Daily camera., 1899-08-04
UNCLE SANS SILVER.
Handling and Care of 1t Costs Him
Large Sum.
The Transfer, Counting AAA Storing
of the Vast Amount Costs heav-
ily-Cost Of Coinage
Is Snail.

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 a 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 a
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 ex-
pensive luxury in which the govern
ment has ever indulged.
The Philadelphia mint holds $780,
100000 in silver, over $60,000,OO0 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 $50, 200 in the single item of count
ing. AS the superintendent are under
100000 bonds, their bondsmen natural
ly insist upon knowing just what they
are responsible for, and 30 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 load from the mint
to the post Office was Is cents per =, 900,
exclusive of the pay of the laborers en-
ployed in handling it.
In imitation of the celebrated STRAIT
sgy of the French general, whose cam
paign consisted of marching up hill
and then down again, the succeeding
superintendent, Col. Boabyshell, carted
the silver dollars from the post office
back to the mint, duplicating the cost.
Then Eugene Townsend became su-
perintendent, and the process of trans
ferring The silver from his predecessor
to himself, the hand-oounting 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 a 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 Mr..
superintendent, cost the government,
as before, over 800, 1000. Silver dollars to
the amount Of s21,0OO,000 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 r8-
carted to the new mint at the regula-
ton price demanded by the express
company of IS cents per 81 900, with the
Sooe VI AfC SChho pei Iva
containing 81 900 and the laborers' pay.
The details involved in all this NOV
ing and counting are intricate in
the extreme. Superintendent Boyer'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 day for a year. In addi-
ton to all this some 12 or is men 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 100000, the handling over
$4,000 and the boxing over $500, to
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, but
to guard it and protect it are tremen-
dously expensive. For instance, among
the details Of transferring the silver
from one superintendent to another
are the employment of two counters
for each bag weighing 60 pounds. the
weighing and the registering of the
bags and the compilation OF each bags
individual history.-Philadelph In
quirer.