Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1889-12-29
ABOUT POsTALCARDS
When They were Originated aud
How They Are Printed
Introduced In Austria ru.nty Year A..
mud Ina America Your Ysars LAtsr-A
Walk Through the Faetory Near n
CAStiston. /. II.

In 1895 tho Prussian postal Authorf.
ties announced their intention OF
Issuing . correspondence card, on which
brief communications not under seal or
In an Enclosure could be aent through
the mails at greatly reduced rates. For
some reason never explained, tho scheme
hung fre and was, apparently, ADAM
doned. In 1860 Austria took up the
idea, and commenced tho manufacture
and sale of Correspondence cards.. N
tnoy are still called on the European
continent. Prussia Immediately fol.
lowed suit, and. during the war with
Franco, distributed tho cards free %
soldiers, and Mt q purely nominal price
70 soldiers relatives. American postal
cards made their appearance In Maj,
1873, since which time the sale has
grown 30 rapidly that over 1000, ooo, 600
have now 20 be manufactured; every
year.
The machinery used in making tho
po~stal-cards, writes, a correspondent OF
the st. Louis Globe-Democrat from Al
bany, N. Y, Is the usual kind OF paper
making machinery, and there arc kept
constantly in motion three washing en-.
gtnes, four heaters and two sets OF roll
ers. One set Is used entirely for postal
card work, and ono for the 6ner Rrndo
OF b~ook-paper work for the Government,
Each day from four TO seven tons OF rags
are used, besides q largo quantity Of
wood pulp. The postal-cards arc madc
almost entirely from rags. The rags arc
carried from Castleton on tho smallest
railroad in tho United States. It Is a
little sing.e-track road connecting with
tho Hudson River railroad, and Il run.
around the hills to tho mill Ono loco
motive, one passenger car and n
postal-c a constitute tho equipment Of
the miniature road.
This little train of cars carries away
daily from tho works two car.
loads Of printed postalcards, all OF
which nre brought to this city and
thence distributed, according to tho des-
tination marked upon them. oil over the
country, In every post-otilco over which
Uncle Sam has jurisdiction. To load .
ear requires between 2. zoo, 900 and {, 1000.
600 OF tho little cards, according to how
they arc packed. Three million cards
mako n largo load, as u box containing
2S.Uoo cards weighs l62 pounds. A thou.
sand cards weigh about 5A pounds, or
to DO moro exact, 1000, 900 cards weigh
5,225 pounds. Climbing up tho hill TO
the largest building one can easily FOL.
low tho process by which postal-cards
are made. In a back room Of the build
ing can DO seen n dozen girls whose sole
duty Is to sort the rags that como In
from tho collectors. Tho girls cut off
all buttons and buckles on discarded
garments and sort tho rags into piles
according to quality. Tho sorted raRs
m rIf into ht.-n
which cut them into small pieces. 1t
then whifs them into o dust machine,
where they are shaKon and cleaned.
From this point they pass through q
succession Of baths in chloride of lime
and various other bleaching and clcans-
ing Chemicals, with occasional visits 70
watts and trips through rollers with
sharp knives on them.
After passing through tho different
processes tao rags come out In . fine
white pulp as thin as lour paste. This
Is shaken over wire to get the water out,
n Is then put through a scoro or moro
OF rollers and o glue bath, after
which it is rolled out into postal-card
paper. AT tho n of tho long rolls that
have boon squeezing tho paper down
and putting tho gloss on 1t are tho
knives used for cutting, and tho long
sheet passing through it Is either cut
into sheets o postal-cards wide 70 DO
put into tho hugo automatic presses, or
into shoots 2lx30jf inches. In tho big
room OF tho postal-card mill are about
q dozen men and two dozen women, four
largo presses, four cutters and ono extra
largo cutter. Tho shoots nro taken TO
tho press, where thoy arc given tho
feeders, who on tho Campbell presses
feed forty-one shoots n minute, or l,760
postal cards. Tho cards arc printed
from steel plates so hard that a file
could not mako n impression on them.
Each ono is printed from n separate
plate. and eighty plates arc locked in
tho bed OF tho press. All tho plates arc
sent from Washington, and one sct Of
plates in continual use lasts about two
yea:s. The feeders arc women Of ex-
pericnce, and thcy rccoivo AK cents for
feeding 100, 900 cards, and can feed about
100000 q day.
Tho sheets GRO next takon to tho cut
tors, from which thoy arc turned out In
single cards. Three girls take the cards
OF each feeder. Ono counts twenty-five
in each package, and tho other two put
on tho paper bindors. After they leave
this room thoy arc put up in packages,
counted out in packages Of twcnty and
put into tho pastoboard boxes, which by
contract must be muslin bound. Five
girls put tho muslin binding on tho
boxes, receiving for their work 1 5ccns
por 100 boxes. Tho boxes whom hlled
aro put into cases ready for shipment.
No order for less than 600 cnrds fsAilcd.
Orders for 10, 900 or moro are packxd In
wooden cases, tho largest single case
holding $4,000 cards.
A new machine has recently boon put
in to work on postalleards that Mn In.
ctoaso tho rate Of printing Thorn ana de-
creaso tho number OF employees. Two
Of tho machines aro now in operation.
L, ! print from continuous rolls NJ. tho
ra OF 300 per minute. "A. set
OF knives cuts them OF and thoy drop
into littlo coils, o set of steel fingers
turn tho package over. Aftor each
twenty-five cards havo dropped into q
coll tho fingers twino q band about
tho package and carry 1t back to tho
packing.room, whore tho girls put them
into boxes.
-~Iteslized His Loas. Miss Ann Teak
IL mot your old friond Mr.. Marble
last evening. Wo had quito a con,