The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-09-05
Guarding Paper Money.

tChicago Record Herald.)
The paper money of the government is
brought in iron-bound chests. locked
ana sealed. from the bureau of engrav-
ing ana printing to the cash room of
| the treasury and there delivered uDon
receipt of James A. Sample. chief of fine
division Of issue, in sheets of four bills
each. They are complete with sigma
! ture and numbers, except for the seal.
which is printed upon them with power
| presses in small apartment under the
cash room.
! These presses are worked by two peO-
! pie. usually man pressman and a wo-
man feeder or assistant. When the seal
| has been imprinted upon the bills they
are counted automatically. bound in
packages of equal numbers by bands OF
paper. marked. signed by the persons
who have handled them. and passed
into the adjoining room, where the
sheets are cut, the bills are recounted
and inspected, so that the imperfect
ones may be thrown out. They are
then bound in packages of equal
amounts and taken to the drying vault.
where they lie upon the shelves for
several weeks. until the ink has be-
come perfectly dry.
Every safeguard that ingenuity can
contrive is placed around these trans
rtCtlOllS. anu IHe ClleI OF DIVISION can
tell which of his hundred or more SUI
coordinate have touched the different
bills in the vaults. He knows who re-
ceived them. who printed the seal. who
wrapped and cut them: for every pack
age is numbered and its history is re-
corded in an enormous book
The combination of checks is so COM
plete that Mr. Sample would know
within twenty minutes if single bill
were missing, but he has never had oc-
casion to test this knowledge except
twice within fifteen years. Only two
attempts have been made to steal the
money of the government while it is in
this stage of it's history.
On one occasion many years ago a
pressmen passing a pile of notes upon
the table of his neighbor slipped the top
sheet under his blouse without being OBJ
served and carried it with him into the
laVatoTy, where he was successful in
cOncealing it, The theft was discovered
within five minutes and it was clearly
apparent that he alone could be guilty.
although the evidence was purely cir
cumstantial. No one saw him take the
money. Therefore he was not arrested
and was never publicly charged with
the crime. But he was dismissed from
the service. and he knew the reason
why The bills were never recovered.
He probably destroyed them. as they
did not appear in circulation.
On another occasion eight or ten years
ago a colored messenger whose business
was to haul the money about on a cart
slipped a loose sheet into his pocket un-
observed while passing between the
printing and the counting rooms. This
theft was also unseen, but the RESPONSE
bility was fastened upon him. The pile
of notes was complete when it left the
for it was counted and regis
tered automatically In the press. When
it reached the counting room one sheet
was missing and the package had not
been out of the possession of the col
pred messenger in the meantime. There
fore. he alone was responsible, and as
he could not offer any satisfactory ex-
nlana ton. he, too. was dismissed from
the service. but was not prosecuted be-
cause there was no direct proof of his
guilt