Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

until the missing note should BE- found
Every one searched high and low for
over an hour. and finally it was discovered
IN the vault where the package had re-
posed between counts. and where it had
apparently slipped out of this bundle
when the latter was picked up for the
next inspection. Had 1t not peen found
all employees by any possibility respon-
s1ble would have had to club together and
make good.
Makers Kept in Till Supper Time.
The other test of recent weeks resulted
in keeping in that lasted until sup
per time. The item lost on this occasion
was practically worthless-merely a little
die bearing the word Mullen and used
to fill in the line THE National Bank of
- on plate for engraving bank
notes. 1t had been taken from it's proper
vault for use that afternoon and on the
books of the man who took it out it was
charged to the man to whom it was given
and the latter had charged it on his
books to the man to whom he had hand
ed 1t, and so on and so forth. according
to the faultless system of accounting for
even the smallest bit Of equipment used
in our greenback factory. Every day at
o'clock all of these books are balanced,
and when that hour arrived on the day in
question the little die could not be ac-
counted for. But 1t didn't matter a jot
whether it was worthless not, every
body In the engraving division had to
stay in. But when o'clock had arrived
and every one was tired and hungry the
director relented and word came down
from his Office that the employees could
go home and continue the search the fol-
lowing day. And next morning when
they arrived at o'clock there was the
pesky little die reposing in plain view
to look for 1t.
When the greenback factory has fin
ished with them, all Treasury notes in big
sheets containing four bills, two in a
row. are counted and receipted for a few
more times and packed in iron-bound
pirate chests that are hauled through the
streets and over to the Treasury in a
big blacks Maria guarded on both the
drivers seat and the rear running board
by very strengthening men armed to
the teeth. But even should some band
of bloodthirsty brigands from out of the
nearby malaria district swoop across the
White Lot and take the black Maria by
storm none OF the crisp paper bills in
these buccaneer chests would be of legal
value for the reason that the official red
seals had not yet been added. So it would
probably be impossible for the captors
of the armed men of fierce aspect to pass
their loot save perhaps In some yet
uncivilized section of Indiana or New
,rk city. So Uncle Sans safeguard de-
signed to cover this journey to the Treas
ury vaults is the postponement of the red
sealing business until after the treasure
chests have been delivered and duly re-
ceipted for few scores Of times at the
Treasurys east door.
The seals are put on by power presses
operated in a space under the big cash
room. and the sheets, after being counted
again, passed to the adjoining room.
where the machines cut the single notes
from the sheets, all of the trimmings hav-
ing to be counted also and checked up,
lest some one obtain blank sample of
the secret paper on which our money Is
printed. Through all of these stages the
sheets have gone from one process to an
other in packages Of equal number, Sc