The Portland daily press., 1893-10-04
MAKING MONEY.
Uncle Sans Greenback Mill is Working
Like Nad-BIank Paper Worth Its
Wei5ht in Diamonds.

Wel5ht in Diamonds
The present financial troubles have
made the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing the liveliest department OF the
United States government. This is
Uncle Sans great money mill. 1t is
here that all the new national banks
notes are being turned out, and green
backs are now made by the million. At
no time in our history have the en-
ployes been worked SO hard. Their
hours have been increased and 100 extra
hands have been added in order to hurry
on the work. On one day during the
month of September So, 100000 worth of
notes were turned over to the Treasury
Department In twentyone days $27, OO0,-
600 worth of notes were made, and the
average is now more than 81, 1000, 000
day. Mr., johnson, the CHIEF of the
bureau, emphatically states that he can
print all the money the country can use
if he has only the authority of Congress
and the Treasury to back him. The
money is turned out in sheets, with four
notes on each sheet, and its amount IS
determined by the denomination of the
bills. 1t takes no more time to print
81 900 notes than four $1.00 notes, and
the capacity of the bureau is measured
by sheets. In ordinary times 1T has turned
out only from 6, 1000 to 5000 sheets daily.
1t is now running out from 50, QUO to
60, 600 sheets every day.. The usual time
required to make a bank note is twenty
one DAYS. This, under the present stress,
has been reduced to fourteen days.
This vast increase of work has come
from the national banks of the country
They have been depositing more bonds
in order to increase their circulation, and
it has been found that large number of
them have been holding bonds upon
which they had not demanded the cur
rency. New orders for paper have had
to be sent to Dalton, Mass, in order to
supply these demads, and the great steel
van which carries the bank notes over
to the Treasury has been making several
livered So, 600, 600 TO Secretary Carlisle in
one day. 1t required two trips and it
took ST, 500, 900 at each trip. 1t is hauled
bv two horses and it is driven from the
Treasury to the bureau with four guards,
two of whom hang on behind and the
others sit with the driver. 1t is securely
sealed and locked before it leaves the
DurG9u. DuU III uIlycS lUS way uhOouOAott-
tieusly with it's millions over the cobble
stones and slips along across the aphalt
to the Treasury. 1t looks as though it
would be easy to rob it, and its guards
carry only revolvers. Nothing Of the
kind has however, been attempted, and
that old steel wagon will go on carrying
millions for generations to come.
| walked through the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing this afternoon and,
watched the l, 500 clerks working away
making these untold sums of money.
I asked their wages and was told that
they ranged from little over 81 a daysup
to several thousand dollars year. 1t
seemed strange to me that they could
resist the temptation. 1t seemed so easy
to slip away with 81 GOO note or to take
home one of these steel plates and print
enough to last you lifetime. My in.
vestigation, however, showed me that
no miser's hoard has ever been guarded
as is this money of Uncle Sans This
bureau must cover several acres. 1t
contains three stories and basement
and it is packed full of machinery and
engraving material. Every bit of this
material has to be accounted for every
night before anyone.can leave the build
ing. In the corridor as | went in / saw
a metal plate set in frame in the wall.
1t looked much like the electric button
plate at a hotel office. 1t contained
twelve round holes and each hole was
labelled with the name of one of the
departments of the bureau. There were
no pins or buttons in the holes, but
foud that the hall had to be filled before
anyone could leave the department. AS
soon as an inventory has been taken of
the work of department at the close of
the day, and all accounts are found to be
correct, the superintendent of that de-
partment marches down and puts a pin
+I1o ~ I, hole
marked with his division. AS he does
SO an electric gong rings and the watch
man permits the me of that division to
90 out. All of the holes have to be filed
before the building is empty, and if a
sheet of paper, bank note or a scrap of
anything important is lost the employees
are all kept until it is found. The hands
in this factory are prisoners during the
day.
The paper used in this big money fac
tory is worth it's weight in diamonds
At least if it is lost, it may cost the
Bureau or the clerks more than its weight
in diamonds to supply its loss Every
sheet of it (which is made is registered at
the mill at Dalton, Mass, and the paper
mill cannot make sheet which must
not be accounted for to the government
The paper is sent from the mills to the
Treasury, and it is issued by the Treas
ury Department from day to day to the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 1t
is carried over in the big steel wagon,
which hauls back the money, and as soon
as it is sent from the Treasury it repre-
sents so much money. If, for instance,
1 900 sheets are sent over in hundred dol
lar bills, these 1000 sheets represent 800,
OOO as there are four bills to each sheet.
If, in the printing of these sheets, one
sheet should happen to be lost it would
have too pay $500 for it. If the denomi-
nation of the sheet was 81, 200 instead OF
500, he would be liable to the extent OF
81, 900, and he or the Bureau would have
to make up the loss. | took look at
this lot of paper yesterday. 1t was piled
away in great stacks, much Of it being
dampened for the presses. 1t is white
Two sheets pasted together would be the
size of lady's handkerchief, and two
lines of silk thread run down one side
of the Sheet so as to make them go on
the face of every note. I handled some
of this paper. 1t was crisp and strong
and | would have liked to have carried
AWAY A. sample but when I SUGGESTED it