Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-12-08
THE SILVER DOLLAR.
How the Bullion Becomes the Gilt.
tering Coin.

There's millions in e." said Colonel
Sellers, looking at the United States
Treasury building in Washington. "and
millions after 1t, he concluded. In the
work Of keeping the millions In it,
which the millions after 1t are con-
stantly depicting, the Philadelphia Mint
Is tho chief agent, and TO this end
turned out daily average Of 1000 Of
those large white coins to which WASH
inglon Irving gave the title Of "Al-
mighty"-aftcrwards disclaiming all
impious intent in its manufacture. when
the phrase became as widely circulated
as the token to which he applied 1t.
Divided only by the length of short
corridor Of tho Chestnut and Juniper
Street Temple of Mammon from the
romnda ante.room, where the crowd Of
hopeful or hopeless faced people hang
on tho favor of the now Superintendent,
is q small stone paved courtyard, open
as courtyards arc to the air. All around
the walls Of inclosure are ranged crates
of merchandise. The crates are pad
locked and made of the stoutest Of wiro
netting. This, their central position
and. the guard by day and night
arc the only protection OF the
crates Of merchandise. From the
action Of tho elements they have and
need no moro defense than piles of pig
iron. Yot 10 each Of the half dozen
cfntcs were piled one day last week,
when Press artist and reporter saw
sesonty-iiye blocks OF dull colored metal
containing each the mighty potentiality
$l.00o-that Is to say 859 375-l000
ounces of silver. Thus were 450.00O
ehbrYo dollars separated only by wire
netting from an art and q newspaper
man. and only by that and hallway
from crowd Of Office seekers. As the
visitors continued their journey the
exigencics of tho furnaces called for
morA bullion. and tho workmen set TO
work wheeling it on on battered old
trucks as complacently as II the big
bricks were composed Of the stuff that
bricks generally are composed OF.
''Wo get il in shipments twice q
week., said Colonel Marrice, who, as
Chief Clerk Hick6ck said. could tell
more about the Mint than anybody else
in it. "It's about 9y9-l000 fine whom It
comes from Colorado, and enough
copper has to be added to make II 900
1000 fine" The copper had been added
by the melters in the hot room to the left
of the courtyard, into which the Colonel
led the way, and in white-heated ladies
they were dipping tho molten money
out Of the fdrnaces and pouring IL into
the ingot moulds Six great furnaces
were in operation. Three Of these are
normally gold melters, but the call for
silver has kept them busy these last
weeks at producing the much abused
Bland dollars.
1--WE are melting only clippings now"
said one Of the bare-armed artisans
before the row Of glowing furnaces.
"Wcll be after the bricks later. v
"How many melts are you runningp"
asked Colonel Maurice,
pGFifty.four q daN''iwas the answer
Each melt is Of 5000 ounces, so that
the fifty-four shows q total of 10000
ounces OF iS'ooo pounds OF silver q day,
taxing It's start into circulation via the
furnaces IL was . curious scene in tho
melting room. = Like all the rooms In
the Mint, 1t was low and heavy. The
walls were blackened with SCOT and
CRIME and the furnaces looked well
worn and primitive. There is this same
air anout AL tne MINT machinery. Des-
pite its periectlon there is an absence
OF decoration ana llmcrackery about 1t
which makes 1t all look old.fashioned
and IN q measure foreign, Yankee no.
IONS OF gay pant ana gliding are every
wnere apsent' laKen with tne proven
durability OF all the Mint machines this
appearance gives one a certain con,
tempt ior inc glngeroread work found
on tneexterlor OF machinery IN other
and less important estaDlishments, II
seems proper tnat tne appliances winch
are entrusted with inc execution OF the
most necessary II not the highest tunc-
ton OF great government should have
a SOBER alr-aoout- thems and when one
IS told that the great engine which runs
an tne WORKS mas never needed repairs
since 1t was built BY akensington artl-
heer . quarter OF Q century ago, one is
inclined 20 think that the attention
which might nave oeen glven 70 the or
namentaton OF the monster has gone
into the construction winch enables II 10
work through the ilves oil o generation
OF men without q hitch or stumble In its
unndev'aung course. [
Assistant Meter CUP giant wnoM