and bottom
| of each nSte there is fine blue or red silk
thread extending clear across face or back and
| II Ii the intention 70 always have the numbers
| OF II note fall on these lines. In little cage
like division in this room the sheets Of money
now complete, are counted for about the tittieth
| time and If legal tenders, the notes are seps-
rated 10y cutting machine. or II currency. the
sheets are sent out whole, for the national
banker must scissor rs we'll as sign his own
bills. The last count and examination are the
most correct and careful OF all. and only old and
sion. One lady in this room has been counting
money for seventeen years and has the record
during AL that time. After tn final count the
money is done up in little bundles OF 1000 notes
each, bound with strip Of yellow paper, on
of the counter aud the number Of the first and
list bills In the package. Late in the day these
have combination locks and are taken to the
stock vault to await transfer 10 the Treasury
on the following morning. together with the
Internal revenue and other work that has been
finished during the day. The transfer wagon
is Il low-hung oIiye-colored van lined with
steel and locked with bars and bolts and combi-
nation locks, and every morning II carries away
from slO0.ooOto 100000 in money and thou
sands oi dollars worth OF stamps and securities
Up under the gables Of the roof the sheets oi
Internal revenue stamps are bound or blocked
after being gumncd and perforated. Far below
in an out-ci-thc- way corner II the basement
there are two immense builcr-ilkc macerating
ma chimes, into whose CapHciuuS maW- about
5000 pounds Of spoiled sheets aud redeemed
Treasury notes are placed every other day to
be- ground into pulp by revolving knives and.
after SOAKING. in acid for several nouns are dis
charged ina slate -colored mass which is sold
to New YORK firm and manufactured into
second class paper. All redeemed Treasury
notes are branded across the face and split
lengthwlsc. and every note on Il spoiled sheet
Is uuArtcrcd. Only legal tenders are destroyed
here, however, Comptroller Knox having
special arrangements AT the Treasury building
for maceratInE currency.
LOCKING UP FOR THE NIGHT.
Four o'clock The rafting Of steel plates in
the rooms above ceases. men and women hurry
hither and thither and presently the corridors
are crowded with p"rters pushing or pulling
trucks some loaded with printers plates 9TH
ers With stamps. and money III various stages
of completion. and With paper from the wcttng
or counting rooms that has never been touched
with INK and coming down. ON the elevator is
one OF those little iron safes fun of finished
notes. The plates are being taken to the custo-
dian : vaults and the other trucks are bound
To- tn" rpomy stock vault, where all the paper in
the building except that in tho drying ovens
a