Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-05-29
PRINTING GOVERNMENT MONEY,
No Chance for Dishonest I'm ,loyes.
Washington correspondent of the New York
Evening Post

Washington correspondent of the New York
Evening Post,
The first question which nai orally arises
IN the mind of a person studying the sys-
TEN In the treasury printing Office Is, what
Is 10 prevent a preSSman from entering in
10 collision with a confederate at the
p&per-mill, possessing himself of few
sheets of the distinctive pap T, and slip
ping them into his press While he is in
the course of regular Job?
There are three things TO pre- vent: First,
he would have to corrupt his helper wo-
man whom he has no claim upon. and with
whose appointment he has nothing to do,
as she comes certified from the civil-Service
commission. Next he would have no as
Surance of ever being set 10 work at the
reverse side of notes of the same denGmiuA-
ton rs that of which he got the first inn
preston. He might print one side of
$50 note, and the time might never come
around when he could get chance to do
the other side. But more preventive
than either Of these Is the little teli-tale
automatic register which is attached to the
side of the machine. and which records
ever sinSle impression, light or heavy,
made by his agency. He cannot even see
the dial, for it Is under locked lid, the
key to which is in the pocket of the officer
In charge of the room Ii is nOiSeleSS.
too; and he has no means of knowing. till
his days work is done and lis final tally
is taken. what the little monitor has re
| ported about him. If, therefore, he should
| conceal a sheet of paper about his person
| and try to run it through his press, the
| automatic register would show one more
| impression than the number of printed
| sheets he has turned over to the dyerS. and
| he would be arrested before leaving the
| building.
Another possibility of leak seems. at
! first glance, to offer itself in the theft Of
| imperfect notes The average citizen is
| so poor judge of fine engraving that Il
| note would have to be very bad indeed TO
cause him to reject it; and any one who
| lie off with lot of notes sood in every
| respect perfection of execution would have,
| it seems an easy task disposing of them.
| Two preventives apply here. One is the
| fact that the imperfect notes must be ac-
| counted for Just like the rest, sheet by
sheet, and carried 10 the macerator, there
! to be ground up and made into pulp. But
| surprising some means were devised for
beating" the macerator: even then the
notes are without the red seal and the blue
| check number. The number is not put on
| uiltAl tAlt LOtc uttS HiSStu liz ptGlItu, anu
| for the seal the note is sent over TO the
treasury department, passing out of the
| custody TO the bureau altogether These
| features are so essential to the familiar
| appearance of the nose that their absence
| would be noticed by the most careless
observer if an attempt were made; and
their forgery would add immensely to the
dangers of detection as soon rs the spurious
| notes were handed across the counter of a
bank.
Still, some one asks, why may not
plates, which have been condemned and
discarded, be stolen occasionally and used
to print genuine looking notes, even
though the impression might be inferior !?
First, because, as soon as a plate has
| served its day, the superintendent of en-
craving scrapes it with sharp tool and
defaceS it so that it is useless. Then it is
keTt IN the cuSt0diaus vault till a COM
mlttee, periodically appointed, and n AIDE
up of number of high treasury officers
and one person from private life, =; isit the
vault, inspect the defaced plates, and pac k
them in box, list being kept in the
custodian books and duplicate list put
inside the box itself Then the box is
bound with Scrap-irOn, a hoe is bored in
one side and seal-WaX poured into it, and
Tile Sedl VI tue bulleu States Is put upon
the wax. When enough boxes have ac-
cumulated to make a load they are taken
by the committee down to TIE navy yard,
where a furnace is especially prepared for
them. Each box is opened, the seal ex-
amined, and the contents compared with
the list enclosed and each plate, after
Identification, is put into the smelling pot
and reduced to a fluid state The com
mittee then make their report, which goes
on file, and the history of every plate con
cerned is thus brought to an end
Ii will be seen from this that tampering
with either plates or notes is reduced to a
minimum of probability; and that for
any considerable scheme of fraud to be
successful collusiOn would necessarily be
between an almost interminabie series of
persons, each of whom is, under the pre-
sent system, interested for his Cvn sake
keeping a watch upon the others.