The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-07-07
Presses Busy on
New Bank Notes

Orders for additional bank notes
from the Federal Reserve board made
Washington's bureau of engraving
and printing the nations busiest 'in-
dustry." Night and day. presses
roared as three shifts of workers
turned out new currency. from the
plebeian ST bill to the aristocratic
$4,000 note.
Sew stop to think that our Cap
ital shelters one of the worlds great
est speciality factories" says bulle-
tin from the Washington headquar-
tiers of the National Geographical so
ciety. "Such is the bureau of en-
craving and printing, that Doric Ro-
man structure on the Potomac. where
Uncle Sam makes his paper money.
bonds. postage and other stamps.
Even in normal year the bu-
reau of engraving and printing makes
paper money enough to plaster four
rows of notes, representing S3,945,-
100000. around the equator II makes
postage stamps enough to cover a
2.200-acre farm. They supply more
than $4,000 post offices in the States,
the Philippines. Alaska. Hawaii,
Puerto Rico, Virgin islands. and
Canal zone.
''Tapioca starch used on these
stamps. made into a pudding would
afford a dinner dessert for the whole
population of Greater New York. Yet
Il costs less than one cent TO make
a dollar note or ten-thOusand-dollar
note, and 125 stamps cost only about
one cent to manufacture.
"Every day 240 presses run; each
press prints IL notes every five Sec
onds. If making twenty-dollar bills.
each press prints S560,000 daily-a
cowboys wages for thousand years.
Use of money grew with the ma
ton. Barter at first; then English
money and Spanish pieces of eight:
then, during the Revolution. paper
currency issued by the Colonies and
the Continental congress. That is
sued by Massachusetts was engraved
by the famous Paul Revere. But,
from then till the Civil war, only the
state banks issued engraved paper
currency, and this was made by pri-
vate engravers.
1.-THE first paper money made by
our government consisted of the old
demand notes of 1861 and 1862.
Then came the legal tenders or
'greenbacks.' Today we make FIVE
kinds of paper money: notes of the
United States, of the Federal Re
serve, of national banks, and the gold
and silver certificates.
Sew capital institutions grew
faster than this great factory. When
set up by congress in 1862. its chief
used one room in the attic of the
treasury and had one male and four
female helpers. Now it employs
about 5000 men and women and its
great plant covers ten acres of work
ing space.
sour government also maintains in
Washington the worlds greatest
printing plant.
'This shop covers % acres of floor
space. More than 1900 people work
here; their annual payroll aggregates
$10,500,OOO. From 404 type setting
machines some 1885 compositors, OPP
orators, and proofreaders turn out
more than 2,5O0.OOO,OOO ems of type
each year. Set in newspaper style,
this would fill 1900 newspapers, each
with II S-column pages.
Printing Is turned out literally
by the acre. More than 1000 car
loads of paper and something like
21,000 miles of sewing thread and
stitching wire are used annually. So
huge Is the output that belt con-
veyor runs through a tunnel under
the street carrying printed matter di-
rectly to the post Office for mailing.
Zone cannot even imagine it, but
from here in one year came 210,000,-
600 money-order forms and 1,750,-
100000 postal cards, to say nothing
Of 63,000,0O0 income tax blanks.
'On the morning after each legisla-
tive day of congress, printed copies
of all proceedings of that days ses-
sion are ready for members and the
public. This includes bills, resolu.
lions, reports, hearings, legislative
calendars, and documents, in addition
to the famous Congressional Record.
This record averages about 80 pages
daily during session, and $500
copies are printed daily-a gigantic
book-publishing feat in ITSELF"