The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-06-04

the various Bank Note Companies, and that the
Bureau return to the purpose for which it was
| originally organized, viz, that of sealing and
trimmlngand separating the securities Against
this action Mr.. Mcpherson protested earnestly
| before the House Committee on Banking and
Currency the following Winter when the Rank
Note COmpanie les sought to secure the work ard
pointed 10 this recommendation as the basis of
their action. Mr.. Mcpherson, after uuotiUe
from the reports of Congressional Committees
which had Investigated the Bureau TO the effect
that the Government could more profftabIy
aud securely manufacture its paper money
than could private corporations tersely placed
the whole subject as follows:
For fifty the people of all sections have suf-
tered intellectually because this matter of making
paper currency has been allowed to drift Tho
time has now come when n departure should
be taken, and the decision definitely reached that
hencetorth the Government of the United States
s' see 20 II that, so Tar as human skill and power
can effect II, the currency shall continue to he i'm
proved and perfected, and to this end be placed i'm
permanent charge of one of the great DepartD,cnls
of the Government, with this exclusive end and
purpose in view. The time is ripe for the initiation
OF this distinctive policy. Whatever form the cur
rency of the country may hereafter assume it is
certain TO be, substantially, national currency:
and this gives the National Government the oppGr-
tunity, while upon it devolves the duty guard
ing II and of protecting as it only be done by
making Its preparation and issue of the regular
functions OF the Government. Those who live in
the past may regret the results which the remorse-
less forces of events have wrought, but regrets
avail nothing The changes are here, and cannot
be unmade, and with them new duties arise and
new rights The whole people have the right to
protection IN their currency The duty of the Gov
eminent is to- supply it, That can onlv be done nv
bringing to The execution of this all the neces-
sary power and the direct and exclusive agency of
the Government-this not as a matter of hostility
- any one, or from caprice but unavoidable
incident of its relation to the currency the people
Congress adopted the view of Mr. Mcpherson,
and since that time the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing has had the work of all the notes
and securities, and also the Internal Revenue
stamps OF every description. In performing this
work the Bureau has been conducted upon a
strict business basis, and its deliveries have
been made so as TO meet promptly the require
mentS of the Treasurer and the Commissioner
of Internal Revenue. AS has already been
shown, since the reorganization of the Bureau
IN 1877, promotions in every respect, from the
Chief down to the lowest grade employee, have
been made strictly in accordance with merit
and the spirit and letter of the Civil Service
law. Why capable and efficient Chief who
secured his elevation only after proving his
ability in subordinate positions, should now be-
removed to give place to a man whose whole
record is hostile to the existence of the Bureau,
is question which excites considerable dis
cusslon. Capt. Burrill was soldier. which Mr..
Graves was not; and as he is fully the equal of
his successor in business capacity, in integrity,
and the knowledge of the workings of the
Bureau, the opinion is generally expressed that
Capt. BurrilI should not have been disturbed.
There is theory of the cause of Mr.. Grave5's
appointment that, though it does not reflect
very ereditably upon the Secretary of the
Treasury or the Treasurer, may be the true
cause of the recent change. 1t is said that Sec
rotary Manning in his conduct of his Depart
ment, is entirely under the guidance of the
Sage of Gramercy Park, and this is quite
likely, for Mayor Grace said to a reporter Of
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE that Tiden thought
more of Dan Manning than any other man in
the world. Mr.. Jordan, the ncwly-appointed
Treasurer, is also said to be friend OF Mr.. Til
den, and he desired to have rs his assistant
some personal friend with whom he could have
the most confidential relations. Hence Mr..
Graves must be got rid Of If he had never
attained any prominence he would have been
sumRarily dismissed; but Graves had been
the Secretary of the first Civil Service COM
mission, and had been prominent rs a RefOrmcr
Consequently some place had to be found for
him, and, as his views of the proper functions
of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing bar
moniZed to a certain extent with those of thu
Secretary and the Treasurer, it was decided To
place him in charge of that institution. ThI
fact that Capt Burrill had been faithful and
gallant Union soldier during the war did not
operate at all in his favor, nor has there been
shown any tenderness toward Union soldiers in
the removals that have been made under the
Democratic regime.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has
/ been perfected in its organization by the tx
perence Of over % years it has cost the Govern
ment many millions of dollars in the purchase
of the costly machinery which is necessary ii: It's
operations; it has building which was e.
pecially erected for its uses. and which is
the finest banknOte building in the world; its
| business is conducted with economy, with skill,
and with dispatch; its force of 900 people is
thoroughly trained in the duties required and
its morale Is unimpeachable. The work per-
formed by the Bureau saves the Government
many thousands of dollars annually, and is of
u character which challenges admiration. Up
to this time, from its very organization. it has
been under the management of Republican,
officials, and it remains 10 be seen whether u
man of Mr.. Graves's known mugwumpian
principles, and under Democratic Admins
tration, will maintain the high standard which
has obtained in every branch Of the Bureau
since its reorganization in 1871.