Evening journal., 1900-02-27
SOME NEW DOLLARS.
FRESH DESIGNS ADOPTED FOR UNCLE
SAINTS PAPER MONEY.

J..
How the New Patterns Are Being
Turned Out
The people Of this country will be
spending several new kinds OF money
soon. Already n few specimens OF
it have been printed in Washington,
but the Treasury will not be prepared
to issue it for a while yet because Il
takes a good many millions OF notes
and certificates TO fill the demand, and
after they have gone through the
presses they have TO dry for weeks
very slowly. so that the ink on them
may not blur in handling. Besides, only
the one.dollar and twO-dollar silver
certificates are finished; the first de-
SIGN for the five-dOllar certificates has
been rejected by the Secretary Of the
Treasury, and the other denominations
are TO come.
The reason for preparing these new
designs for the paper currency is SIM
ply that those which adorn the bills
now In circulation are not considered
satisfactory. AS one Treasury Official
said the other day: "lhe pattern OF
the present One-dollar note Wouidn
make a decent newspaper cut a
couple Of years ago the Government
! Bureau OF Engraving decided that
what the country really wanted was
artistic money, and IL hired some Well
known artists to execute designs Tor
the various denominations Of cerun-
Gates and notes. IL was a beautllul
idea. but somehow II has not proved
success These high-art bills now IN
circulation. with their alleg0rlcal pic
lures and ornamental shields, wreaths
and things, have excited nothing but
derision on the part of the public ana
most particularly disgust in banks and
counting rooms, where their obscure
numbers have made them difficult TO
reckon.
"a money note is a piece Of work
purely technical" said the Treasury
official above quoted, "and the purpose
of its design Is as far as possible away
from an idea which an artist has IN
mind when he sits down to make q
pretty picture. One hangs picture on
the wall, or It may be suitable for
portfolio; the design of q bill requires
first Of all the quality Of enduring
wear with least possible injury. 1t ha'
, 10 pass through the greasy hands OF I'M
. butcher and across the sloppy counte
Of TIA bcer-seller; IL is crumbled In IN
pOcfct of the car conductor, and Their
Is No sort of abuse that IL Is not habl
to undergo Accordingly, every ele
! ment IN the makeup of the patterl
ought to have special reference to dui
e nbleness. The principal lettering shoui
. he bold and black, so as not TO be easll
= ohlterated, and a good strong partial
4 Is not only hard 20 obscure, but Is IN
best safeguard against counterfeitlng.
"a r. Il
! the now bills on both sides win be LEI
!. blank-frstly. In order to show IN
nbres of the paper better, and, secon'
Z In. designs more vividly and clearl.
It One trouble with the "art notes
that their designs confuse the ey
d making It more easily actually for
4 counterfeit 20 pass. The paper mon'
about to be issued, on the other han
is almost severely plain. An eagle WI
~ outspread wings IS the principal orn
it ment Of the face OF the One-dollar silv
rs certificate. o portrait Of Lincoln ben
,h engraved underneath 1t. The figure
o. and the Treasury seal are in brig
.h blue. and both seal and denomination
I'M number viii be of this color on al
I. the new certificates, so that the latt
may be distinguishable at a CLAN
from United States notes and bar
IN notes. The two-dollar certificate has
re head Of Washington.
n The Treasury people say that Z
m value Of the portrait as safegua
IN against counterfeiting lies in the IA
M that we are all OF us more famill
,o | with human faces than any other Q
'0 jects I'm the world. We are accustOm
to recognize our friends. am, very so
lu we will become so well acQuaint
rs with face on a new bill as to mott
IN the smallest alteration in its expr
ne sion. A steel engraved portrait cam
lie be perfectly initiated and the dill
a. ence of a line viii produce a chan
Il, IN the expression which any one "
y, perceive at a glance. The cart note
have portraits on their backs, but the
al being printed in green are comparati'
ID ly obscure, and the face Of a bill, az
lie way, is the side usually examined.
Experts admit that n note can
ng made handsomor by engraving it
ht over, but they say that few SCI
.n- tered fragments OF design, very elab
ate, are most difficult TO counterf
en successfully The new bills have co
We paratively simple patterns on tn
backs, but the geometrical lathe VIC
rd used Is at the same time very co
~ to defy imitation. All denomination
figures are made large and plain, es
cially at the corners Of the face, so
ep 20 render counting easy. In some
up the -art notes" these allimportant
Sc. ures are actually obscured i'm an
he tempt to make them decorative.
90 The fibre paper win be retained
the new bills, Notwithstanding obj
tions made TO it by some experts, W
urge that it is practically worthless
us a protection against counterfeiting.
.ly, was used long ago for n considera
time by the Government, but was
continued because the people "
owned the patent for it demanded
'es' exorbitant royalty for the privilege
lln- employing IL. In the issue Of Uni
ar- States notes of 1869 the ingeniC
'Oy- scheme was originated of placing
ven band of c0lored fibres on the left Ia
tho side Of the denominations under S