The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-05-11

about the number of dollars of worn-out
money destroyed every day. OF course
new bills are printed to supply the
place of those worn out and destroyed.
When they are destroyed they are
first counted by several persons. so that
there can be no mistake, and the
amounts marked. The money is then
placed in large receiver of iron which
is nearly the shape of two tin pans with
the edges shut together, only very much
larger-six or seven feet In diameter
To this iron receiver there is a door
which is locked with three locks, each
lock requiring different kind of KEY.
Three men, who are appointed in ac-
eordance with law to witness the de-
struction of this money. have each one
of the keys to this door. No one of the
men can lend his key to either of the
others or to any other person. So you
see the door can't be opened without
all three of the men are present Now
at the proper time of day these three
men get together and each one takes his
key and they unlock the three locks of
the door, which is then opened. All
this old money-so many hundreds of
thousands of dollars-is then carefully
placed in the receiver, the door is closed
and the three men securely lock it.
Water is then let in through a pipe and
machine inside beats and grinds all
these hundreds of thousands of dollars
into the finest pulp. When it is sufi-
GENTLY ground it is taken out and used
to make paper of. No one would sup
pose the wet pulp that comes out of the
receiver had been money only an hour
or two before
A box stood near with perhaps six or
eight bushels of pulp in it, which, was
told, was the amount destroyed the day
before. You will notice the exceeding
care which is taken in counting the
money to be destroyed and in its de-
struction, so that none of the money in
tended to be destroyed shall be stolen
or lost, and so again go into use as
money.
Everything in regard to making the
money appears to be conducted with
the same care, so that it is hardly pos
sible for one person to be dishonest, or
even to make a mistake, without the
dishonesty or mistake being discovered.
As said before, new bills are printed
to take the place of those destroyed,
and also to supply money required TO
be used in the country. 1t would have
been very interesting to you to have
seen the new money made. If youwill
look very carefully indeed at a new bill,
you will notice that it is made of pc
culiar kind of paper-very different
from newspaper or the paper which
papa writes on. 1t is very tough. Per-
haps papa can show you one other
popularity which is very singular.
Take new bill and you will find in the
paper itself something that looks like
fine kind of hair running through each
bill in one particular place. Now, that
paper is made just so in order that no
one may be able to counterfeit the bills,
for the Government takes care that no
one shall ever get even a sheet of that
paper. So if bill hasn't got those
hairs running through it in particular
place, we know at once it is worthless,
or, as we call it, a " counterfeit" bill.
This paper is first made in large
sheets, and every sheet that comes in
to be printed is carefully counted, so
that if a single sheet were stolen or lost
the theft or loss would be promptly de-
tected. When the paper comes in, in
great packages of these large sheets,
each sheet is carefully moistened so that
it will take up the ink properly, and is
then placed under a press, when die
or stamp of the most perfect workman
ship makes an impression, of one color
only on one side. When it becomes
dry it is moistened again, and is again
placed under press, and another i'm
preston of another color is made, and
this process is repeated many times, till
all the colors of both sides have been
impressed This printing is done in
sheets, several bills being printed at
once on one sheet. After this is done
the sheets are dried and put under great
pressure to take all wrinkles out and
make them entirely smooth. The bills
are then trimmed and separated by
machinery, and numbered by curious
little machine that changes its number
at every impression, thus l, 2, 3, A,
etc., so that no two bills of the same
kind have the same number on them.
After the numbering the bills are
ready to be counted you see how care
full they are to count the sheets and
count the bills-oftener, indeed, than 1
have told you of-so as to avoid the
possibility of single dollar being lost
or stolen among all the millions and
millions of dollars of paper money that
are printed, and after being counted
they are placed in packages to be sent
away through the country to the banks
and sub-treasuries.
This was all new and strange to me.
| had an excellent opportunity to OBJ
serve it, as my pass permitted me to go
among the workmen, and an efficient
and very polite guide took great pains
in explaining everything to me. But
don t you think it must take a good
deal of care to look after such an i'm
mense business Of making money?
Very truly, your friend,
MAX HARKAWAY.
Christian Union.