The Washington times., 1902-12-11
Bureau Of Engraving and
PrintingUSed Fuel Month
ly for Which Treasury
Paid SI,OOO,OOO
Documentary Revenue
Stamps ShoVclod Into the
Furnaces at Rate Of S4o,-
900 Worth rer Day.

operators. miners, people and railroads
as q result of the coal strike recent
Is terminated. one branch OF tho Gov
crnmcnt-the Bureau Of Engraving and
Pr.ntlng-wiI chalk up a net profit OF
about $50 Incidentally, in accomplish
ing this saving. the Bureau I'm one month
burned fuel for which the Treasury paid
over 100000.
4 million dollars a month for fuel
simply to generate steam with which to
drive the machinery In the Burcau-$40.-
600 O. days an item calculated 70
cause even "Uncle Sam" to look loug-
iugIy toward bottled sunshine as a
means for securing heat.
Actually Saved Money.
Just at this time. when the average
man is giving attention to the fuel bill.
it may De interesting 10 note how Uncle
sam" can burn a $1,000. .O00 bin Of coal in
q month and still come out $50 to the
good at the end Of thirty days. in
this particular instance the Govern
meut stokers shoveled documentary
revenue stamps. for which the Treas
ury paid $Ioo0,0Oo. in to the Bureau
furnaces. at The rate Of $4,000 daily.
along with She proper proportion Of coal.
the stamps producing heat that other
wise would have neeessitatad the use Of
an extra ton Of coal daily, at $500 per
ton.
Had the revenue stamps not been sac
riGccd to satisfy the hunger Of the fur
naces beneath the Bureau boilers. they
would have been destroyed in the regu-
lar furnace made and provided for the
burning of defective stamps. and the
heat produced would have gone out into
the upper air stratas through the biz
chimney without having accomplished q
single useful purpose.
Came in Wagon Loads.
Beginning with the 1st og July. 1901.
following The repeal Of the stamp tax
on bank checks and telegraph and
telephone messages. and augmented July
1. 1902. by the repeal Of all stamp taxes.
the Treasury has been redeeming the
revenue stamps remaining I'm the hands
of the purchasers throughout the coun-
try. The stamps have been shipped i'm
i'm wagon loads, a large portion of
the bulk being represented by the
blank checks upon which the stamp was
Impressed.
Car loads and tons upon tons OF THIS
stuff have been shipped 90 Washington
and stored In the Treasury. Every nook
and Granny in the big building has been
nllcd with boxes and bundles Of revenue
stamps and bank checks awaiting set
element Of accounts. The clerks thought
they had been having their share Of
trouble but later discovered that only
the stragglers had been coming. COM
pared with the avalanche that poured
into he Treasury when the new law
extending the time limit on purchases
OF stamps and removing Of all stamp
taxes July ! went into operation.
Building Blocked.
More carloads were dumped into the
Treasury. and. OF course. room for the
boxes and bales had to be LIade As
there was no further available inside
-paCe tho boxes were piled up high Iu
che corridors and long railways until in
places only a narrow passaEeway was
.eft through which the clerks lab0ri0us-
ly picked their way.
In the fall large numbers OF set
Elements were made. enabling the
removal OF the stamps represented by
the payments. As fast as q wagon load
OF stamps was released" 90 was hauled
over 20 The Bureau and shoyeled into
the big incineratOr buil- solely for this
purpose.
One day in October, whilc the pro-
cess Of destruction was going on. ard
while the officials of the Treasury were
racEing their brains TO figure out
coal supply for the various bureaus. the
engineer at the Bureau Of Engraving and
Printing was seized with an Inspiration,
and called the attention OF the Director
OF the Bureau TO the feasibility of utliz-
iug the wagon loads Of stamps and
checks as fuel. Tho director took the
matter under adyigcmout. and after con-
sl1era fi0n 90 was decided 90 shatter a
time-h0uored custom of the department
and substitute red heat for red tape"
A Brilliant Success.
While the officials who ordinarily are
charged with the duty OF witnessing the
operation OF burning The stamps stood by
10 see that all stamps went into the fur
mace. The fireman and engineer expert
meuted. II was found that about two
parts coal and one part stamps and
checks afforded a combination producing
splendid results. in fact under the iu-
sli-atlon Of this h.gh-p-icad fuel the
boilers steamed merrily, aud the hand
on the steam gauge showed disposition
to crawl around beyond The prohibited
point on the dial
The experiment was pronounced q sue
cess. An official OF the department. or
diuarily detailed 20 take charge a the
destruction of the defective stamps in
the official furnace was stationed ia
the boiler room. and kept accurate tab
on every box and bale opened and noted
tlat the contents found us way into the
furnace and was completely burned
and So day after day. tho big wagons
transported boxes and bales OF stamps
and stamped checks from the Treasure
TO the Bureau, and the stOkevs sand
wiched q layer of several thousand dol
lars worth Of Government securities be-
tween n fCw cents worth OF coal At
tLe end Of the month it was found that
an average OF q ton Of coal daily had
been saved through tho use OF the high
grade fucl-a total saving of $50 for the
month. estimating coal at Sc per ton.
Established Precedent.