Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-10-13
pRINTING INTERNAL REVENUE STAMPS.

from 81 to Sc a day in earning capacity.
Where the steam presses are used
four steel plates, each one printing
400 stamps, work upon nm endless
chain passing in front of the pressman.
In this operation his duties are con-
fined to cleaning the plates with his
hands, as described above, the ma
chinery doing the mixing and press
ing. He can press about seven sheets
every sixty seconds, and has two young
women to assist him, one to feed the
press and the other to remove the
sheets.
The sheets of stamps are now ready
to be gummed, perforated and divided.
After the ink has been dried anI<&e
sheets pressed fiat they are q
another room, where another 49,
handle them. The cumming machine
is simple apparatus which distributes
an even flow of mucilage upon the re-
verse side of the stamp. 1t IS done
automatically, SO that there is no
waste and no surplus ofmucilage upon
any part of the sheet. The mucllage
is composed of glucose and dexterine,
mixed in stipulated quantities and alb
solutely harmless.
When the sheets are coated with
mucilage they pass upon an endless
chain through steam chest about
sixty feet lo-g, where they are sub
iected to temperature of about l35
degrees, coming out after several min
utes thoroughly dried. Then they &c
to hydraulic press to be pressed tiat,
having become warped in the steam
chest. The sheets are are laid between
stiff cardboards and stack OF then
put into the machine, where they arf
subjected to q pressure of 5000 pound:
to the square inch. There are NJ
wrinkles left when they emerge from
this gentle squeezing.
Their next journey is to the perfora
ting machines, operated by sklllfu
young women. This is apparently
simple piece of work, but it requires
close attention to feed the machine, 81
that the perforating wheels rul
straight down the spaces between th'
stamps. Even with the utmost car
slips occur, and a row of stamps i
perforated down the middle. Ever.
spoiled sheet is preserved, however, tt
be accounted for, and if so much as
corner of stamp is torn off it must b
patched on again, so as to present
whole sheet to the next checker.
One of the most interesting place
in the building is the room where tn
stamps are examined and counted. Thi
is IN immense apartment, filled wit
long tables, at which several scores Q
young women are working. Pile
upon the tables in front of them ar
stacks of ten dollar, fifty dollar or on
hundred dollar bills, government
bonds and sheets of stamps. A rus
tling sound like the whisper. of tn
wind through thousand trees fills tn
room, as the counters rapidly turn til
bills and sheets, keeping mental ia
, upon the number, while their eyes
3 trained to the utmost vigilance, see
out imperfections in the printing.
8 L saw one young woman MT wor
e counting and examining the stamp
$ whose record was from ten thousan
4 to twelve thousand sheets day. he
, fingers seemed to fairly fly MS sh
n lifted the sheets, and although it Wa
f but fraction of q second durin
i which the stamps passed under ht
t gaze, her quick eye would detect tn
e least imperfection, passing over tw
q hundred stamps in that time. For tn
). skillful and exacting work these your