Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-25
25O,oOO,OOO POKER CHIPS.
The Annual Product of the Unite
States Factories.

States Factories.
From the New York Sun.
Enough poker chips are manufactured in
the United States every year to make a
stack over sixty miles high if placed one
on top of the other. If laid edge to edge
they porld extend along the entire length
of the Erie canal on the towpath and back
again, with a sufficient number over to
stock a hundred high-playing gambling
houses. This is only the annual product.
What the total number of chips in this
country is no man can tell.
For years the novelty and specially COM
panias have been turning out the chips,
and, taking into consideration the lasting
qualities OF the disks one may estimate
conservatively that there are many more
than 25O,UO,OOO of these tokens that are
used to represent the coin in games of
chance.
Where, when, or how the poker chip orig
mated is a mystery. The name of the ge-
MUS who discovered it was easier to lose
a Colored bit of metal or bone than to part
with a portion of the universal circulat ting
medium is lost to history, but his wisdom
is still recognized and his example followed.
The poker chip industry is not an adjunct
or a side line to a manufacturing establish
meRt, but business that is recognized as
legitimate, productive, and profitable.
The chip is one Of the simplest things to
make imaginable. Ivory chips have had
not Fay the price for these articles when
the substitutes do as well. The time was
when old school gamblers played with
square, oblong and octagonal markers, but
now the devotee of chance stakes his for
tune on the circular chip, and cares not
whether it be expensive or cheap, as long
as the banker is honest in the redemption
of 1t. To make poker chips Is as easy as
the chiidlike paStime of making mud pies
and the process is somewhat similar
South America is one of the largest con-
sumers of chips. The people Of the repub-
lies there seem to take to playing games
OF chance as naturally as barnacle takes
to ships bottom. Mexico uses an enor-
nous quantity, usually OF an expensive va
riety. The MexicanS are fond of ornament
and their faro and poker chips are bright
with gold and silver, inlaid in rich designs.
The umbermen Of Canada call for thou
sands of the cheap kinds, and, in fact,
every civilized and semi-civilized nation
outside of Europe uses the American-made
article.
The process of manufacture is interesting
because of its simplicity. The composition
and each firm has its own formula for
this. which is kept secrets mixed and
dyed and then passed between stone roll
erS, from which it comes in a sheet about
half an inch in thickness. These sheets
are cut into squares of about eight inches
and allowed to harden. Afterward these
squares are put on heated plates and soft
ened to the consistency Of dough- The
workmen cut them into narrow strips and
lay the strips across the face of heavy
steel die, which is now subjected to a pres
sure of $1,000 pounds. After a minute I'M
der this heavy weight the die is opened
and the chips fall out Girls put them on
polishing wheel with wonderful rapidity,
and then the chips are ready for boxing
and shipping.
You can have your choice of grades In
chips. from 81 thousand up to s. apiece
1t all depends on your taste and your will
lingness to spend money-but the fancy
ones are not included in the returns of the
manufacturers, for any order below 100, 600
is too small to be booked in detail and is
regarded as nuisance.