The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1899-09-09
UNCLE SANS SILVER.
Handling and Care Of 1t Costs Him
a Large Sum.
The Transfers. coaRtiaE and stOrins
of the Vast ApaOunt Costa AsaV-
tly - Cost of Coinage
Is 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 of dollars in ex.
cess of its actual money value. In fact.
the government would have saved q
great deal of money IL il had thrown
away the silver dollars as soon as they
were coined. The keeping and handling
of them has proved to be the most ex.
pensive luxury in which the govern
ment has ever INDUCED.
The Philadelphia mint holds $780,.
COZ, COO in silver, over do,OoO,eO0 OF
which has been coined into the cart.
wheel dollars. Each successive superin-
tendent since that time has had the sill
yer counted or transferred from one
place to another, the operation usually
requiring a year or more and costing
over $30.oC0 in the single item of count
ing. As the superinIendents are under
S1o0.u bonds, their bondsmen natural
~ 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 NJ. 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 lead from the mint
TO the post Office was IS cents per II 600,
exclusive of the pay OF the laborers EN-
ploysd in handling il.
In imitation of the celebrated STRAIT.
sgy of the French general. whose cam
p2igu consisted of marching up hill
and then down again, the succeeding
superintendent, Col. Bosbvshell, carried
the silver dollars from the post office
back to the mint, duplicating the cost.
Then Eugene Townsend became SUI
perintepdent, and the process of trans
ierring :he silver from his predecessor
to himself, the hand-countiug of the
whole mass being involved, again cost
the government over $4,000.
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 al cost OF five cents per box.
and this cost the government about
$500
The transfer OF the silver from Mr.
Kretz TO Harry X. Boyer. the present
superintendent, cost the government,
as before, over So, c00. Silver dollars to
the amount of S2I 10000 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 re.
carted to the new mint at the regula-
ton price demanded by the express
company of 25 cents per ST. 900, with the
additional cost of five cents per box
containing $1,000 and the laborsrs' pay
The details involved in all this NOV
ing and counting are intricate in
the extreme. Superintendent Powers
count, recently completed, was rem
dered as expeditiously as possible. yet
Il took year or more TO complete IT,
The transfer required the service Of IS
extra men daily at three dollars a DAY
each, or SIS n day for year. In addi-
ton to all this some 70 or Is msn have
to be employed day and night TO watch
the boarded mass.
Thus each transfer from one superin-
tendent TO another has cost the govern
ment about $4,000, the handling over
$4,000 and the boxing over $3.50. 10
say nothing Of the other heavy incident
al expenses. such as the watching. To
coin the silver bullion costs the govern-
ment only one cent for each dollar. bu,
10 guard it and protect il are trcmen.
douSiy expensive. For instance. among
the details OF transferring the silver
from one superintendent to another
ara the employment OF two counters
FOR each b1g weighing co pounds. the
weighing and the registering Of the
bags and the compilation OF each bags
individual history.-Philadelph In
quirer.