Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-07-12

thin and remarkably strong. II Is made
OF pure linen rags by q secret process
In paper mills which do nothing else.
The paper is the same today az II has
been for hundred years, and II Is al
most impossible to initiate II.
The notes are almost square, There Is
no lathe work upon them They are
printed In Jet black ink, and the print
ing machines are such that they number
the notes from 1 TO 100000. This num-
bering Is done automatically so that
the notes of each bundle OF 10000 are In
their natural order when they are taken
away The smallest notes now printed
are those for f5, and the largest for
el.000. The paper Is 80 thin that In the
bank vaults where bundles OF notes are
kept was able TO hold a million pounds
worth Of them In my two hands. This
amount represented a value OF S5OOO,-
900, and II did not weigh more than
score OF the Saturday edition OF this
newspaper. II made me feel like a mil
lionaire, but the feeling was momen-
tary, for the doors We're carefully
guarded and the officials OF the bank
who stood about me were lusty fellows,
who would have certainly resisted any
attempt al departure with the valuable
paper. The notes, In fact, weigh only
lSM grains to the note and yet they
are 40 strong that a single sheet OF the
paper Of which they are made will sup
port 30 pounds weight without tearing.
HOW THE BANK DESTROYS ITS
NOTES.
All notes are destroyed after they are
redeemed, but they are kept certain
time In order that any question con-
corning their ownership In the past may
be traced. The Englishman takes the
numbers of his bank notes. and in many
cases he makes the man who pays them
over to him indorse his name on the
back The bank keeps the numbers and
after the notes come In they keep a
record OF the bank sending them, and
they can in a moment pick out any note
that they have received during the past
five years.
When our greenbacks and silver GER
tihcates come into the treasury they
are destroyed by cutting them In quar-
tiers and then grinding them into a pulp
in boiling-hot water. They are re-
deemed by the issuing of fresh notes,
The Bank of England notes are usually
redeemed with gold. golden sovereigns
being shoyeled out In scoops just like
the little shovels our grocers use for
sugar The gold Is not counted, but is
weighed. the tellers knowing JUST how
many sovereigns go TO the ounce or
pound. The notes are Cancelled by tear
ing a piece out of corner Of each. and
are then filed away in the bank-note
catacombs in boxes for a period OF five
years. At the end Of this time they are
burned.
IN THE BULLION VAULTS,
! went down into the bullion vaults.
These look much like those Of the mint
at Philadelphia. In them are great piles
of gold bricks and gold pigs, which are
sent in from the mines Of all parts Of
the world. / saw gold from Australia,
South Africa, India and the United
States, and the man told me that II was
almost absolutely pure. saw also
great vaults In which are gold sover-
eigns in bags, each holding several
quarts. The bags are piled up like so
much grain, and the means OF protect
ing them does not seem 10 be as good
as those OF the treasury at Washington.
| do not remember the exact amount OF
bullion on hand, but II is probably less
than we have In our own treasury de-
partment, for the flood Of gold is now
coming our way.