Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-09-21
MAKE PAPER MONEY.


| The Bureau of Engraving and Print
ing, in Washington. is where all the
| PAPER llCn,y IN the United States is
made. The postage stamps, the inter
| nal revenue St2rArr, the government
| bonds and other paper of value is made
| there, also, but the place is most in
terestinS on account of the enormous
sums OF money that it turns out,
The making Of paper money is one of
the most absorbinsly interesting things
| done By The government. Nearly
| everybody has heard about the sort of
paper that the government makes its
money trom-hCW this paper is all
manufactured by one concern; how the
| little Silkcn threads are woven into it,
| and what lot OF trouble there is in
store for anybody who. unauthorized
by the gONernmt Mt, attempts to make
| paper like th3t, even without Il word OF
| printing or engraving upon it. The
| government has Il trust of its own in
| this paper business. and no person is
| permitted even to have a scrap of that
| blank paper in his possession outside
of the Bureau of Engraving and Print
| ing and the Treasury Department.
The first requisite for making Of
paper money. Mr.. Bryan to the con-
| trary notwithstanding, is il solid basis
| under it. and after that. TO have the
| paper and the engraving. so, leaving
| the manufacture of this particular
| brand Of paper cut of the question.
! the first stop toward making money
at the bureau is to have a design
drawn for the engravegs.
1t takes a long time. generally. to get
up satisfactory design for a new bill.
| 1t must be handsome to look upon.
| easily distinguishable from bills of
| other denominations, and in every way
| distinctive without being too profuse.
| But when the design has once been
made. it IS handed over to the engrav-
ers, and they commenced getting up
plate for il. In this work several en-
eravers are employed. one puts in the
figures, another works on the portraits.
still another puts in the grill work,
while The NEST wonderful ana compli-
Gated OF all engraving machines puts
on the scroll. This machine is capable
of making as high as ten thousand
different engraved designs. There is
no machine like it in the worl3.
When the plate has been completed
and, of course, there must be two
| plates, one for the face and the other
| fer the back Of the bill no one man
knows exactly how that plate
was made, nor could any one
man make an exact copy OF it,
no matter how competent an en-
| asraver he might be. The different
mon. working in different lines ANA
| upon different designs and figures. have
produced q plate that cannot b. re-
produced by human hands. Nothing
| Sholt of machine will make an exact
copy IF that plate. and that is the way
! il is done. These machines are called
transferring machines, and they make
as many copies of the original plate
as may be needed. The number i
usually several hundred.
With the plates for the new bill fin
ished, they ere sent to the printing
room. The face plates Of the bill are
sent to one printing room and the back
plates to another. Under TO conlbina-
ton of circumstances is the face Of a
plate allowed i'll the room where the
backs of the bills are printed OF en-
! graVeJ. The two Dlates-the face and
the back-are never permitted 10 come
together.
1t is so in the engraving room. where
| even the plates of steel, without a
scratch upon them. are carefully track
"a. 50 that each piece can be located at
any minute. Ii one OF these little
| blank steel plates should be missing.
nobody would be allowed to leave that
department until it had been found.
| Each engraver is given. in the morn
Il Il.
prisoner until he turns that steel in at
| night. If he doesn't turn it in, he
doesn t get out.
| When the plates for the backs of
the note reach the plate printing room,
| they meet the paper upon which the
| money is to be printed for the first
| time. This paper comes from The
| III easury Department. and 100000
sheets of it are required every day.
| Tie sheets are cut 50 as to have -four
bi.ls printed on each.
When the officials of the bureau ask
| tsc Treasury Department for the
4 per, they say that they want, for ex-
ample, ten thousand sheets of paper
~ on which TO print one dollar bills.
l,n thousand sheets are sent to the
| Bureau, and thereupon become worth
four dollars to the sheet or forty
t.ousand dollars in all.
! They become worth that the moment
| y enter the Bureau of Engraving
| ~ | Printing, and if anybody loses a
| nct that person must pay the United
: ties 81. even though the lost sheet
II y never have been in a printing
r,rSs. If ten dollar bills are 20 be
l. .nted upon the sheets, then they be-
,..ne worth $40 per sheet, and if
/ pusand- dollar bills are to be printed
! ION them they become worth 81 00G
pcr sheet. and must he paid for if lost
or somebody will get into trouble right
l;N-ay.
When the paper reaches the bureau
Gerry sheet of it is counted. Thirty
six women are there to count 1t, and
they do nothing else. Three hundred
md eighty thousand sheets are used
4 day, and on some days these thirty
six women count that paper. sheet
| b. sheet. four times. making their
count for the day |. 520.c00-an almost
Incredible performance to be followed
Y? day after day. And, more than
&c