Morning journal and courier., 1894-05-11
SAN FRANCISCO.

SAN FRANCISCO.
 A Breeze From the Golden Gate - A
 Visit to the United states mint-An
 Opium <sJ Ointss-The Chinese Thea.
 ter and Joss House or Temple. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 BELMONT, Cal, May 1.-Yesterday killed two birds with one stone. Iwent to San Frsneisco on the morning train and | visited the government mint, and in the ev- | ening made "Trip to Chinatown" I Ias- sure you that it was an intensely interest | ing day for me. had been wanting for some time to go through the mint, but as they receive visitors on Saturdays from a. m. to 12 m. it had been extremely hard for me to find time to go on Saturday. But friend and laid OUT plans 80 as to get in- side of the mint doors just ss the attend ant was announcing "last trip through the mint to day" He received us in rather an ungracious manner, remarking something about some people always being late, etc.; but we calmly ignored his little sar- casm, and congratulated ourselves on being able to get in at all. We were shown into the visitors' room where we registered and then under the watchful eye of the attendant we oom- menced our forty-minute tour of inspec- tion, by examining the cases of rare coins which lined the room. Here we found pieces of money of all sizes and values. A widows mite, mentioned in the Bible, re- posed beside the $20 gold piece of today, the California mans idol. In smother case was United States silver dollar of the year of 1894, worth $1 500 or $2, 900, there being only about six in existence. Then again we aaw 8 gold spoon plundered from the temple of Solomon in the year 932, B. O., by Shissk, and which was used In those early days for money. A numismatist might dwelt here for days and still find something of interest. But we, urged on by our impatient guide, who probably did l not wish to be obliged to have cold din ner, reluctantly broke of our rinvestigations and proceeded next into the smelling room in the basement, where we saw the great bars of yellow metal tossed about like so many pieces of junk. But with all the ap. parent carelessness we noticed that the | men, who with precipitation rolling in streams off their faces as they tended the immense furnaces, in their handling of the pieces of gold to be melted over did not | let 8 single clipping escape their notice. No conversation with the workmen is al- lowed and every precaution Is taken that | the visitors carry nothing away. In one | pile of gold plate from which as many twenty dollar gold pieces as possible had been cut and which was merely composed l of about pailful of lesvings, our guide
 told us there was $20,000 worth of metal to be remelted. The immense furnaces
 are kept running night and day and
 one gang of men relieves another. Passing
 on upstairs our guide next took us into the l engine room, where we gszed with awe and l and Is. 00O-pound fly wheel, which has been
 revolving for nineteen years without a
 break or accident. Then we went into the
 different operating rooms, where we saw
 the immense rolling machine of 250 tons
 pressure and the gaugng, cutting and
 weighing apparatus that gauges to the
 thousandth part of an inch, weighs hu.
 man hair and cuts 180 twenty dollar gold
 pieces @ minute. From here we passed
 into the large stamping room, where we
 saw the numerous male and female em
 ployes feeding the wonderful machines that stamp the silver quarters, halves, dol lars and the different gold pieces. One large machine was working so fast that WI
 could hardly detect the click of each i'm pression, and we were told that 1t was ca pablo of turning out $450,000 worth o
 twenty dollar gold pieces per hour.
 That is making money considerably fast CT than can writing newspaper articles We watched with great deal of interes the men who examined and assorted th, coins after being struck off, and 1t was as tonishing how quickly they could stack 5 promiscuous pile of coins. In this room was the milling machine for forming th' raised edge of the coin, etc. Next passing into the finishing room, where only Womel ] are employed for filing the coins down to :; ] proper weight and size, as 1t is said tha ] their sense of touch becomes far nor , acute than than of male employse, V
 were very much interested in seeing th care with which every particle of gold guarded. Every three or four years tn ? carpet in this room Is taken up and tn, ( gold dust and fns particles are bested out ,; and by peculiar process saved and re | melted. From one carpet $l ,450 worth 0 !; gol1 was taken, and think that you wll
 agree with me in saying that that was ;, carpet with a gold lining.
 Az we retraced our steps back to tn s ofics our guide, who by this time hat : "thawed out" somewhat, told us littl . about the size of the mint, etc. The gov : ernment is coinin9 no silver here now, TX ,; cept old silver, to be raised to prope !; standard. If any private parties brin
 silver here the government will remelt II !; charging small fec The gold is receives b here In unlimited amounts and is coine, : as fast as possible. Of the four hints, a : New Orleans, Philadelphia, Carson, Nev. t and here, this is the largest. One hundre,
 and ninety officials and workmsn are em . ployed, their salaries varying from s2.5 to $S per day. The average number 0 ; visitors is about 10000, but the number i. this year will considerably exceed that, a 30 many eastern people coming to the mid , l winter fair have vieited the mint, the nun
 Der since last August already being ove i1S,O0O.
 My trip to Chinatown in the eveninI was one long anticipated by me with mucl 1 pleasure, es my acquaintance with Johl Chinaman, up to the time of my coming t. , this coast, had been very limited. re
 member the only Chinaman in New Havel
 during my college course whom l knev
 studio on Elm street just above the colleg. . buildings. Many time have rushse into his den and asked hurriedly for my
 washing only to be in turn asked in pro
 vokingly cool tone of voice "Where youl
 tickess" and on searching through all my
 pockets in vain I have been compelled tc
 hurry back across the campus to my room
 in North Middle with the words of that
 artist, ''no tickee no shirtee," ringing ir
 my ears. As I always associated the
 Chinaman from my early boyhood with
 a clothes-baske| and 6 fatirou, l
 half expected on coming to Frisco ] to see in almost every other window of the
 streets Chinaman sprinkling clothes in
 his own peculiar fashion. did not reaIiz.
 the many occupations one finds them em-
 ployed in out here. They make excellent
 servants, good gardeners, tsilors, shoe-
 makers. etc.; in fact, almost all the lighter
 kinds of work can be done by them fully as
 well and fifty per cent. cheaper than by
 American or Irish help. Much of Califor-
 nia's growth and prosperity is due to the
 result of cheap Chinese labor. But the
 Chinsman in his own home in Chinatown
 is very repulsive and yet unique char
 acter. Chinatown Is situated in what used
 to be the best part of the business portion
 of the city. But as San Francisco grew
 and pushed down to tho water front, block
 after block was given over to the use of the
 knights of the queue. There are over TO- 900 Chinamen on the Pacific coast and 25, ,- GOO are huddled together here in few streets like so many pigs in pen.
 Leaving the Occidental hotel about 8
 o'clock under the guidance of 8 good guide;
 and J would not advise any one who comes
 out here to attempt to zee Chinatown with
 out guide, and you can get one at any of
 the numerous hotels, two gentlemen and
 myself walked up Pine street until we
 came to Dupont, and then turned to the ! rfoht and vera soon in tha hesrt of fba