El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-09-21

was $4,000.
Scores OF Women Counters.
As 1 went through the bureau Of
! engraving and printing I saw scores
] Of women doing such counting. me
/ paper and bonds have 20 be counted
again and again, and these women
Z do nothing else but count day IN and
I dav out all the year through They
! have to see that he paper and print
J ing are perfect The greatest care
must be observed that not q bit OF
the paper is lost
The scraps from cutting and trim
ming the bonds are ground into
pulp and sold, and no bond paper can
{ be sent forth from the bureau as re
. fuse until It has been shredded and
! reduced to a paste. The trimming IS
I done by compressed air, which forces
! a knife through the paper. cutting it
/ exactly to shape. The machines are
] operated by women
Dealing In Billions
Il was in company with James L.
I Wilmeth, the director Of the bureau,
3 that I followed the paper from the
vault through the various processes
I which resulted in the bright new lib
I erty bonds which VIII be sold during
/ the coming drive Mr. Wilmeth has
been an important part Of the bureau
l OF engraving and printing since We
were issuing bonds for our war with
/ Spain. He has had 10 do with every
I branch Of the business, and as di-
! rector OF the bureau Of engraving and
printing he has today one OF the most
: responsible Of the positions in Uncle
Sans employ. Other men deal in
I millions. James L Milmeth deals IN
I billions, and that IN such quantities
{ as have never before been known The
/ first liberty loan amounted to more
than $4,000. 100000, and for II were
/ printed more than 100000 individual
/ bonds. The allotments for the second
] loan aggregated almost four billions,
and they required the printing Of
more than 100000 bonds
The third amounted 70 more than
four billions and the subscribers had
] 50 increased that more than $4,000, 600
I bonds had to be issued. Altogether
I the aggregate value OF the new gov
I eminent securities that have been ac-
tuaIly sold since the war began is in
the neighborhood Of 1900 millions
/ Of dollars. and the bonds actually
printed have been more than $1,000
/ 600 in number. It IS believed that the
/ coming issue will have more than
q. 100000 different subscribers. and
/ this means the printing OF somewhere
/ between 80 and 30 million individual
bonds In addition viii be the new
I bonds needed for the conversion Of
I one series to the others.
Uncle sam gives out only new
] bonds. and the conversion Of one loan
[ for another necessitates much new
printing They are now working on
the conversion Of the first and second
that 100000 bonds viii be needed
I for this purpose alone
All Bonds aFatered.7
Z And now let Us see how this bright
i white linen paper, peppered with silk,
{ is turned into the securities we are
I all saving TO buy Every bond has
I TO be Watered. but not in the way so
[ common TO Wall street As the paper
! comes from the mill il is dry. crisp
/ and hard It has to be mellowed and
! softened and fitted for taking the ink.
This IS done by wettinE the sheets
I in such way that they retain just
[ the right amount OF moisture. The
medium is cotton cloths dipped in
I water A wet cloth IS placed between
( every four or five sheets and the paper
with the wet cotton in Il is laid up in
piles. which reach from the floor to
Z the height Of your head.
When a pile OF wet sheets has been
swathed I might say. in damp cheese
cloth. and the Pile is then submitted
[ TO pressure which drives the water
I in the cloths evenly through all the
sheets The wetting takes four or five
( days and at the end the paper IS mel
I
[ loaded on hand cars and pushed TO
I the printers
In the first place, however. the wet
l sheets have TO be counted again and
/ each printer must receipt for all he
/ receives. for he has to deliver back as
many bonds as the sheets represent
/ In the first liberty loan only two
! bonds were made TO the sheet IN
/ the second loan the bonds were so re-
/ duced in size that four could be made.
and n the third, and also in the pres
I ent loan, the number OF bonds cut
I from each sheet IS six II is the
legend on the bond and not the size
I that determines its value, and there
/ has been a great saving Of money in
making the bonds smaller than ever
/ before.
Saving in Printing.
There has been a saving also in
printing the bonds Director Wilmeth
I has standardized many parts Of the
work He has cut down the amount
/ OF engraving required and also the
number OF times the bonds 90 through
] the press In former issues the back
/ OF each bond had to have three sepa-
rate Impressions and the face five.
Now the backs go through the press
! but once. the different denominations
! being shown by the difference in the
{ color Of the ink. The back Of the $50
] bond is brown. the 800 is red, and the
bonds Of higher denominations are Of
J other colOrs- The face Of the bond is
made TO carry the legend which shows
! exactly what &c IS It bears the num-
Der Of the SERIES and the names OF
! the secretary and register OF the
treasury, which legitimatize It's value
This Standardization saves not only
money but time. and II has enabled
the bureau to turn out the enormous
hummer Of securities needed.
] The ink used to print the bonds
must be Of the exact color required,