The Hartford republican., 1913-10-24
DIES AND PLATES
Fate of Those Used In Printing
Our Money and Stamps.
ALL ARE JektOUSLY GUARDED
But, While the Dies Are Invariably
Saved, the Steel Plates Are Melted
Down ard Become Some Part Of the
Armament of Uncle Sans Warships.

Armament of Uncle Sans Warships.
All Of the notes. bonds. checks and
miscela neous issues Of the govern
ment. including postage stamps. inter
nal revenue stamps and the different
| denominations of currency issued to
national banks. are printed from en-
graved plates in the bureau of engrav-
ing and printing at>Nvashington.
| The original dies are never destroy
ed. BY system of transferring the
impression or design is passed from
the die to soft steel roll. which is
later hardened. a hundred plates can
be produced from one hard steel roll.
All of this engraved work receives
the same supervision and is accounted
for just as accurately as the securities
! that are printed therefrom. Every
morning the plates are issued to the
various printing divisions of the bu-
reau. and i'm the evening. when the
days work is over. they are returned
to the vaults of the custodian of dies.
rolls and plates, where they are count
ed. checked and locked up with time
locks.
After approximately $4,000 impress
sions are printed from steel plate 1t
becomes useless as far as its original
purpose is concerned. The deiicately
engraved lines and geometric lathe
work become worn. and the portrait
loses its detail. When the plate be-
comes so affected as to render 1t unfit
for further satisfactory printing du-
plicate is ordered to be made for
printing future orders from the treas
ury department. The old plate is then
Cancelled and laid aside. subsequently
to be destroyed.
This destruction. or. rather. trans
formation. takes place just after the
1st of January each year under the d.
rection of committee appointed by
the secretary of the treasury composed
Of three persons. one OF whom repre-
sents the secretary and acts as chair
man. another the commissioner of in
ternal revenue and the third looking
after the interests Of the comptroller
Of the currency.
Under instructions from the depart
ment the committee makes a schedule
in duplicate of all the Cancelled mate
rial. the original list being retained by
the committee to form q part of its re-
port to the secretary and the duplicate
placed inside the box in which the
plates are to be packed. The boxes
are made to hold an average Of 80
pounds each. As each box is filed the
cover Is nailed on and the box mum
bered and sealed with the treasury
seal. The sealed boxes are then stored
in the vaults Of the bureau until such
time as is convenient for their convey
ance to the place of destruction.
The committee recently reported t.
the secretary Of the treasury the de
struction of 1925 pieces. weighing
41S1O pounds-over twenty tons-with
drawn from the vaults. To cOnve..
this vast amount of metal required the
services Of eight labOrers and'a team
of draft horses attached to one of tht
huge money wagons of the bureau
making eight trips to the United States
navy yard. where the cremation takes
place In the foundry.
On arriving at its destination the
committee directs the unloading. The
boxes are removed from the wagon on
to hand trucks and taken by elevator
up to the floor level OF the cupola door
The boxes are here opened. the carbon
duplicate schedule removed and the
plates again counted and checked as
they are cast into the furnace.
From the time the plates are taken
from the vaults of the custodian until
the last one Is thrown into the fire they
are under the watchful eyes of the
members of the committee. who see
that none goes astray. for If one or two
of these plates should fall into illegiti.
mate hands and later he put to i'm
proper use it would probably cause
considerable embarrassment 10 the gov
ernnent.
In order to ascertain whether the de-
struction has been complete. the com
mittee must wait until al the melted
steel is drawn from the furnace and
the cupOla opened and cooled, The
melted steel Is poured Into mo'ds COW
ering a great variety of castings that
eventually find their way to the arlna-
ment OF our modern battleshlps
1t may he yoke for an eight inch
gun weighing three or four tons. or II
may he some minor casting for tor
pedo tube. II Is not beyond the range
Of possibility that the officer who sights
one of the immense fourteen inch rides
may have in his pocket at the time a
note Of some denomination printed
from n steel money plate that has de-
veioped by a series of evolutions into
part of the very gun he is adjusting to
wreak destruction upon any object In
the path OF its nying projectiie.
what appears to be a waste In one
department Of the government thus he
comes valuable asset In another