The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-10-16
A Village of Paper.
Origin of all the Bank Notes in the Coun-
try-Not one Bill Lostiout of Many Mil
lions.
Correspondence of the Boston Heraldl

Correspondence of the Boston HERALD
DALTON, September 26, 1Ss3,-Three
miles east from Pittsfield, at point not far
from where that thrifty and city-like town
joins the great paper manufacturing village
of Dalton, is located one of the most impor-
tant adjuncts of the financial department OF
the country to be found anywhere within its
confines. Not even the gold and silver
mines of the world are more necessary for
the production of what is accepted as cir
culating medium through the various ma
tions than is certain unpretentious .edifice
situated here on the banks of one of the
mountain tributaries to the Housatonic riv-
er. AS just intimated, 1t is not an imposing
edifce like the treasury department. at Wash
\ '~s'~~ "i'h~~s-i, :. 10 IN n cartain sansa n
very important feature of that extensive
bureau of the government. 1t is not an i'm
mense granite structure, with an elaborate
front supported by massive pillars, filed
with vaults that would require lifetime to
break open, but, for all that, there is not
single note from a 81 bill upward, or, in fact
government bond or security of any kind,
but what has it's birth in this modest struc-
ture. Recently it has also been called upon
to furnish all the paper upon which the new
| postal notes are printed, and, furthermore,
| sufficient time has to be snatched from week
to week to manufacture all the bank note
paper of the Dominion, South American and
| Italian governments. Probably Il one-haf
| the paper manufactures in America were
| burned tomorrow the public inconvenience
| would not be greater than if this little estab-
lishment was destroyed or permanently dis
abled. The reason of this is that the process
| of manufacturing the peculiar and distinct
i've paper required by the government for
its securities, bonds, bank notes, ETC., is
| known only to the Cranes, who hold the
| contract for term of years for supplying
| the several countries already mentioned.
| Since 1879 they have continued to supply
the United States, and the contract has yet
several years to run. The simple process of
| manufacturing the paper itself does not diff
| fer very materially from that employed in
making other kinds of paper. The rags are
| ground into pulp after cleansing, and the
/ pulp in turn is thrown into the machine in
| cong Generated soupy mass at one end of a
| long room, and in minute or two it is pro-
dueed as perfect paper at the other end.
| LUIS pTOCeSS goes on STEADILY from one
| years end to the other, and the number of
sheets produced within the space Of twelve
months is probably more than all the Butler
| voters at the coming election could count
| during the rest of their lives.
| Though the process of manufacture is a
common one, yet there are many peculiari-
ties which enter into it, one of which is not
characs OF any other paper manufac-
| tured in the world. To begin with, the
stock used is not commonly known as
| paper rag :" Only new material Is en-
ployed, and this is composed exclusively of
cuttings from the finest linen. These are
obtained from shirt and collar factories all
over the land; but if the supply happens to
fall short of the demand, the uncut linen is
purchased and ground up. OF course this
emergency does not very often happen, but
on the two or three occasions when it has,
| the Games did not hesitate to keep their
mills running even at the extraordinary
sacrifc of getting their material at the high
priced dry goods stores The idea of using
such superior stock is to obtain the greatest
strength possible and wearing power of the
paper. Another important element which
enters into the manufacture of bank-note
and other foe papers is bountiful supply
| OF pure water. This is secured in abun-
| dance from the numerous springs among
the hills of eastern Berkshire. A few wears
| ago some scientific parties were employed to
ascertain if a spring could not be found In a
certain suspected locality. They prospected
| after their own fashion and reported nm
| favorably. Young Murray Crane, the mem
Der OF the firm who has especial charge of
the government mill, did not believe in their
/ reports so implicitly as others-so one dav
he went to work himself and his ideas we're
verified by discovering In the locality rejec-
ted by the experts never failing flow of
| water as absolutely pure as it is possible for
the aqueous fluid to be. The supply OBJ
tanned from this source has contributed as
much as anything else to the satisfactory
and uniform character of the paper produc-
| ed Nothing can be nearer white than the
pulp which it helps to form. lady who
took away handful of it on the occasion of
| the Herald correspondents visit has since
used it as the subject for parody on ''Beau-
| tiful Snow"
Excepting the mechanical, material and
| productive features, which are superntend-
| ed by Murray Crane, this mill is under the
| control of the treasury department. The
various orders posted around it all bear the
signature OF the secretary of the treasury.
| The establishment even has small array of
| treasury girls employed it it-some 18 or 20
in number-who come from all sections of
the country. They earn about So per day,
| and some of them live in the neighboring
town OF Pitts6eld and drive to and from
their work during this charming season of
the year. The duties of these girls are not
| only to count the sheets but to examine each
one closely and reject all imperfect ones.
The other government employees consist of
one superintendent, captain of the watch,
four watchmen, one register man and one
| laborer. The position of the register man is
all-important. An automatic register at the
end of the machine registers every sheet as
| 1t is cut off and laid down. He takes them
away in even hundreds, and then they are
Immediately counted in the drying room.
In all the various processes of finishing,
| which follow up to the moment of shipment.
every sheet is counted. More than all this,
| they are again counted upon their receipt at
the treasury department in Washington. II
/ by any other cause whatever, any one of
| these various counts fail to correspond with
| the original automatic count on the machine
on which the paper was made, there is a live
ly search for the missing sheet Something
of an idea of the care with which the paper is
guarded may be imagined when it is stated
that while the average daily product is suffi-
cient to make 100000 bank bills, yet not a
single one has ever been lost during the five
| years since the contract was awarded to the
Cranes. 'But why should they be so par
ticular about the loss of an insignificant
sheet of paper?' will be asked. The ex-
| planation is an easy and reasonable one.
The great protection of the government
| against counterfeiting lies in the paper here
made, and on which all its bills, bonds, gold
and silver certificates, and everything of a
security nature, are printed.
The distinctive feature is the introduction
of the colored silk threads into the body of
the paper while in the process of manufac-
ture, in combination with distributed silk
fibre of many colors. The threads are red
and blue in color, and the fibre is of various
| cClors, as described, and they are introduced
while the paper is in the pulp and carried
along with it to the end of the machine,
where it is delivered as actual paper. This
simple contrivance is effectual against imita-
tion, and has been more fatal than any
thing else to the professional ccunterfeiters.
However skIllful they may be in initiating
the engraving of the bill, they cannot dupli-
cate this peculiar paper. For this reason
the rule is imperative that every sheet
turne off from the machine must be pro-
duced or its absence satisfactorily ac-