Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-09
SAVING THE FINE GOLD
METHODS EMPLOYED IN THE
JEwELRY MANDATORY.
One Firm Robbed by Employe Having
Luxuriant Hair and Beard--Waste
Adhered to Walls and Clothes
From the proridencs Journal.


There is probably no place In the world
where economy Is practiced quite as close
~ and where so much care 10 taken of
waste AMI refuse matter as in the large
tewelry establishments and gold refineries
of this city There every particle OF waste
matter, no matter how infnitesimaI II may
seem to the ordinary person. Is carefully
locked after ard new methods are being
constantly adopted to recover losses which
small that they can scarcely be COM
puted by experts In the business.
The immense value of the gold and other
precious metals used in the jewelry bust
ness makes It imperative that the fine par
ticles no larger than specks of dust be
looked after quite as CLOSELY as the finished
product. Loss in the latter can come
through but one source-dishonesty among
the empioyes-while the loss from the filings
and other small particles Of gold might
come about In several ways. The small
particles adhere to the clothing OF the
employees. they fall upon the floor and min
gle with the dust and they Will even uoat
away on the air.
In speaking OF the methods which have
been adopted by the proprietors OF the large
concerns. one OF the prominent manurac-
turevs said:
..The opportunities for losses in the jew
elry business are greater than IN any other
line that 1 know Of When the men are
fling the rings Or tapping them upon a
sort OF emery wheel the fine particles OF
course get upon their hands and clothes.
Hood Gathers Up Particles.
Under the old system all OF the filings
accumulated on the machine fell upon the
floor or found resting place on the clothes
of the workmen We have remedied this to
some extent now and have each OF the
wheels fitted with hood, which colects
all of the small particles, which are drawn
by air suction to the basement where they
are all collected.
Under the old system which was in use
In this establishment until about two years
ago We lost considerable in waste Inc !oss
might be due entirely TO accident. put
oftentiInes dishonesty on the part OF e'h'
nIoves figured prominently IN the matter.
FOR instance, was told OF q man VINO
worked In an establishment OF this klnu
who had a very bushy beard ana nai.
While he was fling the rings the hlnss
would Accumulate on the bench and the
man would occasionally run MS nnseIs
through his hair and beard. He Kept thus
up several times a day and when ne "eIe
to his home IN the evening ne, with the
aid of a fine comb and dish or water
would be able to add quite considerable
sum to the amount Of his days wages.
THE superintendent of the factory or
shop began to, suspect him because the
the days work was not as large as II
should be- The system of weighing the
rings when they were given 10 the WORK
men in the morning and OF Weighing the
rings and waste al the END OF siie udJ
work was tried
Free Laundry for Workmen.
THE man soon learned of the system
that was being tried to catch him and De-
gan to bring in brass filings in his pocket
which he mixed with the gold filings to
take the place Of that which he daily
carried away in his beard and hair Under
our present system that could not easily
be done, for the filings are now drawn
into the tubes to the basement and are
thus carried out OF the reach Of the men
who are running the machines.
Another source of loss which has peeh
remedied within few years IS In the hilnss
that cling to the garments worn by the
Workmen. In many Of the establishments
this was discovered some time ago ana ar
engagements were made to have the WORK
men wash their overclothes In the shops
The water which was used IN washing was
then passed through d trap and the seoi-
ment collected
I'VE followed that practice for years,
but some of the workmen were careless in
washing the clothes and we have found by
experiment that 1t pays US to maintain a
laundry in the building, where all OF the
clothes OF the workmen are cared for at
the expense of the company.
The water from the laundry Is accumu-
lated and the gold and other base metal
sinks to the bottom. This sediment is then
collected and the dirt is burned out. In
this way the water which Is used in wash
Ing the floors is saved II there Is any indi-
cation of sediment in It. About once every
year the walls OF the rooms are all swept
and It would really surprise you to see
the amount OF gold that clings to them
Men are sweeping the floor all the time
and the sweepings are all burned.
Floats Away in the Air.
There are some losses which are I'M
able to overcome. There Is certain
amount that is lost in the atmosphere dur
ing the fling and polishing operations and
there seems to be no way to overcome IT.
The particles are so small that 1t Is i'm
possible to catch them in any way, and
when the windows are open In the summer
months and warm weather these particles
float away In the air. The windows In an
establishment OF this kind are not opened
q great deal because Of this.
Then there is loss In shrinkage. Every
time the gold is melted 1t decreases In
weight, because some of the alloy Is burn
ed out but the gold increases In value.
These two sources are the principal ones
| in which we are unable to stop the loss.
the amount lost each wear Is small