The Red Cloud chief., 1882-10-06
HOW MONEY Is MADE.
The Curious and Interesting Dsistory Of .
Government Dollar.

HOW MONEY Is MADE.
The Curious and Interesting History Of q
Government Dollar.
The fact that money il q subject oil
universal interest probably accounts for
the large number Of visitors 70 the
Bureau Ut Engraving and Printing al
Washington. where Uncle Sam prints
his promises 10 pay and the various
stamps required to be used on certain
articles. No stranger on a short visit
10 the Capital viii! fail to visit this ins:i-
tuition and trace the history Of q dollar.
from the time il is simply . sheet 0i
blank p until he sees it bundled up
with a lot Of its fellows. ready TO be
sent to the bank and paid out through
the pigeon hole Of the paying teller.
The paper on which our National Sc
curities are printed Is manufactured at
present in New England. The owners
Of the mills that make it are the pat
enices of what is called the localized
blue fiber" which runs through the
right hand end Of the United States
notes. and on the back OF the bonds. etc.
The peculiar fiber is the great obstacle
TO the countcrfeitcr. A Goyernmept Of
ficcr receives the paper from the. con-
tractor. counts il, and holds il until It
Is needed Mt Washington. Each paper.
making machine has an automatic reg
lister, by which the mill owners account
TO the Government for every square
inch of paper they make, and the key
Of this machine is held by n Govern
mcnt officer who watches the work.
Tho asu affair 70 Z. v,aAu L. ~.rA A.
the Treasury Department 1t Washing
ton. and from there the superintendent
Of the Bureau Of Engraving and Print
ing orders il as he finds need. Hegives
n receipt for the number of sheets he
takes, and the printer, who nex re-
ceivcs this precious blank paper. gives
n receipt TO the superintendent. And
now the paper is ready to receive its
first impression.
The number Of pcrsons employed in
the bureau at present is nine hundred.
twO-thirds Of the number being women.
in the case Of the ladies who are n
gagged Ia examining. counting, cutting
the money and cumming the stamps,
they are employed directly by the Gov
eminent. In the case of the printers 1t
is different. The printer. always a
man. is employed by the Government.
and he hires such female help rs he
needs. The printer is paid BY piece
work. and no matter how little or how
much he earns, he must pay each Of
his female help &l.2 % q day. II he is
sick and obliged TO be absent from
business the pay Of the girls goes on
the same as though they worked Mt such
times.
The department is divided into yari-
Gus divisions, the building being four
or five stories high, the workers in each
division attending to only one of the
many different processes through which
the bit of paper has TO pass before it
comes out a crisp, full-fedged dollar.
The first impression given to the sheet
Is the face of the bill. without the red
stamp o. seal. The printer has re-
ceivcd from six 10 ten thousand sheets
in the morning. for which, of course, ,
he gives a receipt. Should but one of
the sheets be lost or spoiled the fact
must be reported in the evening, and
the missing sheet must be found or sat
isfactorily accounted for before the
man can leave the building. And right
here it may be mentioned that no one is |
allowed TO leave the building until the |
close of working hours. and not then |
without a pass TO show that the exami- |
nation of the work Of the day has been |
completed and everything has been
found Irregular" II has sometimes
happened that an employee has been
seized with sudden sickness and had to !
be taken home in the Government am.
bulance. but that rarely happens and
when il does proper precautions are |
taken to ~ that the invalid has not
taken any OF Uncle Sans paper
whether blank. or wholly or partly
printed.
The bills are generally printed fourou
: sheet The presses are worked by |
hand and require the attendance of .
printer md n or two girls. The i'm
pressions are, of course. from steel
plates. the man linking the plate. wipingi
OH the surplus ink, and the girls putting
tho sheet on the plate and removing il
after the impression has been made.
After the face Of the bill has been printed
the sheets are taken to the dryinx room
where they remain two or three DAYS to
be dried. Then they are taken to an.
other division. where q second printer
prints the red seal upon each bill. Then
1t will be taken to another division, cut
up. counted and put into the vaults, for
then it is money. The signature on the |
bill is part OF the Regular impression
from the pate. After the I'd zeal hasi
been printed on the face of the. note, i'll
Is printed on the reverse side. Revenue
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