The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-08-04
WASHINGTON LETTER
Especial Correspondence

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the ton, Uncle Sam is also manufac-
turing additional tons and storing it
away for a rainy day. The employees
of the bureau of engraving and print
ing are working night and day to turn
out an issue of $500, 100000 which con-
gress authorized to be made and
stored away. This money is the re-
serve fund authorized by congress for
use in times of financial stringency.
A Big Contract.
This is big contract even for the
bureau of engraving and printing,
which is accustomed to receiving big
lorders. Five hundred million dollarsl
The average mind can hardly form
Iany conception of such large
amount. At the big government mon
ey factory, however, 1t is only mat
ter of so many sheets, so much
weight and so much time consumed in
making it. 1t is the intention of the
department to have the entire issue in
the vaults of the treasury by the first
or middle of October.
Cost of Printing Money.
| Making money is an item of no
ismall expense. to the government The
$780, 100000 which is now being print
ed is costing the United States $780,
1000.
OF course this is only small
percentage of the amount being made,
but even one-quarter million is not to
be sneered at This expense includes
the cost of the raw material, such as
ink, paper, etc, and also the cost of
the labor expended in the production
from the time it arrives in the bureau
till it is put in the treasury wagon
and starts for the vault.
Weight of Paper Money.
The paper comes to the bureau in
sheets which will allow of only four
notes being printed on them Fifteen
million sheets will be required to print
! the whole issue Three notes of $40
and one of 500 denomination are on
one plate, and 100000 sheets are to
be printed from these. Then 100000
sheets viii take the SIS impressions,
and, lastly, 100000 sheets will be
printed from the $50 and $500 plates.
Two hundred extra helpers have
been taken on to complete the great
budget, and a great many more are ex-
pected to be employed before it is fin
ished Even with such Il large force
they are working night and day.
Paper money is a great deal heavier
than most people imdgine. thousand
dollars in one dollar bills weighs three
pounds, while $1,000 in gold will weigh
about three and q half pounds A
thousand sheets on which four bills
are printed weighs twelve pounds.
The whole amount of $50o,O00000 will
weigh 100000 pounds.
The Treasury Workshop.
Few visitors to the treasury build
ing see one of the most interesting
sights of the place. This is the work
shop of the building, in the subbase-
ment, which is under the management
of E. H Jemison of the chief clerks
Office
He is in charge of a complete
woodworking shop, in which there are
employed expert cabinetmakers and
in which all kinds of carpentry work
are done. They turn out anything from
twelve inch rule to mahogany desk.
There are lathes and all the other APP
purtenances for woodworking.
Besides tile carpenter shop and wood
working shopi is completely equipped
plumbing establishment to prevent I'm
Gle Sam from having the troubles the
everyday citizen must contend with.
Public Bath Planned
If certain wealthy men, of Washing
ton, who have been approached, will
give money for the project, the ma
t5onal capital, VIII soon have public
baths, with perhaps the added advan-
tage of a swimming pool.
1t is tentatively proposed to buy
piece of land central to the car lines
and yet lying in neighboDhood where
real estate prices are not prohibitive
and install there, at a total cost not to
exceed $4,000, shower baths and
swimming pool, orYshower baths alone,
adequate for seventy-five OF a hundred
men and boys, tie District to take
charge of the establishment as soon
as it is in shape and maintain it.
charging for it's use just enough to-
pay the actual expenses of attendants,
towels, soap, care'of the place and re-
pairing.
Pencils by the Mile.
A brief illustration of the amount OF
material and supplies necessary to-
maintain the big printery for a year
may be given as One-half million rub
Der bands, one and half tons of nails,
5000 gallons of oil. over 100 tons OF
metal for composing machines; nearly
$4,000 worth of book cloth and gold
leaf to the amount of $4,000. The
lead pencils used in the office, If laid
end to end, would reach about three
miles. An item for washing 225s0O0'
towels in the next fiscal year should
forever lay the stock Joke OF the print
er's ''office towel"
insect Wood DestroHers.
.Wood is constantly a prey to irs-
sects," said an employee in the office
! of wood preservation, subdepartment
of the forestry department. "The gen
eral public is familiar with the devas-
tation caused by the marine borer,
which destroys piiing and other wood
which it reaches. Since taking up the
work of protecting plies from this in
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