Daily camera. [volume] (Boulder, Colo.) 1891-1928, 1899-09-06
UNCLE SANS SILVER.
Handling and Care Of 1t Costs Him
. 4 Large Sum.
The Transfer, Counting aaA stssinG
Of the Vast Amount Costs ASav.
ily Cost Of Coinage
IL snail.

Carting to the United States mint
vaults at Spring Garden and Sixteenth
streets the vass masses of silver bullion
and silver dollars that have been stored
in the old mint and the post Office build
ing has attracted attention to the fact
that the successive transferring, count
ing and storing of the white metal since
its purchase as bullion about ten years
ago, to say nothing of the depreciation
of about a third in the market price
since that time, has cost the govern
ment many thousands OF dollars in ex-
cess of its actual money value. In fact,
the government would have saved
great deal of money il it had thrown
away the silver dollars as soon as they
were coined. The keeping and handling
of them has proved to be the most ex
pensive luxury in which the govern
ment has ever INDUCED.
The Philadelphia mint holds $780,
100000 in silver, over $50, 100000 of
which has been coined into the cart
wheel dollars. Each successive superin-
tendent since that time has had the sill
yer counted or transferred from one
place TO another, the operation usually
requiring year or more and costing
over $4,000 in the single item of count
ing. AS the superintendent are under
$s08,0 bonds, their bondsmen natural
ly insist upon knowing just what they
are responsible for, and so the counting
process 10 undergone with each sue
cseding administration, Uncle Sam
paving the bill.
When Daniel n. Fox wa. superintend-
ent of the mint about ten years ago the
silver dollars were transferred from the
mint to the post office building. The
cost of carting the load from the mint
to the post Office was rs cents per II 900,
exclusive Of the pay Of the laborers en-
ployed in handling it.
In imitation of the celebrated STRAIT
agy of the French general, whose cam
paign consisted of marching up hill
and then down again, the succeeding
superintendent, Col. Bosbvshell, carted
the silver dollars from the post Office
back to the mint, duplicating the cost.
Then Eugene Townsend became su-
perintendent, and the process OF trans
terring The silver from his predecessor
to himself. the hand-countang Of the
whole mass being involved, again cost
the government over $4,000.
When Herman kretz succeeded DR..
Townsend the transfer was made with
out extra cost TO the government, the
usual force At the mint being employed
in the task of counting on this econom-
the silver dollars in boxes was intro
duced at a cost of Ave cents per box,
and this cost the government about
$500.
The transfer Of Me silver from Mr..
Kretz to Harry X. Boyer, the present
superintendent, cost the government,
as before, over s30,oD0. Silver dollars to
the amount of $4,000, 900 were taken
again TO the post Office building for
storage. This labor was completed
only about three weeks ago. aud now
the whole bulk OF silver is being re-
carted to the new mint at the regula-
ton price demanded by the express
company of IS cents per 81 900. with the
additional cost OF five cents per box
containing 81, 900 and the laborers' pay.
The details involved in all this NOV
ing and counting are intricate in
the extreme. Superintendent Boyer's
count, recently completed, was rem
dered as eSpeditiouIy as possible. yet
il took year or more to complete II.
The transfer required the service of IS
extra men daily at three dollars day
each. or s4s day for year In addi-
ton TO all this some l: or is men have
to he employed day and night to watch
the boarded mass.
Thus each transfer from one superin-
tendent to another has cost the govern
ment about $4,000. the handling over
$4,000 and the boxing over $500. to
say nothing of the other heavy incident
al expenses, such a. the watching. To
coin the silver bullion costs the govern
ment only one cent for each dollar, but
to guard it and protect it are trcmen-
dously expensive. For instance, among
the details of transferring the silver
from one superintendent to another
are the employment OF two counters
for each bag weighing 80 pounds, the
weighing and the registering of the
bags and the compilation OF each bag.
individual history.-Philadelph In
quirer.