Arizona silver belt., 1899-11-16
UNCLE SAM'S SILVER.
Handling and Care of It Costs Him
 a Large Sum.
The Transfer, Counting and Storing of the Vast Amount Costs Heav- lily Cost of Coinage
 ls Small.

Carting to the United States mint vaults at Spring Garden and Sixteenth streets the vast 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 third in the market price since that time, has cost the govern ment many thousands ofdollars in ex- cess of its actual money value. In fact, the government would have saved n great deal of money if 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 eN- pensive luxury in which the govern ment has ever indulged.
 The Philadelphia mint holds $200,- O00,000 in silver, over S60,000,000 of which has been coined into the cart wheel dollars. Each successive superin- tendent since that time has had the sil- yer counted or transferred from one place to another, the operation usually requiring a year or more and costing over S30,000 in the single item of count ing. As the superintendents are under $s00,00O bonds, their bondsmen natural ly insist upon knowing just what they are responsible for, and so the counting process is undergone with each sue ceeding administration, Uncle Sam paying the bill.
 When Daniel M. Fox was 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 25 cents per sl 900, exclusive of the pay of the !aborers em- ployed in handling it.
 In imitation of the celebrated strat- sgy of the French general, whose cam paign consisted of marching up hill and then down again, the succeeding superintendent, Col. Bosbyshell, carried the silver dollars from the post office back to the mint, duplicating the cost.
 Then Eugene Townsend became SUI perintendent, and the process of trans ferring :he silver from his predecessor to himself. the hand-counting of the whole mass being involved, again cost the government over S30,0O0.
 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- ical occasion, but system of packing the silver dollars in boxes was intro duced at cost of five cents per box, and this cost the government about $500.
 The transfer of the silver from Mir. Kretz to Harry K. Boyer, the present superintendent, cost the government, as before, over s3O,COO. Silver dollars to the amount of S2l 100000 were taken again to the post office building for storage. This labor was completed only about three weeks ago, and now the whole bulk of silver is being TO- earted to the new mint at the regula- tion price demanded by the express company of 25 cents per s1,000, with the additional cost of five cents per box containing sl 900 and the laborers' pay.
 The details involved in all this nov ing and counting are intricate in the extreme. Superintendent Ioyer's count, recently completed. was rem  dered as expeditiously as possible, yet it took year or more tO complete it. The transfer required the service of IS extra men daily at three dollars day each. or s45 a day for year. In addi- ton to all this some 12 or Is men have to be employed day and night to watch the hoardel mass.
 Thus each transfer from one superin- tendCnt tn another has cost the govern ment about $3O,O0O. the handling over $l5.00O and the boxing over $5.510. to say nothing Of the other heavy iHadent- al expenses, such as the watching To coin the silver bullion costs he govern ment only one cent for each dollar. but to guard it and protect il are trpmen- dously expensive. For instance, among the details of transferring the silver from one superintendent 10 another are the employment of two counters for each bag weighing GO pounds. the weighing and the registering of the bags and the compilation Of each bags individual history.-Philadelphia In- quirer.