Decorah public opinion., 1913-12-03
OUR PAPER MONEY
AND HOW IT IS MADE
Our Special Washington COrrespOn-
dent Tells of Trip Through Bu-
reau of Engraving and
Printing at Washing
ton.
WOMEN ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY
DO THE COUNTING.
China Originator of Paper Money
Centuries Ago. But No Nation
Has as Handsome Cur.
rency as Ours.

AChSy as Ouis.
There has been so much agitation
about the way in which the govern
ment handled its currency that con-
cluded to take little trip to the Blu.
reau of Engraving and Printing, at
the National Capital, where Uncle
Sam makes his paper money, post
age stamps, and revenue stamps, Ia
see what it was all about.
Through the courtesy of Director
Ralph our little party was shown
the Holy of Holes, the inner cham
bers, and initiated into the work
ings of this great institution. We
stood behind the closed gates where
one hundred and twenty-six women
and twenty-five men complete and
count of real filthy lucre $4,000
600 each day. In the center of this
room there was little else in sight
but money, reminding one of the fas-
cinating melO-drama, which capti-
waited the country a few years ago
wherein the shipwrecked survivors
stood in the center of their raft and
looked about over the rolling sea,
calling out dramatically: Water
water all around, but not a drop to
drink" And so it was here in the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
I-$3,OOO,O00; money, money ev.
erywhere," but not cent to give
away to us as souvenirs of an inter
esting morning. haa r
Mentally I compared the process
of handling these great stacks OF
bills as they came from the press to
that of bindecy, where stacks OF
paper travel their pathway till final
ly consumed in the job" Charles
A. Parent, in charge of the numbe
ing and dealing division, informed us
that in the four and one-half years
in which he had supervised that por-
tion of the money making factory
that there has never been a miscount
or an attempt at dishonesty on the
part OF single employee. "In mere
every person is on their good beha.
vior," he said. Mr.. Parent also gave
the information that women are fal
more accurate than men, and for thai
reason are almost exclusively EN-.
ployed in the counting of money.
l have seen great deal in the wa;
OF printing machinery, but marveled
at the operation of automatic feed
presses that turn out one hundred
and ten thousand notes in short
day. AS many of these notes are o.
large denomination the volume o.
money produced by such machin,
proved too much for my Imagination
The $S,00O,OOO, in the midst O
which our little party was privileged
to "wallOw", was merely the finist,
ed product of the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing and there Is al
all times in process in the money
plant approximately $44S,00O, 900
1t takes four weeks from the time
the first work is done upon a bill un
til it is finished. The bills have nC
value until they have received the
last print, which is the blue ink, anC
which includes the serial number
No person of the forty-five hundred
employees leaves the buildings a
the close of the day until every iten
OF money, revenue stamps, and pos
tage stamps are accounted for.
In great many of the Depart
ments in Washington the work i
largely routine and perfunctory, bu
there is plenty OF variety in this Blu
reau.
No one ever stops in these days t,
question the security back of ou
paper money, but there were day
in the history OF the United State
when it was different. The old con
tinental currency deprecated unit
1871. when $1,000 in paper none
was only equal to Spanish dollar
In these times S242. 900, 900 were is
sued, and none ever redeemed. /
is said that soldier in revolutionar
war time might use a whole year
earnings to buy a single breakfast
or the revolutionary war paper mo
ney, an additional 100000, 900 wa
issued in paper money, the create
part of which also became worthless
The distrust of paper money be
came so pronounced that for a pei
liod of twenty-three years 179S-1S12