Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-31

| ~ ID UNDEh the jurisdiction OF the Treas
BkmE ury Department are two places that
ElA lare visited by thousands of people
! hS leach month and these are, first, the
W place where the governments prom
issory notes are made and the other where some
other firms notes are destroyed 1t is case
of nip and tuck between these places as to
which one is the most powerful attraction, but
the truth is that those who 60 to one place
think that they have not completed the rounds
until they have seen the other.
1t is the old story Of the love of gold. II
people cannot have lots of money of their own
they want to other folks money. and there
| is always a certain sort OF attraction about the
! vast sums that are kept in stock by the gov
| eminent in the large ware house on the corner
! of the avenue and 10Th street People like to
| let their eyes rest on thousands. or millions,
| even if their hands cannot touch them. In
| this light the large sums of money are much
| OF an attraction as rare animal at menagerie;
| there is something about it that gives it
atmosphere of rarity and that is always draw
| ing card, either In money-that is. exhibition
| noney-animals or spring bonnets.
There used to be a large sum Of money done
| up In very small package in the Treasury
Department million dollars or more, il may
| have been, which the guides used to show to
| visitors to the vaults q specimen of how
much wealth could be put into small space
| Folks used to look at it, handle it carefully.
| rub their hands over it jD caressing, loving
manner. and then put it down again with
| long sigh that spoke of regret ut parting.
| Some OF them were incredulOuS as to the sum
| that was in the bundle and would show their
| skepticism by asking some rather ridiculous
| questions. But most of them swallowed the
statements of the guides without murmur and
went home to tel! as marvellous tale how
they had had million dollars in their hands
all at once, just think Of it!
THE STREAM OF VISITORS
to the Treasury isconstant. 1t begins at 10 in
| the morning, when the doors are opened to
| the public, and it does not cease until after 2,
! when they are closed again. 1t is estimated
| that $4,000 people went down through the
| vaults and other places of interest last month
| alone, and this is but sample of other months
| III the year. There IS regular route over which
| the guides who are furnished at the Office of
the treasurer, take their charges-along the
| corridor, past the rooms where the ladies are
| counting money, both new and old, and then
| the questions begin. Everybody wants to
| know what the wire cages are put up around
the counters for; IL 1t is to prevent them from
| getting away with some OF the government
cash or whether it is to ward off possible raid
| on the rooms by mobs of burglars. Then the
| parties, numbering from five to fifty. descend
| into the Easements, where the doors of the
vaults are to be seen, peering out vaguely
| from the half lights of the gas flames that
| dance and hutter at the approach of visitors
| The righteousness of these huge doors pOr-
| tentous with their charges. impresses the by
| ISLANDERS, and they are silent for moment, but
| they soon break forth into questions about the
exact amount of money stored away there,
which the guide can tell them to a cent They
| get themselves into trouble sometimes, how
| ever. by being too accurate. as on one occasion
| one of the number. bright quick colored
man. pointed to a paper pasted on the wall and
! read from 1t the amount of cash turned over to
| the present treasurer by his predecessor. 1t
| happens that the total ends with fraction of u
cent on account of the eXactuess with which
| the calculation of bond interest carried out
Some one in the party expressed n disbelief in
| the Idea that there was any such sum in the
Treasury as two-thirds of cent, and demanded
| to see IT. No amount OF argument could per-
suade him Of the truth, and he went away with
the most firm conviction that the accounts of
the government were being manipulated by
! the guides.
THE INTERESTING MACERAToR.
But the main point Of interest is the macer-
ator, which is the name for the great machine
that grinds old money into shapeless valueless
pulp-the financial ogre, it might be called
Ii Is in the sub basement of the building III a
room facing the court yard on the west side
and any day from this point can be heard a
loud whirring and moaning, as if the monster
was gnashlng his teeth for more food Until
lately 1t has been impossible to run this
| machine during office hours. owing to the fact
that the tttinSs OF the belts and other gear
| that turned ii were fastened to the roof of the
room, and the revolutions caused the entire
building Oh that side to shake and tremble SO
| that work was almost impossible in any of the
Offices above IT. A force of men has been at
work for some days remodeling the machinery
| in order TO avoid the necessity of doing the
maceraton of the old money after office hours.
and this has been accomplished, that now
the giant do his chewing without making
any one at all nervous who is a few feet away
| Posts OF iron were placed on the ground and
on these were put the belt puiiies and the
! shafts, SO that everything is now clear of
! the roof, and all the vibration goes into the
| ground.
The money that is put into this hungry thing
| to be destroyed is that sent back to the Treas
| ury for redemption by national banks, after it
| has done its best service, old money issued by
| the government that has become limp and
ragged, and other forms of the buying power
that has seen better days. In short. this is the
grave of the cash. 1t il huge kettle, closed
| on top and on all sides, with a lot of pipes
| running into it and an amount OF gear reaching
almost to the ceiling. large, smooth engine
| i'll one end of the small room slides back and
| forth with noiseless motions and starts a wide
! belt that turns and twists several times before
it finally goes around the shaft of the macerator
and gives to 1t spinning motion that is al
| most dizzylng.
THE GREAT KETTLE
| 10 abtds tAiSc icSt otcp anu SlA leet IN Olam-
eter. The upper half only is to be seen, as
the lower part is buried in square base of
bricks that has been built up SO that in order
| to reach the machine itself one has to 60 I'D a
few steps. On the side near the door is "A hole
cut into the metal and covered by a plate of
steel about a foot square, perforated by little
| round holes through which the attendant or
the visitor can peer and see the mass OF mutt
lated money flying around at lightning pace in
| flood of seething water which has assumed
the color of a soiled handkerchief, if it is very
much soiled. This plate is locked down with
three large brass padlocks, one for each Of the
offices that have access to the machine The
money is put into the kettle every day at l
O'Clock and again at under the ewes OF a COM
mittee of three officers. one from the office of
| the Secretary, one from the Office of the treas
urer and the other from that Of the controller
| of the currency Each of these men has a kew
| to one of the locks and it will fit no other, SO
that it is necessary for all three to be present
| when the macerator is opened This prevents
| any possible fraud, which is not an unwise pre-
| caution, as the money that is put into the pot
| is quite good at the time.
! IL takes about five hours to grind the money
| quite INTO pulp SO that it is entirely devoid of
| financial value except as u curiosity, and when
| 1t Is taken out the next morning it has the con-
| sistency of rather hard mud that is still moist
The water has all been driven from the kettle
and drawn out by means of u tube attached to
| blower on the engine. The pulp is then taken
| to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
| where it is put through process to extract the
| ink. and is then used to make more paper