The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-27
JACOBS PHARMACY,
 Montgomery, Ala.

"
 If there Is one thing above another down to an exact science. it is the gum ming of adhesive stamps. The work is done at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which is in charge of Captain William M. Meredith. practical printer. who has spent the greater part of his life about big' printing establishments. The precautions taken at the Bureau to se- cure a uniform coating of gum on the back of postage stamps approach perfec- ton itself. When the stamps are gummed they are tested to establish if the coating varies on sheets one seven-thousandth of a pound.
 The stamps, after being printed, are transmitted in sheets to the superintend- ent of the cumming room, each sheet con- taintng 400 stamps. The gumming-room was especially designed and built for the work which is done in 1t. Pipes lead into It conveying the gum in a heated and melted state to small vats, into which it Is slowly dropped as needed. From these vats 1t is allowed to slowly ooze on to rollers. The stamp sheets pass under the rollers. receiving a thin coating of gum, and then drop on to a continuous chain Tor belt. which carries them into vats con- taining coils of steam pipes, fifty feet long. The slow passage through the vats Of the freshly gummed stamp sheets dries them. and when they reach the other end or the vat they are sufficiently dry to be piled. one upon another. counted, test ed and packed, ready for shipment.
 The precautions taken to insure uni- formity in the cumming are the most in- teresting part of the work. Each morn ing when the workmen report for duty they get series of blanks, which they are to fill out during the day as their work progresses. The Government keeps most careful account of every ounce of gum given them and of every sheet of stamps they handle. The system is an absolute check on the stamp sheets but was designed to insure the use of the proper quantity of gum in proportion to the stamp sheets-
 When they start work in the morning each of the men is charged with one thousand sheets of stamps and twenty-six pounds of gum. He must spread that amount of gum over the given number of sheets Exhaustive experiments and ex- act scientific calculations have deter mined the proportion of gum and paper. Rigid and continuous inspection and the keeping of running account with each operator in the gumming-room make 1t almost impossible to neglect any sheet or to dispose of the gum except by spreading 1t with absolute uniformity over the sheets. The little vats which hang over the rollers contain delicate in- struments which show the temperature at which the gum is kept and its specific gravity. From time to time the superin- tendent of the summing room inspects these instruments. He requires an abso- lute temperature of 30 degrees and a spe- cific garvity of %.
 Moisture in the atmosphere presents the greatest problem to the operators In the gumming-room. Many experiments have shown that the worst part of the United States to furnish stamps giving satisfac- ton is the Mississippi Valley. for there the moisture attacks the stamp sheets summer and winter. Bureau experts say that stamp which gives satisfaction in the Mississippi Valley will stand the clt- mate of almost any portion of the globe. The quality of the gum varies with the seasons. the figures just given being for the summer" gum. There is also a winter" gum and an 'intermediate'' gum. the latter being used in the spring and fall. The summer gu mis the hardest when applied to the stamps, because of the danger of the sheets sticking to- gether, and the quality of the winter gum is determined with a view to preventing the rolling of the sheets by contraction. At the present time it takes 250,0O0 pounds of gum year to prepare the stamps for the country. Tn an eight-hour day the gumming-room> uses 900 pounds of ma terial.
 To secure the desired results 1t is not only necessary for the employees to be carefully watched, but the actual atmos- pheric conditions in which they work are carefully regulated. A big chart at one side of the room Ks used, and tests are made every hour to determine the rooms temperature and humidity. The results are posted on the charts and used as a basis for calculation and to regulate both. The temperature is kept at 80 and the humidity at 55
 As stated the room was specially con- structed with & view to its peculiar use. There are double windows and doops. Each are double windows and doors. small swinging sashes. and just below the ceiling there are oddly shaped ven- tilating hoods. Tho hourly tests result in the hourly adjustment of this ventil- ating apparatus and absolute uniformity Is secured as near as possible. Carefully placed steam coils and cold air blasts are also part of the equipment. Where SA%S OAAAAAAC0 SuGcIS emerge 1IOul IHe drying Vats women employees are sta toned to receive them. Months of prac- uce have made them experts A quick movement of the hand over the gummed surface Is sufficient for the operators to determine If the vats are doing the drying work properly and if the coating of gum is uniform. Should the belts be moving too slowly through the steam vats Q touch on the electric button tells the operator at the other end of this condi. tion. The women and operators are mas. ters of the Morse telegraph code. and by the electric buttons send each other in. stantaneous messages to regulate the ma. chinery.
 In addition to these measures prinar, precautions aretaken to secure the best quality of postage gum. This article i: derived from dextrine. a product secured in the process of making starch. Wher
 the gum Is received at the Bureau it ii
 subjected to a microscopical examination and chemical analysis. The former dis. covers whether 1t is of pure vegetable origin, and hence will not be injurious to the "stamp-licker;' the latter tells the Government experts anything which has entered into the manufacture of the gum which would make 1t possible to secure required qualities on the first application of the gum which might be lost after the stamp sheets have passed to the various postmasters of the country.
 In the basement of the Bureau are the big kettles where the gum is made by
 mixing the powdered stuff with water and carefully boiling 1t. Great cleanli'
 ness is required, and the attendant who
 superintends the boiling process is at. tired in an immaculate white duch work ing suit The qualities which the Gov ernmAnt eeeks in the gum when applied