Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-03-16

II Is not the least Of the duties Of
she bureau OF engraving and printing
1t the United states government to see
to the renewing OF the worn and de-
faced currency greenbacks and ma
tional bank notes. says the Chicago
Chronicle. All the year round huge
printing presses are laboriously pound
Ing away in the steel lnclosed rooms
Of the treasury department, and ream
after ream o. paper IL transferred into
crisp sheets bearing the legends that
make n current as money. 1t is esti-
mated by the treasurer that during the
year 1901 the 100000 inhabitants Of
this country VIII require $40 apiece in
fresh printed money to carry them
along. This represents total Of 1911
million crisp new bills Of various de-
nominations. OF course, large ma
Jority Of these bills viii be ones and
twOs, because those are the kinds
mostly handled, and the average life OF
81 note Is not much over year.
while a 81 note Is good for less than
twice that length Of time.
Taking an average, every man, wo-
man and child in the United states viii
use flfty-three postage stamps during
the year 1901, forty Of them being Of the
popular 2-cent denomination The to-
tai number consumed viii be over A.
900, 100000 and nearly 0O0,00O,O00 of
these vii be OF the l-cent variety. one
person out OF every ten will send Il
special delivery letter In the course Of
the twelyemonth.
Cuba. In 1901. will require about 49,
100000 ordinary stamps, with 100000
special deliveries" all Of which will be
turned out at Uncle Sans money mill
in Washington. The Philippines will |
use up 100000 stamps, Porto Rico L.
100000 and Guam 10000. OF course.
Guam, Porto Rico and the Philippines |
have no stamps Of their own. properly |
speaking, but are supplied with the or
binary United States postage stamps |
altered simply by the addition OF a
word printed across the face Of each one |
In unornamented black letters. Thus |
all Guam stamps have the word |
Guam" marked on them. as IL IL were |
ipplnes" makes our common stamps
Uncle Sans new Oriental archipelago.
BY and by our lnsular dependencies
will have stamps OF their own. which
will be printed in Washington, but
adorned with special designs. Just as Is
the case nowadays with the Cuban
postage stamps, which are more artist
ic than any OF ours, the treasury de-
partment having exerted its very best
efforts in the production Of the engraved
plates
The first process In the manufacture
OF stamps at the money mill Is TO count
the sheets Of blank paper. which are
purchased by contract This work is
done by women who, indeed. perform
most Of the labor in the bureau Of en-
craving, simply because they have
proved themselves more capable than
men for business OF this description.
Each sheet ~ the proper size and shape
to make 400 printed stamps. with q
small margin. After they have been
counted the sheets are mOistened by
laying wet rags between them at inter-
walls OF twenty and the following morn
Ing. when the rags are removed, the
sheets are ready for printing.
The press for printing postage stamps
Is a queer looking machine. half auto
matte In Its action. II is quite small
affair with four square steel plates. set
horizontally, occupying the four sides
IF a horizontal square. These plates.
llways horizontal, travel around the ,
our sides Of the square at q moderate ,
ate OF speed, passing In turn beneath
IN Ink roller. Each OF them IL en- /
iraved with the faces OF 400 stamps, {
md, after being linked by the roller. /
'oes under mechanical rubber, which
emoves most Of the ink. Then the {