Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-24
MR.. LOWS ENGAGEMENT.
He In Said to Have Been Engaged to
Make Designs for New Notes.

He ta Said TO nave Been En8o8e0 ~
Make Designs for New Notes.
There seems to be considerable curiosity
concerning the work which Mr.. VIII H.
Low Of New York has been employed by
the Treasury Department to execute dur
ing the next two months. at q salary of
$500 a month. All that the officials will
admit on the subject is that 1t relates to
an improved system Of designs at the bu-
reau of engraving and printing. 1t was cur
rently reported that Mr.. Low had been en-
ployed to prepare designs for the new Sc
ries Of five per cent bonds authorized by
Secretary Carlisle When this report was
brought to Mr.. Lows attention, he said:
THE report has evidently arisen from the
fact that these bonds are to be issued. and,
at the same time. / have been appointed
to do some special work for the bureau.
My work has nothing to do with the bonds
1t is purely Of an artistic nature. and has
no bearing on financial matters. / have not
begun yet, and when / do. my work will
be done in New York, and not in WASH
ington. l do not care to say exactly what
the nature Of my work Is. but 1t Is a series
Of designs which the bureau will take
charge of and engrave later. The bureau
wants certain things made a little more ar
tistic, and that Is all there Is in it."
Mr.. Low attracted the attention of the
treasury officials by his beautiful design Of
the worlds fair diploma The statement
that he has been retouching the plates for
the per cent loan IL absurd. Those plates
were engraved over year ago, and the
only change necessary for their present
use is in the matter of the legend en-
graved in script and in the date This re-
touching is the work of an engraver and
not of a designer. The general design Of
the plates remains unchanged.
Mr.. Lows statement that he will have
nothing to do with the preparation of de-
signs for bonds which ia ohor t<A lx,
a statement to the same effect made by
Mr.. johnson. chief of the bureau of en-
craving and printing. to a Star reporter
last week, is taken to indicate that the bu-
reau conteinplates a new series of United
States notes and has engaged Mr. Lows
aid in the preparation of the designs.
Changes In the character of the paper
circulating medium are Of frequent occur
has left its impress on the securities is
sued during Its regime. Each has shown a
desire to surpass its predecessors In the
artistic merit of the notes issued by II
1t has frequently happened that plates have
been engraved from designs prepared dur
ing one administration that are never uti-
;ized until succeeding administration, but
as rule each administration has been
marked by distinctive issue Of circulatin
notes, and there Is no reason to believe
that the present administration will differ
in this respect from its predecessors.
Following precedents in this matter II is
not at all improbable that Mr.. Low will be
expected to incorporate in his designs for
the notes vignettes Of President Cleyelan nd
Secretary Carlisle and some other distin-
guished member of the dominant party
The stock of the bureau includes vignettes
Of prominent members of the last admin
istration and of soldiers and statesmen who
have made their mark before that time but
who have as yet failed to receive recog-
milton on our paper currency. This state
ment applies to democrats as well as to
republicans. Whether this Is the true
theory Of Mr.. Lows employment will only
appear in the future issues Of the paper
currency of the government