The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-08-04
THE MINT EARNINGS
UNCLE SAM MAKES A TIDY PROFIT BY
COMING MONEY.
Ihe Gross Earnings of the MINIS and
Assay Offices of the Country Last
Year We're 81, 400, 900 of Which
$173,614 Was for Refining Bullion.

Year We're 81, 400, 900 of Which
S183,614 Was for Refining Bullion.
1t is supposed generally that the
United States Mint and the Government
assay offices and refineries are main
tanned for the public convenience and
that the Mint, IKE other branches or
departments of the extensive Treasury
service, is run pro bono publico, the
Government making up by appropria-
ions the shortage of each year. The
recent public report of the Director of
the Mint shows that Uncle Sam has a
thrifty interest in the operations of the
Mint and It's branches and makes a
tidy profit from their operation each
year. Last year the gross earnings of
the minis and assay offices of the coun-
try-there are minis in PHILADELPHIA.
San francisco, Carson City and New
orleans, assay offices at Denver, Boise.
Helena, Charlotte, ST. Louis. Deadwood
and New York-were S4.495 900. of
which SlI3,6l4 was for parting and re-
inning bullion, $10,046 for copper alloy.
and Sl5,32l for melting, assaying and
stamping charges. The seigniorage on
the coinage OF silver was S3073, 1858. on
subsidiary silver coinage S2S6.311. on
minor coinage Sl,0Sl 900 and on the re-
coinage or minor coins SlS,3S3. The
value OF the deposit in melting room
grains and sweeps" removed was S.
90; the value of the surplus bullion
returned was 1924, and the gain on
bullion shipped by the minor assay Of
noes TO the Mint for coinage there was
$6,675.
The expenditures of the Mint service.
including wastase, loss on sale of
sweeps, and expense OF distributing
minor coins, was 81 1868. 1873. The net
earnings for the year were s.. 49,, 664.
Some Of the items of expense (the chief
OF which is, of course. salaries and
wages illustrate the curiously compli-
Gated work of minting, which requires
not only knowledge of chemistry and
metallurgy, but considerable exactness
IN the use OF materials and in the adap-
tatlon Of dies and designs. For acids
used in the minis and assay Offices
$2740O was expended by the Govern
ment last year. for chemicals. 81 200;
for wood, $6,615; for copper, $9.6OO for
fiji abrick, 81 800 and for zinc, $2,766.
For gloves and gauntlets required by
the mint workers $500 was needed;
foI gas an aid to metallurgy, $14.7OO;
for charcoal, 1910; for Oil, $1,1O0; for
hardware, $1,4GO, and Tor crucibles and
mechanical appliances SIS, 400.
Varied as these items are. they do
not exhaust the number of things re-
CURED in the Mint. for $1,000 was eX-
pended in lumber, 81 400 in ice, $500 for
salt used in the reineries. and a small
cha &c for flags needed as designs.
Apart from gas. the fuel needed for
mint and assay offices was OF three
kind charcoal al an expense of So
! 100, coke at an expense of $500, and
coal at an expense of $4,000. One
item, which to the uninitiated seems
large, is the item Of sewing, $3,l25. This
sewing is required for the bags con-
tanning the metal or coins, in addition
to $563 for barrels and $3.50 for bullion
boxes.
Uncle Sam in his liberality made no
appropriation for soap, it would appear,
but the expense of laundering the tow
els presumably 1T was given out')
was $1,000, and $1,000 additional was
! paid for water. The item OF wastage.
so-called arising from work at the
| Mint. aid which is not large one
when compared with the enormous OPP
erations of the Mint. was $4,000, and
some other minor items brought up the
Governments whole expense in the
year to $3.50, GOO. or about % per cent.
Of the total receipts, the profit being
represented by the other 70 per cent.