Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1916-03-02

"In no other form of printing can the beautiful
soft and yet strong effects in black and white be
obtained as in steel engraving. The introduce
ton of cheap mechanical process work has super
seeded the beautiful creations of our master en-
graver commercially, and now We find the art
limited to the engraving Of securities as applied
in the governments bureau Of engraving and
printing"
In the engraving division of the big shop the
work is so divided and classified that the engrav-
ers individually become skilled in some particular
branch of the art. Therefore, it is that they are
classified as portrait, script, square letter and
ornamental engravers. When the classification
and division have been made each workman Is
made to confne himself to his own speciality, and
SO it is that he becomes extraordinarily expert.
The result Of this system is that not only better
execution is secured, but a much greater amount
is turned out in a given time, and what, of course,
is of much greater importance, increased safety
for Uncle Sans belongings is obtained.
Everything which is issued from the engraving
department of Uncle Sans bureau combines evil
dences of the individual skill and characteristics of
a number of men. Inasmuch as the handiwork
of several men appears upon each plate, it readily
can be understood how difficult a thing it is for
any one engraver to make a perfect reproduction
of one of these plates. The combination of differ
ent styles of workmanship, all excellent, on a
single plate makes counterfeiting one Of the most
difficult things possible.
In the halls of the bureau specimens of the
work are to be seen and examples Of the money
are shown in different stages of the progress Of
the work. No one is allowed to see the engravers at
their work. It is absolutely necessary that the
plates should be guarded against theft, and so it
is that they are under watch all through daylight
hours, and at night they are safely placed within
great vaults. One curious thing is to be noted,
the government never prints from the original
plate. A duplicate of it is made and this is used
for the printing. If this were not done and some
thing should happen to the plate first made, its
place would have to be taken by a new one, and
even if the skill of the engraver should produce
one almost exactly like the original, it would at
best be only a copy Of ii, and anything that was
printed from the new plate would in a way ba a
counterfeit, provided, Of course, the original plate
had been used for printing purposes.
Visitors to the bureau are shown the printing Of
the notes. There are six or seven hundred en-
ployees engaged in this work. The paper is a silk
fbered material and the process Of its manu-
facture is safeguarded, because it must be kept as
a trade secret. Anyone who is found with paper
Of this kind in his possession, or an imitation of 1t,
is a violater Of the law.
All of the printing is done on hand presses. A
man with a woman assistant are at each press.
There are four notes to each sheet, and each
pressman turns out about five hundred sheets a
day printed on one side only. A most careful
count is kept Of the sheets. The counting Is done
by several persons, and after it is done the notes
are sent to numbering machines, where blue ink
is used to mark the series letter and each notes
number.
Every day in the year except Sunday a steel
conveyance goes from the bureau of engraving and
printing to tn. treasury department, carrying as its