The Portland daily press., 1901-01-29
POSTAGE STAMP MILL.
Bmions OF stamp. Printsd Annually
In the Government shop.
washington ,rimes)

hAluioub upon mlhtuub VI hoW A'SP
currency bills are being turned out BY the
bureau OF Engraving and Printing to re-
placs this defaced and worn-out green
backs when are constantly coming back
into the Treasury, to be eventually
ground and smashed up into pulp. Huge
printing presses sre constantly at work
In ths steel protected rooms OF the Treas
ury Uepat tment. 1t is, In fact, safely
estimated that by the close Of the present
year these presses Will have turned out
enough greeubaoks to furnish each OF the
/ 70, 900 900 inhabitants OF this land with
about $40 each, This means that 1o7 .6oU.-
600 of crisp new bills OF various denomi-
nations viii be used.
In the matter OF postage stamps, the
figures are even more enormous. It lie es-
timated that on an average every man,
woman and child in the United States
win use ffty-three postage stamps dur
ing the..year 1901, forty Of them being CT
the popular two cent denomination. The
total number consumed will be over
4, COO, 900, QUO, and nearly 1,00O. 900 OF
these will be of the one-cent variety.
One person out OF every ten will send
SPECIAL delivery letter In the course OF the
present year.
Cuba, In 1901, will require about 1900,
600 ordinary stamps. with 100000 especial
deliveries" ell OF which will bs turned
out at Uncle Sans money mill In Wash
ington. The Philippines win use up
e,0O0, 100 stamps, Porto Rico. l,oOO, 600 and
Guam, leo, 600. OF coures, Guam, Porto
Rico and the Philippines have no stamps
of their own. properly Speaking, but are
supplied with the ordinary United States
postage stamps, altered simply BY the ad-
dition OF word printed GROSS tbs face OF
each one In unornamented black lie tiers.
Thus all Guam stamps have the word
"Guam" marked on them, as II It were
for cancellation, and the word philip
pines" makes our common stamps service
att, foe carrying mail matter in Uneis
SANS new Oriental archipelago.
The first process in the manufacture OF
stamps at the money mill Is to count the
sheets OF blank paper, which are pur-
CHASED by contract. This work Is done
by women, who, indeed, perform most
Of the labor In the Bureau OF Engraving
and Printing, simply bscause they have
proved themselves more capable than men
for business OF this description. Each
sheet is the proper size and shape TO make
AGO printed stamps, with small margin.
Alter they have been counted the sheets
are moistened by laying wet rags between
them at intervals of twenty, and next
morning, when the rags are removed, the
sheets are ready for printing.
The press for printing postage stamps
Is queer looking machine, halt auto
A.xA - . sNuNl
affair, with four square steel plates, set
horizontally, occupying the four sides OF
horizontal square.
These plates, always horizontal, travel
around the four sides of the square at
moderate rate of speed, PASSING in
turn beneath an ink roller. Zach of
them is engraved with the faces Of 400
stamps and after being linked by the roller
goes under a mechanical rubber, which
removes most of the Ink. Then the plate
is cleansad or all the rect Of the Ink save
what Is In the craven lines, by man
who rube it with cloth and his bare
hands, and finally IL goes under dry
cloth covered roller, which, sheet of
white paper being interposed, does the
printing. All OF these processes are &C.
complished four times inside Of half a
minute,
A girl supplies tina fresh white sheets
as this plates come round to her in quick
succession, and another girl takes them
out, fresh printed, rs they appear on the
outside OF tue olOtn. covered roller, piliDg
them neatly as she does so. Then the
sheets, so new and beautiful with their
bright-colored Impressions, are carried to
another room TO be counted, after which
they are laid on racks In wire cages on
wheels, and hauled into a steam dry
ing room to stay over night.
On the following morning they are
taken into the examining room, where
each OF them Ia carefully inspscte1 for
defects. Torn or otherwise imperfect
ones are rejected, but ali fragments are
carefully stuck together, SO that eaon
sheet may be accounted for. Each person
In this department. OF the money mill Is
expected TO examine 1850 sheets in a
day work.
Now comes the cumming OF the stamps,
which is one of the most interesting
steps in the whole pro oess. Each sheet Of
40 is taken In its turn and placed be-
tween a pair OF delicate steel hands,
which pass it beneath q roller that carries
a solution of line gum composed chiefly
of dextrln.
An endless belt carries the newly
gummed sheet through a wooden box 100
fest In length, which is lined with coils
OF steam pipes, SO that it comes oct at
the other end few minutes later perfect
ly dry, haing received thersupon by deft
fingers of steel and5latd accurately upon
pile OF similar sheets.
The gummed postage stamps before
they ara ready for use must be perforated.
SO as to bs torn apart easily, and this
rows of small toothed wheels of brass sat
rs Fall1l IN aanh