Omaha daily bee., 1910-10-06
The Government at
Work--The Treas
ury Department.

best tax collector the government has. lu
receipts amount 70 several hundred milliot
dollars every year. II was organized early
in the history Of the nation. What the
bank bill was at Philadelphia or the shii-
ling piece at Lancaster, that was whisky 20
the town Of western Pennsylvania In i'm.
a gallon OF good rye whisky was worth
exactly a shilling piece. and consututec
so as TO speak, the coin of the realm. In that
year a tax of from TO is cents gallon
was levied on whisky. and this tax led TO
the first resistance against the government
OF the United states. These yiolators OF
the law we're the forerunners 81 the present
generation Of moonshiners. he present high
tax OF ale a gallon makes moonshining
profitable business. and there are no Drawer
men TO be found than the revenue agents
whose duty 1t 10 to seek out and bring the
moonshiners to justice.
The most interesting part Of the work OF
the Treasury department Is It's process OF
keeping the nation supplied with money.
This process In the cast OF paper money be-
gins with the purchase OF the raw
paper and the engraving OF the
plate. The paper Is made after secret
formula. The plates are engraved with
most exacting care. The public is not per-
mitted 20 see the engravers at work. nor IL
any one engrsver permitted to prepare
whole plate. The money is never printed
from the original plate, but duplicates are
prepared from 1t by mechanical process.
II this were not So 1t would be practically
impossible to detect counterfeitlng, since
no two plates for printing money of the
same denomination would be exactly alike.
The fine lines on the paper money are en-
graved by q machine which has as many
h. kaaa r. laalr ogh
combination producing a different design
and no one but the operator knowing these
combinations. These lines can never be
successfully initiated by hand.
The highest bill printed has a face value
of $4,000 Few ever come back, as the
banks prefer them to any other kind OF
money. Twelve pounds of them take the
place of 1900 tons OF silver in bank vault.
1t costs the government III cents to issue
q piece of paper money and redeem II. 1t
takes about thirty days TO complete the
printing of piece Of paper money, and
each bill In counted fifty-two times during
the process,
The main province of the secret service
Is to prevent counterfeiting, although II has
many other activities. The best guardians
of the currency are the tellers of the banks.
Moro than nine-tenths of all the counter
them. The counterfeiter takes advantage
OF every modern process in his work. and
through the photo mechanical methods is
able to produce results that can be detected
only by the skilled handler of money. Tho
United States mints make the coins in cir
culation in the United States. Except tho
gold coins none OF them La worth their face
value and in 1903 the profit from their maxi
| ing amounted to 81, 900. Nickels and PEN
j MES by the hundred millions are required.
| and there is a profit of at least 90 per cent
in their coinage. The government always
stands ready to redeem them, but puts them
into circulation again.
With its holdings of more than $50. 900. 900
| in money and bullion, 1t becomes neces-
1 sary strongly to guard the treasury build
ing. large force OF watchmen patrols
| the building at all times. Electrical alarms
| are maintained and tested every half hour.
and enough arms are stored to arm 1000
men on the instant. Besides this there
10 connection with Fort Myer, the arsenal
and the police department. SO that any
organized effort to storm the treasury
would be impossible.
The comptroller OF the currency has SUI
pervion over the national banks OF the
country and the comptroller OF the treasury
passes upon all expenditures by the gov
eminent where there is any question
raised. His decision is final, except that
IL may be reviewed by the courts The
books of all the departments are kept by
auditors appointed for that purpose, and
their decisions are renewable by the comp
troller Of the treasury.
The public health and Marine hospital
service cares for disabled seamen and
frames regulations for the prevention OF
the introduction and spread OF contagious
diseases. The surgeon general is charged
with the investigation of contagious and
infectious diseases and the publication of a
weekly health report. He looks after the
enforcement OF the interstate sale OF vaos
| cine viruses, cerums, toxines and analogous
products. 1t is to this service that the
country owes some OF its greatest advances
in medical progress and sanitation. 1t also
has charge OF the medical inspection of the
aliens who come into the United states.
III FEzDRRIo ]. HAsxIN.
| Tomorrow-Ths Government at WORK.
/