Evening star., 1936-03-22

commissions for the bureau and per-
forms some of these same tasks, in
addition to making stamps. for the
Post ONCE Department.
How long did it take him to COM
plete his latest masterpiece? Only
five days, which probably represents
some sort of a record. But this barely
hints at the real story. which can be
understood only when the regulation
bureau procedure in designing secur-
tiles is borne in mind. When Mr..
Meissner is informed that his section
is to do a certain job within certain
time, he's supposed to come through
precisely on schedule.
Customarily, however, he's allowed
from two weeks to two months. But
in this instance he was given perhaps
the smallest time limit in history.
That he not only did not fail but pro-
duced a design of which he, his COL
leagues, his superiors at the bureau,
the entire Treasury Department, the
ex-service men and indeed the whole
Nation may well be proud, is no more
than a deserved tribute to the mans
remarkable ability.
Meissner himself is inclined to scoff
at the idea that he did anything in
the slightest degree unusual. 1T was
just q routine job" he insists, and
I did it the best I knew how"
LIE TAKES pains to explain that
IL the sole reason his section was
able to complete the design in only
five days was that everything that
contributed to its making was stock
material 1t was all on hand in the
bureau and he simply had to deter
mine just what to use anc then piece
it together. Meissner goes on to point
out: IF we had been called upon to
design and engrave new materials
only, then the procedure would have
consumed six to nine months. Where
as, by our highly simplified method Of
keeping ample raw stock on hand, we
can design virtually any kind of new
security, bond or what-not within two
weeks If emergency demands. In q
word, it's routine procedure, but one
we've worked out only after long years
Of painstaking experimentation"
But, stock Job or not, there are sew
eral fascinating facts about it which
bear mentioning. The bonds, for in
stance, are printed on regulation-size
currency paper, the same size, by the
way, that prints eight ST bills. Mr..
Meissner had to figure the size of the
bonds so four separate ones could be
printed on each sheet and so the bu-
reau printers could run them through
the mill with maximum speed and .
minimum Of trouble and labor. MIR.
Meissner's measuring stick therefore
had TO gauge the size within hum
dredths Of an inch.
After your visit with Mr.. Meissner
you witness the first stage in the ac-
tual printing Of the bonus bonds
the putting on Of the lovely green face
tint. This Is done in the bureaus
basement, in the offset section Of the
surface printing division.
The exact procedure involved Is
more than o trifie complicated to the
uninitiated. 30 you only hit the high
spots, aided by George M. Duncan, in
charge Of the entire surface printing
division, which employs 1890 persons.
He's q handsome chap, cultured. and
probably around so years old.
He explains: when we get the
sheets of bonds they are dry. and our
Job is to surface-print them on an or
set press. Which means that the
plates are made on zinc and that the
green color is photographed on that
zinc plate. whereupon the plate ia
placed on Q plate cylinder and this In
turn on . piece Of rubber which we
refer to as blanket