The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-01-07
PHILADELPHIA's NEW MINT.
To he the Finest and Most Perfectly
Equipped In the World.

(From the Philadelphia Rccord)
The new United States Mint. which Is
being erected at Seventeenth and Spring
| Garden Streets. will not only have the fin
est building and general equipment OF any
| mint in the world. but will be supplied
with machinery and mechanical equipment
of the finest type. To this latter end Con-
gress will be asked to appropriate the sum
OF $4,000. and. although the structure
will not be ready for occupancy for mere
than year, the machinery contracts will
| likely be let in the near future.
AS preliminary step before deciding
Just what machinery shall be purchased,
Special Agent II. ]. Slater of the Treasury
Department will spend two months abroad
inspecting the minis OF the Old World. Mr..
Slater Is mechanical engineer of repute,
and on his recommendations will largely
depend the action taken. He will sail from
New York on Tuesday and will make a
most careful and thorough study Of the
matter.
For years the Philadelphia Mint has
borne an enviable reputation for the ex-
cellence of the work done. In fineness OF
product, accuracy Of work, and economy Of
management 1t has challenged comparison
with those Of Europe The excellence Of
its equipment has had much to do with
this commendable result. but it is a note
ical force are due the important improve
ments constantly being made in the ma
chinery. The changes made here have also
become the standards for use in the minis
at New Orleans and San Francisco.
Since the project for erecting new Mint
buildings took shape the efforts toward i'm
proving the mechanical equipment OF the
institution have been redoubled, and con-
slant experiments have been made. The
results have been to cause many changes in
the system and in the machinery. Some OF
these have been slight, though Of general
value, but others have been more or less
revolutionary and seem destined to be Of
great Importance.
Perhaps the most interesting work Is
the substitution of electroiysis for the older
methods of refining gold. This system is
used in a number Of private establishments
and is believed to be greatly superior to
the nitric-acid method now in use in the
mint. 1t is claimed for the electroIysis
system that the quality Of the metal is
higher and the speed Of production in
creased. An experimental plant Is now be-
ing erected in the old mint, and the mer-
its of the system will be thoroughly test
ed before it is adopted in the new insti-
tuition. The heavy fumes which now are a
source OF complaint and annoyance to the
public will also be done away with should
electrolysis be adopted.
Another important change is the substi-
tuition Of an automatic annealing machine
for the present rather Anticipated method.
The gold and silver must be softened be-
fore being coined, and the present method
is to place the strips in a small furnace
by hand. This requires the services of two
men to each furnace, and the operation OF
handling is slow and tedious one. The
new apparatus, which has just been put in
operation, is entirely automatic and not
only saves the labor OF the two men, but
insures a more equal annealing. While
the original cost is greater than the old
machine, the saving is very considerable.