The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-10-07

gentleman who showed me around the place,
pointed with pride to one lady in striped
dress, who had been in the department for
a long time, and who could count at the
rate of 180 notes minute, that is three in
a second. 1t is hardly probable that there
is teller in any bank in the country who
can do this. If this lady counts five dollar
notes for six hours during single day,
$270,000 would pass through her hands.
The engravers occupy the lower floor of
the building, and it is almost needless to
say that the highest talent is employed in
this department of the service. There are
five different styles of engraving on bill
written or script part, peculiar kind OF
work done ON the end of the bill near the
figure representing the denomination, and
which is done by the geometric lathe; the
lettering, the vignettee and the portrait.
Each of these styles of work are done by a
single man, so that one man, no matter how
long he may be in the service, can never
engrave bill in its entirety. 1t is some
what annoying confession to make, how
ever, that there are two men in the coun-
try, counterfeiters, whose ability as engrav-
ers is so great that they are able to make
all parts of bill. On the other hand, it
may be said that the engravings on the
Z. s. notes and securities has long been
acknowledged to be the best in the world,
and has been awarded such by foreign Ex-
positions and the Centennial Fair recently
held in our own country. The engravers
receive from Sc to So a day.
The vaults in the basement of the build
ing where the money is deposited after it
is made, are huge compartments, the en-
trance being through an immense iron door,
seemingly large and strong enough to defy
the united efforts of a party of giants. The
door is worked by combination lock, SO
arranged that it requires three men to work
it. They have charge of the plates on
which the engravers and printers are at
work during the day. Each afternoon
these plates must be returned before four
o'clock. In a glass case near these vaults
may be seen the swords of the rebel Major
General Twigg, which were captured by
General Butler during the late war. There
are three of them, all presents in consider
alton of his bravery in the Mexican war in
1916. One is worth S., 600, another SIC, )
600, and the third $40, ,OOO-the last being
largely made of gold and set with precious
stones. The heirs of General Twigg are
now making efforts to have the Government
restore this property to them, and II is
generally supposed that the effort will be
successful -
There is now being tried in this build
ing a new patent process for printing
United States securities. 1t is called after
the inventor, "Mulligans Patent Plate
Process" The presses which are run by
hand in the upper part of the building,
and to which allusion has been made, do
not get through the work very fast The
new press is run by steam, and all the ne
cessary operations but one are done by ma
chinery instead of by hand, the printer
remaining at one point of the machine and
being only required to rub off the surplus
ink with his hands. Of course a great
deal more work is done by this method.
but work is accumulating so fast on the
Government that some labor-saving method
it is claimed, is getting to be necessity
The inventor worked the machine year
and half for the Government before the
officials were satisfied to give it trial.
Then the Government built five presses as
commencement, and now they are talking
of building more.