Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-26
MAKING OF GOLD BRICKS.
III Requires Skill and the Demand for
Them is Brisk.
From the New York Sun.


From the New York Sun.
That" said the veteran glider, indicating
a. yellow obong block upon his workbench,
is a gold brick common to the commerce
of those who are generally known as con-
fdence men. 1t was made in this shop by
a young man who only recently became
full-1edged glider, and the chances are
that 1t will eventually find its way into the
bands of some swindler for transmission to
an agricultural district where all is guile
lessness and trust in human nature, for the
young man in question is a foreigner,
whose honesty is not above suspicion or
reproach."
Il should think the fellow would get him
self into serious difficulty with the police"
suggested the visitor who had brought an
old-fashioned picture frame to be rehabil-
itated.
NO, there Is no danger of that" replied
the veteran glider, for it Is not considered
a misdemeanor as the laws now stand to
make gold brick When the con man
tries to dispose of 1t, then the crime comes
in. The glider never does that, you know.
1t isn't part of his business.
Most Of the so-called gold bricks used
by swindlers are made in New York con-
tinued the veteran glider, and the work
Is done by skilled mechanics. There are
many more foreigners than Americans en-
gagged in this questionable pursuit but the
capital which backs the enterprise, l I'M
derstand comes from American pockets.
1t is the Austrians and Italians who are
readiest to become makers of gold bricks.
ANY skilled worker can turn out the ar
ticle If he has the requisite delicate ma
chinery and materials; still glider who
has a good trade or steady employment
could not be persuaded to embark in an
undertaking which would ruin his reputa-
ton irretrievably and strip him Of his le-
Ultimate patronage Although, as L said,
the making of gold bricks does not appear
In he felony nevertheless II is
conducted with absolute secrecy. To my
certain knowledge there are three concerns
In this city which will accept contracts to
transform comparatively va1ueless metal
into precious gold for a consideration and
will turn out as many perfected bricks as
their rogue of a patron may desire. These
shops are very small, and each employs no
more than two or three men. There Is still
much money in the manufacture of the
bricks, 1 told, and therefore their sale
by the confidence men must still continue
brisk Occasionally we read Of n gold brick
having been sold in the east and even in
wide-awake New York, but there is not
enough to be made in the traffic here by
enterprising swindlers who aim to become
rich. Most of the output goes to the west
and southwest. Very little of 1t sells for
real gold east of the Mississippi or Ohio.
Gold bricks made of one Lind of
metal or another, and are never simply
gilded clay bricks. as some persons sup
pose 1t is quite possible, yes, to gild COM
pressed fire brick, but 1t will not Withstand
the handling or yield the weight required
of the article by the crooks. IT is said
that the first gold brick made as merely
a gilded fire brick, hence the name
THE finest gold bricks disposed of to the
come-ons In the east and the unsophisti-
Gated miners, ranchers and farmers in the
west and southwest are prepared from cop
per alleged with a small percentage of zinc
for expert manufacturers have discovered
that this alloy retains the iuster and tone
better than any other metal, and furnishes
immunity from the chemicals used In the
gliding. Pure copper, too, L have heard 1t
said, makes an exceptionally fine gold brick
and lead, iron and steel are often used Sill
yer Is still more desirable, and has fire.
quently been employed by swell manufac-
turers. Its principal recommendation is
that gold and silver fuse and unite nat
urally, but then silver is costly and few
makers of gold bricks can afford to use it.
Gold leaf is never used in gliding metals
in these days. Metallic ornaments and
weapons have been gilded by an application
of gold powder, but even this method has
been discontinued. Nearly all of the me-
tallic gliding is done by processes requiring
liquid or semi-soiid materials. Far more
care is taken In gliding a gold brick than
any other article, so one who knows all
about the business told me. He made gold
bricks himself until wave of reformation
overwhelmed him. The piece of metal pre-
ferred by him as brick was bar or tnpot
with no resemblance to the building brick
being longer and about one-hah Of real
bricks diameter.
saThe value of the standard brick turned
out for the trade would be something less