Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-03-22

on tables and throw out the imperfecr
ones.
Some of the blanks have been cu.
from the ends of the strips. and are litS
eral "half-dollars;" others are nicteS
and Clipped. These are sent bacl- in
disgrace for another ordeal in the melt
ing pot.
From the selecting tables the silva-
BLANKS" are taken to the "adiustin.
ROOM" where they are weighed in bnlS,
on entrance, and as they come ont In
a large, well-lighted room so women
sit at long tables, many OF them vonna
and pretty. The ordinary visito, -
not allowed the inestimable privilege a
looking at this charming array OF femj-
nine industry. Each woman has h.
fore her a small pair Of balances. he,
implements are a file and a minaturs
broom, with which she sweeps busilV
every moment or so.
She has a pile of dollar blanks" no.
fore her. and she takes one al a tina
and weighs it on her balance. II II /,
within one and a quarter grains either
way of the standard weight the hlanl-
is allowed to pass. This much yaria-
ton Is allowed. If the silver disc !,
too heavy it is filled about the edges a
little, and the filings as they drop ON
the table are swept toward a hole in
the middle, where the precious dust
falls through into a receiver.
The popular idea of milling" a dol
lar is the fluted or roughened edge that
prevents it from being cut away and
lightened by INSCRIPTIONS persons
averse to making a living honestly
The milling" however, is the raised
edge on both faces of the coin that
makes it easily stacked and helps To
prevent abrasion of the design. Mill
ing" is the operation next on the pro-
gram for the silver blank"
The piece passes through a machine
that exerts a lateral pressure all round.
and forces the metal in slight ridge
above the faces of the disc The
roughened edge or "reeding" Is given To-
the dollar in the coming press that
stamps it.
From the milling machine the blanks
go to be polished and whitened and
freed from the stains Of the fire and the
>. 1 q
into furnace for final annealing. and
are taken out looking like red poker
chips The visitor is politely asked 10
pick up as many as he wants, and as
politely refuses.
The fiery glow changes TO a dull. me-
tallic hue as the dollars are shoveled
into great copper colandey, much like
the colander Of the kitchen, in which
they are swung on a travelling crane
over a bath OF diluted sulphuric acid
and plunged in suffering and boiling.
The acid bath removes the discOlOratlon
and whitens the metal, so that the dol
lar blanks come out shining and beauti-
full.
There stands a huge peanut roaster
near the acid tank, or so it looks. The
cylinder is perforated with many holes.
and the dollars are dumped in with sew
eral bushels of sawdust. Steam power
revolves the cylinder and the dollars
and the sawdust ape thoroughly mixed,
the sawdust dropping gradually
! through the perforations until the
shimmering mass of white silver is left
| like school Of sardines in the corner
of a net.
But the silver pieces are now quite
! thoroughly cooled, and they go into the
coming room for the final operation OF
! adOrnment after their tempestuOus ca
reer through fire and hard knocks. The
coinging room is filled with imposing
looking presses, masses Of steel each
weighing several tnHs. Each press has
a massive arch, uIter one cad of which
are the reverse aid lohYer-a. dies-ths+-
are brought together with tremendous
! force by "toggle joint" mechanism.
A woman sits before the press and
feeds the silver blanks" filing a long
tube from which the machine takes ono
alta time between its jaws and a finished
! dollar stamped on both sides and reed
| ed" drops into a receptacle below in an
endless stream The dollar comes out
bright and perfect, and the coin presses
drop 10000 OF them each day. Women
attend the greedy coming presses, wo-
men take the dollars and spread them
on tables for counting.
The counting is done by piling
them in stacks ten deep, until the board
! is filled. Each thousand is weighed.
and Uncle Sam. who is a morbdly close
calculator in this branch Of his enter
prises, is not yet satisfied that his dol
lars are exactly right in weight. As
a variation of one and a half grains
from the standard is allowed each way.
every thousand dollars is made mp OF
so many lights" and so many "heay-
les" that the average may be preserved,
and what 500 of the thousand lack the
rest make up
The silver dollar has been made; lt
is now to be stored with It's comrades
until called for in the burgar-proor
vaults of the mint cellar. glimpse
through the open door Of the silver dol
lar vault shows 50,0O0,0OO silver dollars
stacked to the ceiling in sacks about
the size Of salt bags, each one contain
ing 1000 "cartwheels."
Every June the goverHHeyg- 3 kes ac-
count Of stock, and tK5n the gllng
and counting is a befculean task ne
treasure vaults, Which have not beeG
disturbed for some time. or since mo
last reckoning, are allowed 10 rest
without overhauling. Another SILVER
vault contains only bars Of bullion
stacked like fire bricks. and one loses
his sense Of proportion when he Is tola
that in that pile there are 6,4JO tons OK
solid silver in 1,000-ounce bars mat
would keep the mint busy coming TOT
eight years.
Another much smaller cave IN ms
FL Dorado underground holds >'-VlV-
900 in gold coin, mostly double eagles
Philadelphia Press.
A CLERICAL SLAP.
Some time ago a London clergymah
in the course of a sermon, thus address
ed the women in the cOngrpEa fOni