McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1918-03-01

stamps money, etc. are flrSt engraved
, on soft steel plate by men who re-
ceive as high as $3.50 month; the
plates are hardened and then soft
steel roller is rolled over the plate
under great pressure, so that the de-
sign is transferred to the roller,
which is then also hardened, and when
it is rolled over another soft steel
plate the design IS transferred to it.
, In that way many copies Of the orig
inal design are made so that many
machines can work on them at once
saw the men hardening the en-
graved plates by dipping them in a
; horrible-looking bath of melted cyan
ide Of soda, most deadly chemical,
red-hot and boiling like melted iron,
while the white poisonous fumes.
sufficient to kill every one in the
works. passed up a chimney. When
the plates were red with heat they
were taken out with tongs and dipped
in bath of linseed oil, which made o
big blaze for a moment. Mr.. VIII
meth showed me where these plates
are stored, in great, vault that is
watched day and night, and has a
steel door two and half feet thick.
He said Would you like to see how
it looks under the vault" Then he
told colored man to 60 down under
there, and he pointed to a deep slot
in the floor. By an arrangement of
mirrors saw the man GO under the
vault and come out again, and there
is the same arrangement to show the
top Of the vault, so that all parts Of
it are in view of the watchmen all
the time. There is time lock on
the door and only two men in the
whole place know the combination.
MIR. Wilmeth took me to the tor
of the building where, at the noon
hour, thousands of men and women,
each in their separate places. were
having their lunches, which cost them
only twenty cents apiece. On tht
ground floor is the hospital, where
employees are taken if they take sud.
denly sick or get hurt in the machin-
fery. One young woman. a number OF
years ago, had all the hair. togethe,
with all the scalp, torn from hel
head by machinery. The government
paid her a good sum of money, but
she will always suffer from it. The
very air that the employees breathe in
this wonderful establishment, is
washed and filtered. saw the fine
streams of water spraying the dust
and impurities in the great tanning
compartments, so that the air comes
out as pure as it is in the mountains,
This paper from which money is
printed is counted ifty-two times by
as many different people, and wter
the final seal and numbers are printed
on the bills it is done in cages of
silvsred wire where the girls who Dc
that work are separated from the
others, and they must account for
every piece Of paper and every bill
received by them before they leave
the cage. Uncle Sam takes no
chances whatever with his money,
and it is very seldom that any one
tries to make way with it there. De.
lection is sure and swift. and means
Imprisonment for the guilty party.
There is story Of a mother and son
who worked at the Treasury Depart,
ment when money was printed there.
The mother saw her son steal sheet
of four bills and put it in his coat
pocket at the lunch hour. She did
not take it out nor scold him, but
simply had him arrested. It saved
her and he would have been arrested
anyhow.
| had an interesting talk with Mr..
Huston, a Pennsylvania man who de-
signs all the money, stamps, etc. He
showed me a new So bill he was de.
signing. The work on it was so fine
| could hardly believe it was done
with pen.
Now. started out to tell something
Of this great establishment. and have
hardly skinned the surface, but /
will have to devote little space to
the remarkable man who runs it.
While signing the paper which have
to do with the printing of millions of
bonds, stamps, ETC., he gave, at my
request, the following modest state
ment of his life:
Born at Chewalla, McNairy Co.,
| m,