The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-08
YELLOW ITS GLITTER.
Gold That Is Uncle Sans and What
He Does With It.
Cabinet ofioers' Pay-weight of Mr..
Cleveland's Salary in Double Eagles.
Golden Treasures.
From the washington Star,

From the Washington Star,
President Cleveland was the only high
official of the government at Washington
who did not get his pay in gold on the
first day Of this month The treasury
warrant for the s., l66 due to him as sal
airy was sent to the white house as usual
by messenger. All of the cabinet officers
received their wages in the yellow metal.
Each Of them, that is to say, was obliged
to accept just about three pounds avoirdu-
pois of specie. Such a heft can hardly be
carried in the pocket comfortably, so
Secretary Hoke Smith sent his share
home in a cab.
Mr.. Cleveland's stipend for the month,
if it had been delivered to him in gold,
would have tipped the scales at tritie
over sixteen pounds. His salary for one
year in the same metal would weigh just
about 200 pounds. That would be as much
of the precious yellow substance as he
could carry in sack. Probably that was
as large quantity tas the noble Athe-
Man whom King Croesus of Lydia allowed
to help himself from his treasury was
able to convey away, though he nearly
checked himself by filling his mouth, All
government employes were paid in gold
and silver up to 1861, and they never
thought of complaining.
l looked into the famous gold vault in
the sub-baSement Of the treasury yester-
day. 1t was proceeding involving much
fOrmaliJy, the presence of the cashier
and a personal representative of the
Treasurer of the United States being re-
quired. One of these functiOnaries held
the secret combination for opening the
outer door, while the other had that Of
the inner portal. When both huge and
massive gates of steel had been unlocked
the interior of an immense safe as big as
a goodsized drawing room was disclosed.
That is to say, though pitch dark, its in
ternal arrangement could be seen when
gas-jet was lighted.
Running straight through the middle
from the entrance was a sort of hallway,
on either side of which was a row of iron
lattice work compartments. There were
in all fourteen of these lattice work rooms,
somewhat resembling cells along a prison
corridor, and all but one of them were
filled as full as they could hold with bags
of coin. However, this coin was not gold,
but silver. The compartment excepted
was the first one to the left of the door
way 1t alone contained the entire stock
of gold now held in the treasury at Wash
ingtOn-a total of $40, 100000 The small
show made by it was surprising.
Instead of being chokeful like the COM
partments containing silver, this one
seemed almost empty. Even the floor was
not covered with the bags containing the
yellow coin, which were stacked in small
heaps around the walls as if tomake some
sort of show. Yet value in this form is so
highly concentrated as to give occasion
for all the precautions above described,
while few feet away from this vault is
an enormous box of iron lattice work ex-
posed to the view of the public all day,
though within it is stored Sl0l ,000, 900 in
standard silver dollars. Fortunately, this
quantity of gold is only fraction of Uncle
Sans stock of that metal. There is more
of it in the subtreasuries of either New
York or San Francisco than is kept here.
The mints also hold a great amount of
gold belonging to the government. In a
room adjoining the business Office of the
big coin factory on Chestnut street Phila-
delphia, may be seen about $50, 000, 900
worth of the yellow metal in the shape of
shining bricks, stacked upon shelves, lust
as delivered from the assay Offices. That
is wealth in a form better realized than
the specie done up in bags at the treasury.
1t does not seem to be so carefully guarded
as it is here, but the only theft ever ac-
complished from the Quaker city institu-
ton was that of a silver brick which a
laborer slyly threw into a barrel of refuse,
thus conveying it out eff the building.
But, though he was not detected, the
massive ingot proved itself to him q YER
liable white elephant, and he was caught
in trying to dispose of it in New York
Though the show of gold at the treas
ury is not impressive at the first glance
one has more respect for it when the con-
tents of the bags are enum Grated.
Stacked in heaps around the compart-
ment referred to are ninety-eight sacks,
each containing LOCO yellow double
eagles. Poured out on the floor they
would make a very decent pile of glitter
ing metal, representing altogether 81 800
600. Besides these there are 469 bags,
each holding $500 shining eagles, or
81, 845, 900 in all. Then there are 1913 sacks.
each containing 1000 So pieces, or a total
OF $500 600. Lastly, there are fifteen
sacks, each filed to bursting with 1000
of those annoying 81. so pieces, which are
so easily mistaken for cents that
no more of them are to be coined by the
mints.
One of the most interesting sights in
the world is the refining of the raw gold
bullion at the United States assay Office
on Wall street, New York. Arriving
there from the mines it is first melted to
free it from all earthly matter and other
foreign substances Then a certain guam
tity of silver is added to it and the mix
ture is immersed in bath of nitric acid
Inc acld mas no enecU on the gold, but it
dissolves the silver into a liquid which
looks just like pure water. This limpid
liquid is drawn off, leaving the gold at
the bottom Of the tub. The precious
metal thus purified looks like SO much
fine red gravel. To get rid of all moist
ure it is subjected to pressure. On COM
ing out of the squeezing machine it APP
pears in the shape of big cakes, resem-
bling angel-food cakes in form. These
cakes are worth about SO, 900 each, aud
one could afford to pay $4,000 for a slice
of very moderate size.
This is the material out Of which the
gold coins are made. The gold is melted
in a crucible from which it is dipped out
with ladle and poured into iron molds.
When cooled the mOlds are unlocked and
taken apart, the precious metal then APP
pearing in the shape of what are termed
''ingots." For the coinage one-tenth part
of copper is mixed with the gold but the
government also makes business of man
ufacturing merchants bars" for the use
of jewellers, gold leaf makers and dentists,
VINO require the virgin metal in their
trades Such bars are as near to perfect
parity as can be, being 900 fine out of
possible / 900 The government, while it
makes big profit by coming silver, gains
nothing by minting gold pieces, the in
trinsic value of which is equal to their
face. There is always some loss by vast
ing, too. The sweepings Of the Philapel-
phia mint alone sell for 1913 600 annually.
Uncle Sam has some very valuable