Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-23

XSMI enormous quantities.
~ not only for the gov
eminent, but also for
sale to bank-note companies and engraving
companies Much Of the product also is
shipped abroad. The bank note engravers
use such paper for currency which they
print to order for foreign banks and nations,
particularly in South America. The most
artistic engraving Of this kind is done in
the United States. Bank-note paper is en-
ployed for fine engraving. too-that is to
say. works Of art.
But Uncle Sam requires one feature in his
money paper which distinguishes it from all
other products of the manufacture-that is
to say. two bands Of peculiar fibers, which
appear on the back of each bill. They do
not show on the face, being only contain ed
in the outer layer on one side as the sheets
come from the mill. This idea was origin
ally patented. and years ago the privilege
of employing it was paid for by the govern
ment However, the use of it was dscon-
tinued in 1877. because the people who own
ed it demanded an exorbitant royalty for
permission to utilize it, Recently the pat
ent ran out so that the treasury was able
to resume the plan without having to pay
a cent.
Formerly only a single band of fibers was
used, and in the issue of United States notes
of 1863 the ingenious scheme was originated
of placing it on the left-hand side of de-
nominations under $40 and on the right-hand
side of the higher denominations. The OBJ
ject of this was to beat that enterprising
gentleman, Pete Mccartney, who had de-
veloped a fad for washing the ink off of
small bills and printing big ones on the
blanks thus obtained, to secure the
real government paper. Because such a
thing as this is possible. and for other rea-
sons. many experts assert that fiber paper
Is or very little use. There are several ways
of initiating 1t, one scheme being to print
from an engraved plate on the surface Of
the paper lines and curliqueues resembling
the nuers in appearance.
The money paper of the treasury Is COM
posed almost wholly of linen. There must
be some cotton in it, because otherwise it
would be too hard-what the printers call
metallic" The raw material termed stock
comes from all over the world. 1t Is select
ed with great care. The manufacturers so
into the rag market and pick out the best
linen rags they can find. These are clean
ed, boiled and reduced to pulp. The purity
of the water employed in making the pulp
has much to do with the quality of the
paper produced.
How 1t il Made.
When the pulp is of the proper consis-
tency. 1t is transferred to a tank, from
which it is pumped on to the paper making
machine. This machine is seventy-five feet
long and automatically performs all the
processes required for Transforming the
crude material thus prepared into finished
sheets. To begin with. the pulp runs upon
a wire cloth, which is agitated laterally,
the surplus water being thus drained away.
The wire cloth is an endless band. 1t
passes the pulp on to blankets, by which
it is taken up and carried along through var
ious processes Of drying, sizing, trimming
and separating into sheets. The fiber is in
troduced by patented apparatus into the
pulp when 1t first goes upon the wire CLOTH
The paper for Uncle Sam is made under
the careful supervision of a government
agent. 1t is turned out in sheets measur-
ing IA inches by ID 1-2 inches-that is to
say, exactly big enough for printing four
notes certificates. A contrivance at
tached to the machine registers automatic
ally every sheet as it is run out. Afterward
the sheets are counted, and the reckoning
must agree with the mechanical register.
All spoiled sheets are turned over to the
superintendent of the factory, to be reduced
to pulp again. The good sheets are shipped
to Washington, addressed to the Secretary
of the Treasury. They go to the division of
loans and currency, which has charge of
them and is responsible for their safety.
In that division the sheets are examined
and counted, after which they are stored
away in strong rooms in the sub-basement
of the treasury building. AS much care is
taken of this blank paper as if it were ac-
reau of engraving and printing sends in Il
requisition for one days supply Of it. More
than this quantity is never fIIy nished at
once. The amount represented fy a days
supply varies somewhat an 1t may or may
not be used the next day. These things de-
pend on the current demand for production
in the bureau of engraving. The paper is
conveyed thither in big wagon resembling
a safe On wheels, which Is employed for
transferring money between the printing
establishment mentioned and the treasury.
The official in charge of the bureau of
engraving and printing gives mis- receipt for
the number of sheets received by him. The
paper is first wet down." after which the
backs of the notes or certificates are print
ed-four on each sheet. Then the sheets are
dried thoroughly. Next they are wet again
and receive impressj )ns of the faces Of the
bills. Again they are dried. and n third wet
ting is followed by The printing of the serial
numbers on them. Being again dried, they
are now entirely finished, except for the
seals. The seals are not put on until they
have been returned TO the treasury. The
sheets of notes, which have been counted
and recounted. arr sent back in the safe
like wagon to the C.iice ot the treasurer of
the United States, in .he basement of the
treasury building. There the seals are print
ed on, and the bills arc finally cut apart by
machine. One Of the officials Of the DEPART
ment showed to a Star writer the other
day four 81 notes in sin gle sheet which
he had preserved They were his own prop
erty. AS curiosity they would doubtless
face. He did not propose to spend Them
but, II he attempted to do so, they would
certainly excite considerable surprise.
More Difficult to Initiate.
The fiber paper used by Uncle Sam is
much more difficult to initiate than the
water-marked paper on which the Bank of
England relies for the protection of its
currency. To make water mark, all that
is needed is what the paper makers call
a dandy roll'-that is to say, a roll of
wire cloth which has the water mark in
raised characters. Passing over this, the
pulp receives the marking in the process
of its transformation into paper But there
are other reasons why 1T is not easy for
counterfeit Bank of England note to cir
culate. The lowest denomination is f5 or
nearly $25. In Great Britain trades
man on receiving one of these securities
almost invariably makes a memora ndum
of the number of 1t and the name of the
person from whom he takes it. Thus a
system of registration is established which
is the best possible protection against for
gerry.
Nevertheless, the first bank note ever
counterfeited was on the Bank of England.
1t was the work of a young dry goods clerk
He was in love with the daughter of an
ambitious woman of the middle class who
wanted to make a rich match for her girl
To convince her that he had means the
young man manufactured a batch of notes
and placed them in her hands. Her funds
running short one day, she spent one of
them 1t was discovered 70 no forOarv