Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1899-11-02

| side OF the denominations under $40
and on the right hand side of the
higher denominations, the object of
this being to beat that enterprising
gentleman, Peter" Mccartney, who
had developed a fad for washing the
ink off small bills and printing big
ones on the blanks thus obtained. In
this way, obviously, he could get the
real treasury paper, fibre and all at
relatively cheap rate.
Indeed the practicableness of this
process constitutes one objection to
the fiber paper, and it is a serious one,
inasmuch as false notes produced on
the Mccartney plan actually acquire
superior verisimilitude through the
help of the fiber. However, the fibers
can be initiated quite perfectly by
making few irregular scratches on a
steel plate and printing from the lat
ter with colored inks upon the other
wise complete counterfeit bill. 1t used
to be supposed that the brown ink with
which the backs of the national bank
notes are printed could not be washed
out, but this notion was rudely dis
PEELED not long ago by the appearance
at the treasury of a nearly new SIS
bank note with the back perfectly
blank. Some chemist with taste for
practical joking had done it.
The patent on the fiber paper ran
out in 1889, and then the treasury took
it up again. All of it is made at a
factory in Dalton, Mass, where it is
turned out under the eyes of govern
ment agents. Every sheet is counted
by machine as it is produced and the
utmost imaginable care is taken that
not scrap of the paper shall get
away; it is considered as precious as if
| it were so much money. Defective
sheets are destroyed, and every perfect
one sent to Washington is accounted
for by number. The fibers are simply
colored silk threads bought from a
| New York importing firm, cut into
quarter-inch lengths and fed into the
paper making apparatus.
| The production of a new set of notes
and certificates running through all
the denominations, is not so difficult
as one might imagine. At the bureau
of engraving and printing, where the
paper money is printed, the chief artist
and his assistant designers use their
odd moments of leisure in making
drawings of parts of bills-bits of bor-
der, vignettes, etc. These are repro
duced on steel by the engravers, and
little proofs representing them are
pasted into a large scrapbook.
If design for a note is wanted in a
hurry, the head man looks over the
scrapbook to see what he has in stock.
He draws on a sheet of paper "a par
allelogram precisely the size and shape
of the bill that is to be, and inside of
this he pastes a section or two of bor-
der, an ornamental bit for each corner,
portrait-he has plenty of portraits
of historical personages ready en-
graved-some large numbers where
they are wanted, and finally the words
composing the "story" of the note.
The "story" of a piece of paper
money is the legend it bears. For ex-
ample a national banknote tells what
institution issued it, and mentions that
it is legal tender, silver certificate de-
claring that 81 payable to bearer have
been deposited in the treasury. Words
to make up such money stories are
kept in stock always, ready engraved
like other pieces of designs. Thus the
chief artist is able within few min
utes, if necessary, to make complete
pattern of brand new bill, no portion
of which has ever been used before
The back of it is chiefly geometrit
lathe work, and plenty of stuff of tina
sort is on hand.
When the chief artist is satisfied
with his design he hands it over to The
chief of the bureau of engraving, wht
sends it to the secretary of the treas
ury. The latter is the only authorit!
, qualified to decide whether or not i
shall be accepted and used. However
not being necessarily an expert in sucl
: matters himself, he is likely to asl
, the advice of the treasurer and of othe
officials. The first question considered
, is whether the bill can be easily coun
! terfeited; next, durableness is though
of, and the various technical point
IOllOW. IL the utSlSn dpplONCu IL :
sent back to the bureau of engraving
and the engravers set to work to repro
duce it on a steel plate.
To engrave it thus would require
| year or more if the work had to b
/ tackled newly, but, as has been said
all the parts of it have already been Gu
t in steel piece-meal. A parallelogran
| exactly the size of the note is draw
? upon a plate of soft steel. Then
: roller of soft steel is passed, unde
great pressure, over piece of the orig
/ inal engraved pattern. The roller i
= thereupon hardened by fire and applied
, to that portion of the parallelogran
= where the bit of design is wanted. Re
peating this method with the othe
parts-vignette, story" etc.,-th
, complete pattern, as shown in the ap
! proved drawing, is soon transferred II
the plate.
Next, the plate is fire hardened an
: its complete design is taken upon
= soft roller. The roller, in it's turn, i
r hardened, and by applying it unde
( pressure to one blank plate Of soft stee
= after another, as many duplicates o
, tho original Dlate as NAV be desireI