Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-03-05
VISITORS AT THE MINT.


ern Wilds-Curiosity Great Traveller.
From the Philadelphia News
No public institution in the city is so
well patronized by visitors as the
United States Mint. Belonging to the
people, the Government has recognized
the right OF q justifable curiosity, and
for the reception and pilotage
OF visitors have provided q set Of en-
ployes who are called conductors, to
whom the paying OF these atten-
tlons is assigned as their exclusive
work. Citizens Of the United States
are not alone III this curiosity to see
the manufacture of bullion into coin
The remotest regions OF the globe
India, China, Australia, North and
South Africa-have paid this tribute
Of curiosity Citizens OF every great
city Of Europe have passed through the
buildings portals. People OF every
rank, princes of the mcnarrhles O. the
old world, newly arrived peasants
from England, Germany and France,
the millionaire and the pauper, the
autocrat, the farm laborer, the navy
and the railroad king
The visitors differ notably in phys
lcal condition, but are Of widely d.
versified intellectual a5talnments.
Among them are some OF the most lg
norant men and women 20 he found
| on the globe; some Of the brightest
minds, and some OF the most famous
names Of both hemispher,:s, Nearly
five hundred visitors are escorted
through the institution every day and
among the large number OF men and
women who inspect it's marvellous
! machinery and fabulous treasures are
queer characters and crarl1s
"Not very long ago we had a rare
| customer from the South" said one OF
the wh;te-haired conductors. He was
evidently well-to do; but he had a wide
brimmed hat, long hair, flashing eyes,
| and an unconquerable curiosity. He
asked questions about everything, and
answered him in the best way l
could. At last we stood in the
! cabinet, on the second floor, where
| coins from every country areplaced in
glass-covered cases. The man from
| the sunny South eyed a coin struck
1000 years ago in Asia Minor, ancient
Philadelphia. Below it was a notice
Of it's age: value and worth. The
! SOutherner's eyes contracted as b
| read the notice, his countenance be
| came savage, he clinched both fists;
stamped soundly on the floor, NUT
! tering:
"It's a-lie!'
'What?' I exclaimed
"tAbout that coin, he said.
'Thinking he was an ignoramus,
asked him:
"sDidn't you know Philadelphia was
1900 years old?'
OF course, you fool, he blurted
out; but didn't think there was q
mint here then!'
People 60 to the mint expecting to
carry all sorts of parcels with them
through the building. Some of then,
bring dogs, baskets, valises and boxes,
| which the vigilant officials do not al
low them to take into the treasure
rooms. Sometimes they bring babies,
but this class OF impediments they
are allowed to lug wherever they
choose.
II remember an adventure with q
mother and her infant" said the
News mans venerable informant. "1t
was bitter cold day in winter; the
wind cutting like knife, snow all ovel
the ground, and the mercury way
down below the freezing point, when
woman came up the marblesteps with
a baby in her arms. A baby
only a few weeks old, with no thick
wraps, it's little lips blue with cold, and
it's hands like ice. told the woman,in
my Indignation, she didn't deserve to
have a baby, took them into warm
room and thawed the infant back in
to life. 1t, would have persisted if she
had allowed 1t to stay few minutes
longer in the cold.
''The visitors to the mint are given
all the information in our power, but
sometimes with green ones we draw
a little on our imagination. ( had a
man from Jersey, q farmer, whom !
showed all over the building, machin-
cry, melting. room and all. Hesimply
opened his mouth as [ finished each
explanation. I got tired, for he kept
asking the most senseless questions.
Finally he asked me what an engine
was for. That broke me all up. !
told him it Was a big sewing-machine,
that we used to drive little sewing-ma
chimes that made garments all by
themselves, upstairs. He drank it oil
in for gospel, for I've NO doubt he
supposed, like some others we have
had here, that dollars don really have
to be made by machines, but that
somehow they grow.
"Darkies are the most pleasant Gus.
toners we get, and we have plenty
every day. They go round grinnine
and showingtheir teeth. They chuckle
and glggle, no matter what you show
them. Chinese and Japanese of good
! rank are the best people we have to
deal with. Modest, silent, intelligent,
and thankful for any scraps OF infor-
| nation, they 60 around understanding
things, not gaping like clodhoppers,
who have no idea of refinement or
even civilization. Pennsylvania agri-
c,,lt:orists are intelligent and easy to
| do for, but give me anything except
politicians hunting places. They wear
me down; and we have had a stream
ever since Mr.. Fox came in. One OF
them asked me how much my place
| was worth. told him $4,000
year. -.
"'What to you have to do?' he
asked.
"Nothing,' I said, Except to re-.
ceipt for my salary. Would you like
the placer II III S5 Sc.
"sYou bet!' ,4x IA. rs
HE hcofed it upstairs, swallowing
all those lies, and tried to tackle
Superintendent Fox, but the old gen
tleman had bigger fish eloseted with
him then. /" 4 s.=. s IS.
5 =.s 4 s. 81