The Forrest City times., 1891-03-27
HOW THEY MAKE MONEY.
BUT THEY CANNOT POCKET 4
 SINGLE DOLLAR.
An Interesting Description ef the Govern. ment Money Mill-The Bureau of Engraving asd Printing
 visited.

Coming out upon the wide, stretch
 Ing plain. over which the Washington Monument keeps silent guard, you see
 a large brick building, ornamented by
 tower and a waving flag Every
 morning at eight o'clock nearly 1000 ! people pass under it's arched doorway.
 and at five o'clock they come out again. In the meantime they make money, make it in a purely business way, as a modiste fashions gowns to earn daily | living. Besides the national currency, they make there bank notes, internal
 revenue stamps, and silver and gold certificates.
 This building is known as the Bureau | of Engraving and Printing.
 When congress has authorized new
 series of notes, the first thing done in
 the bureru is to draw what is called the
 model. This is generally a pen-and-
 ink drawing of the proposed note, and | when finished it is submitted to the secretary of the treasury.
 When the model has been approved the
 next step is the engraving of tho plate. | This is done in large. well-lighted
 
 for this work is imported from England
 and the instruments from Paris To | engrave one note twelve workmen are employed. The vignette is done by one. | the portrait by another tho border by l another. and so on. This engraving is
 a tedious process. as it requires the | greatest care. Six weeks Is the short l est time in which portrait can be en-
 graved. The highest salary paid the | engraver is &. 900.
 When, after many weeks. all the en- | cravings arc finished. an impression of | each section is taken upon solid plate | or steel, each part being placed in the 1 position it would occupy upon the note. | T-is plate is hardened, and across it's l sl-'face small steel rollor is passed. Ise impression from the plate appears | or tho roller as q raised surface, and | wlen this is hardened it forms u oie
 Tf.is in turn is rolled by great pressure uron n plato of soft steel Four im- 1 passions of the die arc made on one pl.te, so that four faces. or backs. of
 tn. notes arc printed at ono time This | trs,sfer process allows any number of | pl.ses to be made.
 .rom the engraving room the plate | goAs upstairs to the printer. Every | pr%iter has woman assistant to place tn. paper upon the plate. There are
 ncsrly 200 printers, and each will take
 frtsn 800 to 1000 impressions every
 da5. Thesc men arc paid by the num-
 be- of impressions they take; hence th.y are careful not to waste q minute | of time, and the majority of them earn ah.ut & day each. Tho woman. or | gnS. who places the paper on the plate.
 wc.lSs just as hard in her way. but us
 she receives fixed salary. she earns
 on'y about sl.25 day
 When the sheet of notes has been | prat5d on both sides and examined
 an. counted many times. they are sent | to roh numbering room. The number | ina $ done by women. iifty-six in all. ! wh, operate machines. The machines
 nu'a Der ns high as 90. 999, 999. 1se sides of these sheets arc trimmed 1 by Nachinery. and when this is done they represent four perfect notes, laca.ug only the rcd seal. which Is put on al the treasury. When this seal is | prin.id on the note the latter repre- sents the coin of the land. Tho paper upon which tho money is printed Is
 mad.' in Dalton. Massachusetts. of se-
 'eoted linen rags bought from rag
 aealess. It is shipped to the treasury,
 and from there sent to the bureau. whers it is placed for three days in tho
 GettiLg room to he thoroughly damp
 Sned Then it is given to the printers,
 enc hundred sheets at time to each one.
 A sheet of paper Is counted ffty-two
 times from the minute it enters the
 building not worth a whole cent, to the time 1t leaves. sometimes worth
 fio. GOO. Tho counters ase women,
 and each ono is required to put her initials on every package she counts Every evening tho plates. with the
 Initials of the printer they belong to,
 all tho dies and pieces of eteel are
 locked up and receipted for. There is vault in tho second story whero, at .he end of each day. every scrap of 1 printed paper finished or unfinished,
 $ locked. This vault is the size of an crolnary room and is lighted by cleo
 trioitf. It will hold 50. 900, 900 ono dolsay notes.
 Ihere are two steel doors to the
 vault with combination and time locks,
 One of the doors opens by com oination of the letters of the alphabet.
 she other by combination of figures 1hese doors arc in charge of the accountant and custodian of tho vault. They arc locked every evening and it is ths duty of tho custodian. whenever . now combination Is made ts write 1t on slip of paper. plnce It in an envelope. seal 1t with wax and the seal of tho bureau. and give 1t to the chief of the bureau. Then. If he is ! unable to bc at his post tho following morning. tho chief of tho bureau opcns the door of tho vault