The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-05
SWEEPING THE q. s. MINT.
HOuse-Cleanfng Day q Very ImpOr-
tant One There.
Philadelphia Telegraph.

Within the next few days the annual
housekeeping of the United States mint
will commence, and while it is going on the
money factory will be closed to visitors.
1t is the custom to Turkish up the mint
about this time every year, and two weeks
are usually devoted to the work.
Pipes which have been eaten out by the
strong acids used in coming will be replaced
and the boilers of the engines will be
visitors and all coinage operations cease
the banking and depository departments
and the cashiers office will be kept open
for the transaction of business.
Thousands of dollars worth of gold are
found annually among the sweepings of the
mint, but this gold was never lost. The
art Of coinage has been reduced to such
fine point that, given certain quantity OF
bullion during the year. the coiner at the
coin. The leeway of waste is allowed for
almost to grain, and it is upon the sweep
ings of the institution, with their thousands
of dollars of hidden gold dust, that the
coiner counts to escape being made an in
voluntary defaulter. That is the reason
why every washstand in the mint does not
let the water escape in which the employees
have washed their hands until II has per-
colated through a blanket. These pieces of
blanket are changed regularly and are
faithfully preserved. When housekeeping
time comes and they are burned with the
rest of the dirt, the tiny, invisible specks of
gold that came from on the employees
The daily sweepings of the mint go into
what is known as the sweep cellar" On
this occasion every nook ana Granny OF the
mint is swept with equal diligence and care
Even the roof is swept And so valuable
are the gleanings there that a specially
provided funnel catches the sweepings and
drops them into a clay-bottomed well. The
clay is dug up, dried and removed to the
sweep cellar for utilization in connection
with the other dirt.
Into this golden dirt pile go any odd pieces
of rubbish that may have accumulated dur
ing the year The very shoes the workmen
have worn and the leather gloves with
which they handled pigs Of metal become so
grained with precious dust that they are
we'll worth being ground up with the rest
of the odds and ends. All the dirt Is finally
assayed, and with the rating of its assay
is sold to the highest bidders, who are
usually smelters. These sweepings have
netted Uncle Sam much $40. 000
The responsibility for bullion worked up
in the mint Is divided between the official
who fills the post of melter and refiner and
him who has charge of the coming. The
melter and refiner gets the bullion first,
from him IL goes to the coiner. Each OF
these consisnments is weighed In a separate
balance by the government, and each has
TO watch the waste closely or come out OF
the little end of the horn One would think
the government had tied them down pretty
well when Ii fixed the following legal
limit of waste allowed:
Meter and Refner-Waste In gold. on.
waste In silver. .O0l5.
Coiner-waste in gold. .oo6: waste In SILL
yer, .010.
But the government has rot down 70 the
bona nds' waste. and here y The way TIE