The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-25
UNCLE SANS MONEY MILL
The Bureau of Engraving and
Printing an Interesting Place.
How Treasury and National Bank
Notes and Stamps Are Mnde-BlanIS
Paper Carefully Guarded rs
Gold - The system of Checking.


The Governments money mill, the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing is
one of the most interesting places in the
country. Visitors to Washington, here
on pleasure bent never fail to include
the big red brick structure at Four
teenth and b Streets southwest in their
sightseeing expeditions. The bureau
had its origin in a small way in the
Treasury Building early in the COS.
The structure which it at present occu-
pies has been twice enlarged since it
was first occupied in 1880. The building
and site represent an outlay of 100000,
while the machinery and fixtures repre-
sent another outlay Of sl,O0O,OO0. The
bureau employs loo men and 1886
women. and eXpends for wages alone
over Si.500O0o a year.
The manufacture of notes issued by
the Government and by the national
banks of the country forms the chief
work of the bureau, but there are also
printed postage, customs, and internal
revenue stamps as well as all the
checks used by United States disburs-
ing officers throughout the country-in
short, everything that is defined by law
to be an obligation or security of the
United States. The nature of the prod
uct entails peculiar methods of manu-
facture especially with a view toward
the prevention of counterfeitinS. The
processes of engraving and printing
employed are those which are most diff
ficult to initiate. and the most skilled
engravers and printers are secured.
Inside the walls of the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing, paper, as well as
time. is money That is to say, the pc
culiar paper used for printing notes of
the various denominations is assessed
at the value of those notes while the
sheets are yet perfectly blank. This
paper is distinctive, and is made only
for the Government OF the United
States. The distinctive feature of the
note paper known as fibre paper, is its
double lines of distributed silk fibre on
the back of the notes about two inches
from each end This fibre can be easily
seen. The distinguishing mark of the
paper for internal revenue and post
age stamps is a watermark in the pa
per of the letters ~ S. 1. r. for the
first and ~. S. P. s" for the second.
All paper used in the bureau Is man
ufactured upon the order of the Sec
rotary of the Treasury, and is held
in the custody of the chief of the Di-
vision of Loans and Currency of
his office. 1t can only be obtained by
the bureau upon requisition setting
forth the class, denomination and value
of the security to be printed thereon, |
and is charged to the bureau at the full |
face value which can be so printed. |
Every particle of the precious paper |
must be accounted for or the face value |
charged against the bureau must be |
paid in money.
When the issue of new security has |
been determined upon by the Govern |
ment the matter of the design and the |
mechanical execution of the work is |
submitted 10 the officials of the Bureau |
of Engraving and Printing The design |
is usually, as in the case of the Pan
American stamp issues, for instance,
entrusted to the chief engraver, who |
makes model and submits il to the
criticism of the higher officials. This
model is then modified in accordance
with the suggestions received from
those to whom it is submitted, and is
finally approved by the Secretary of the
Treasury. The approved design is then
placed in the hands of the engravers for
of work-that is. vignettes, titles. and
ornamentaScn. When the plates are
finished and ready for printing, they
are, together with all the dies and rolls
made by the bureau, placed in charge
of an officer especially appointed by
the Secretary of the Treasury. known
as the custodian of dies, rolls and
plates. They are held by this official in
burglar and fire proof vaults, and are
only issued when the Secretary of the
Treasury makes an order to print a
certain definite number of impressions
from them. In each event a copy of
the order is forwarded TO the custodian.
When the paper and dies are required
by the bureau the necessary orders are
issued from the authorities of the
Treasury, approved, Of course, by the
Secretary. The paper is first trans
ferred from the Treasury building to
the bureau. checked with the requisi-
ton and counted to determine the act
ual number of sheets. 1t Is then pre-
pared in the wetting division for print
ing by being counted into sections OF
from ten to twenty sheets each, these
sections being subsequently placed be-
tween wet cloths and put under heavy
weights to distribute the moisture from
the cloths evenly through the paper
When this has progressed to a GER
tain point the weights are taken off.
and the paper is "shifted''-that is. each
section is divided into three equal
portions. and the inner or dry sides are
reversed and made the outer sides, so
as to place them In direct contact with
under the weight, as before, and after
thus for several hours the
paper is removed from the wet cloths,
and stacked ready for issue to
the printers. A requisition Is then | !
made upon the keeper of the dies,
rolls, and plates for the necessary |
plates. These are delivered to and re-
ceipted for by the representative of the
printing division of the bureau
The printers receive their respective ,
assignments from the chief of the {
division. Each is given an t
order which entities him to receive the !
necessary plate, and his assistant the a
necessary paper in the quantity he may
determine for his days work. The pa
per must be counted Immediately upon | :
receipt, as would money paid at a bank, .
and a receipt must be given. The | ,