New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-08-04
A NEW KIND OF MONEY.
NO MORE "CRISP" NOTES.
The Government Likely to Adopt a
NoUeL Method.


Of Engraving and Printing will hereafter turn
out will be soft and velvety. if important ex-
periments whi-h are now being conducted in
the presence Of Treasury officials for the pur-
pose of demonstrating the advantages of a
novel chemical treatment for paper prove salts
factory. The prediction is made that the ex-
periments will prove satisfactory, as they have
been almost completed The result of the adop-
ton Of the new secret process will be to revolu-
uoniZe a portion of the work connected with
the printing of the paper money of the United
States. Under the new process it viii take just
sixty days less time % manufacture a bank
note than under the present method, which is
regarded as extremely important i'll the present
commercial era, when new money is sometimes
demanded Immediately and to supply which the
government has to lay most careful plans and
keep banknotes printed ahead.
Besides rendering paper soft and velvety, the
new process also makes it non shrinkable.
important accomplishment which has heretofore
bafled the ingenuity of the paper manufacturer,
and which. when applied to the printing of post
age stamps alone will make saving of just 20
per cent Of stock and work. Because paper
shrinks after 1t has received the impression Of
the head Of George Washington on the one side,
in the manufacture Of postage stamps, and the
coating Of mucilage on the other. and because
no two sheets shrink alike, c2e-ffth are ruined
in the process Of perforating. Experiments just
made under the new process eliminate all of
this loss
The invention is the product Of the combined
efforts for the last FIVE years of E H. Fowler,
chief draughtsman Of the Coast and Geodetic
Survey and D. n. Hoover. chief printer of that
bureau When Mr.. Fowler took charge Of the
draughting division. five years ago. he was told
by the chief printer that it was impossible to
iDT he
sion, because there was no paper to be had
which would not shrink and thus render the
maps Inaccurate as to scale, and consequently
CT no scientific value All such maps, there
FORE had to be copied by hand hand made
linen paper manufactured especially for that
purpose In college Mr.. Fowler had taken a
great interest in chemistry, and he at once be-
gan the series Of experiments which two years
ago resulted in the chemical solution which,
when applied to paper materially changes its
quality. Paper so treated is declared to be
'mellowed and non-shrinkable.'' The process is
not expensive. It has been patented both in
the United States and foreign countries, and al
though no publicity has heretofore been given
to the discovery of Messrs Fowler and Hoover,
the large paper manufacturers of this country
have heard of the results accomplished and are
making hatterng offers to the inventors for
royalty rights The japanese Government has
also bid for the process. and as Japan has for
centuries been considered the magician of the
world in the art Of paper making the offer from
the Orient is regarded as 4 marked acknowl-
edgIent Of merit
The United States Government. however. IS to
have the first advantages of the DISC cry. and
should the officials now investigating the process
decide that its value is too great to be kept
under restraint of patent laws. the government
may buy the patent and MAKE the process known
TO the world.
NEW AND OLD METHODS.
BY the application of the chemical mixture
to a Japanese napkin that article becomes
soft and pliabe a tissue-o six. Tie
chemical preparation acts as an ani-e tic and
a preservative- When applied to ola documents
it seems to knit the fibre toaet-er and pre-. ent
further decay. Under the present process Of
printing paper money the paper has 10 be thor
oughly soaked in water. While il IS in this
soaked condition. one side of the bill is pr-nted.
The sheet is then placed in a steam room and
kept under high temperature for thirty days
the time necessary for the ink 10 cry. The sneel
is again soaked as in the first instance anu the
reverse side of the bill printed. The thirIy-day
drying process then has 10 repeateJ. In cases
where third imp ession o. the iii is necessary
which is required wnen the printing is oo4le in
two cOlors, the wetting and drying proLe-s has
to be repeated a third time. ana another montn
thus consumed IN IS pro~ucIlCn- Besides tie
delay Of this process. the Wettlng and ury -ng ro
the fibre of the paper, ana. although II IS
"starched" to give it the crisp appea! ance. the
starch soon wears out and the bill becomes limp
and worn.
In printing bills on paper which has been
treated by the process no wetting is ne es-
sary. The ink loses none of its IUstIe when ap-
piled TO the paper, as under the old proc S. ard
IS thoroughly dry within Iorty -eISht no 7 a Ie'
the printing is done NOT only IS The d. pearanGs
of the bill much handsOmer IGan unde- the old
method, but its wearing qualities are beleFe4
TO be greater Further experiments are 20 ne
made with the process this Week. and II may
develop that the bills can be put through the
starching process the same as heretofore, and
their first crisp appearance given, if t al IS de
sired, although the soft ana VeVety texture
would seem be more attractive.
The inventors of the new process had not re-
g~rded their discovery as of great Importance,
and it was only by accident that the matter was
brought to the attention of the officers OF ne
Treasury Department, who are most enthusiast
tic over the results obtained thus far Partlcu-
larry is this so regarding the printing of postage
stamps, over which tneTe lively contest
in bidding between the Bureau OF Engraving
and Printing and a private New-YoTk I[Ll;;
The loss from the shrinkage of the paper had
TO be figured by the private concern, as wen as
by the government, and the bureau obtalned lns
contract by narrow margin in It's favor. WIN
the application of the new process and the
consequent saving of one-flfth in labor and ma
terial, the government will fare much better
on this work than was expected. Tests have
been made Of the process by Julius en- & Co,
a New-York printing firm, on piece OF VOTE
for the gov eminent which had to be printed IN
fifteen colors. Ordinarily the shrinkage OF tAe
paper after it had received several impressions
would have caused a large percentage OF waste
when the remainder of the colors were appleo.
But with the chen'icfLy .reated paper every IN
preston registered" perfect iy.
There are some details regarding methodS OF
applying the new conf pound to paper yet 20 %. .e
worked ont, but these DO not present any sefI--
Gus obstacles TO its general application to an