Show H U TV U M yr br SA M k l r t r r. r in I f. f Y YN N 1 MA t S 'S r 1 M r y Y 9 j S 4 s 71 y air g HIS t ts MUNEY s O COPYRIGHT IY r Nm u UNION doN r V T J ABOUT BOUT ABOUT A NINE MIL MIL- MILI I 1 l A precious freight about one P LION DOLLARS million dollars in paper IN I N CURRENCY C CU U R R E N CY IS I S money ury department It is in the that t treasury treas treas- the sheets of ot four notes each PRODUCED PRODUCED PRODUCE D EVERY EVERYDAY EVERY are recounted by five flue a different dif dU- DAY AT THE T TH H E GREAT REAT G R EAT ferent is done persons persona the red seal After of ot this the tho Yf I f t register of at f the treasury is is' N EW P LA N T 0 F T H E l Y stamped upon them Then Thena n Y s v. v A a cutting machine separates sepa sepa- BUREAU B U R E A U OF 0 F EN ENGRAVING E N rates each sheet into four GRAVING G R A V I N G AND A N D f notes sheets Then become one four thousand thousand thousand thou thou- rI then the and P R I N T I N G A T fY money sand nd bills once more is y counted by several ex ez V WASHINGTON c y J f f y DO DOy parts q 4 r By EDWARD B B. B CLARK N ONE ONE building during the year ending June 30 1915 Uncle Sam made thirty and a half halt billion dollars This money factory Is called the bureau bureau bureau bu bu- reau reau of ot engraving and printing Uncle Sam is is the head of the corporation corporation corporation corpo corpo- ration which Is actively engaged in inthe n the production of ot wealth and he has with him as other members of ot the firm about one hundred m million Uon nephews and nieces This governmental factory produces paper money bonds revenue postage and custom stamps checks drafts and all the important docu documents documents ments printed from engraved plates The director director tor of ot the bureau of engraving and printing Is la Joseph E E. E Ralph He might be called the foreman of bf the greatest moneymaking money shop in the United States of ot America ah and perhaps In the world From Director Ralphs Ralph's own words we learn something some som something some some- thing specific about the activities of ot this big shop of the capital city The dally daily output of ot United States notes gold and silver sliver certificates and national bank notes is two and quarter one-quarter million notes having a face tace value of nine million dollars and weighing over three and a half halt tons It If laid out flat fiat they would cover nine acres and if placed end to end the dally daily output would make a chain two hundred and fifty miles long Each day forty million postage stamps are manufactured which would cover approximately seven acres or make a chain of stamps six hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred and twenty miles long The value of each days day's stamp output is nearly seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars Six hundred employees are engaged in do stamp manufacture one Fifty different kinds of or postage stamps in denominations from one cent to five dollars are made for the United States and Its Insular possessions They are printed print print- ed in fifteen distinctive colors Another important part of the bureaus bureau's work is Internal revenue stamps through which an annual annual annual an an- nual income of ot over five hundred million dollars is collected for Uncle Sam These stamps are of at larger size than postage stamps and while the daily output is only twenty million stamps they would cover twenty acres if it spread out in single sheets and they weigh six and a half halt tons More than three hundred different varieties are issued issued In Uncle Sams Sam's workshop is made all the paper money for the tho United d States government This means that every man who has a dollar bill in his hand or who is lucky en enough to have a bill of larger denomination may know of a certainty that its origin was In a a. factory situated at the corner of Fourteenth and C streets S. S W. W in the city of at Washington D. D C. C And speaking of counterfeits there is a thing of or marked interest which might be said The bureau of ot engraving and printing was organized under an act of ot July 11 1 1862 From that day to this the government has done its own work It has employed the most skillful engravers that it itcan itcan itcan can find and it is a matter of ot pride today to this government that never In the history of ot the b bu bi bureau reau has one of ot its employees been engaged in the work of counterfeiting It is is true that counterfeiting counterfeiting counterfeiting counter counter- goes on occasionally in different places throughout the United States but in th the hundreds of ot arrests which have been made of men and women engaged in the work not one ever had been in the employment of ot the government and not one was found to be in collusion with any of ot Uncle Sams Sam's workmen Concerning the matter of ot engraving Director Ralph of ot the tho bureau has had this to say The engraving division Is the corner stone of ot the bureau and the bulwark of our securities In Inthis Inthis Inthis this division every form of ot security has Its origin and the most artistic and skilled engravers that the world produces are employed here Steel engraving is the perfection of ot art as applied applied applied ap ap- ap- ap plied to securities it differs from painting and sculpturing inasmuch as the engraver who carves his work on steel plates must deliberately study the effect of each infinitesimal line Free hand with a diamond diamond pointed pointed tool known as a graver aided by a powerful magnifying glass he carves away conscious that one false cut or slip of his tool or miscalculation of ot depth or width of line will destroy the artistic merit of ot his creation and weeks or months of ot labor will have been in f I A I Money which Is worn bys by's by byuse I s 's 1 use i Is s sent back to the I treasury dep department for tor forr rry red em p t tion Ion Now of r r course for every bill which Is received a new newbill newbill K Ky KE E bill of like denomination y M mu must t b bY be Issued So it is I Y that several rat more counts must be made in tn order to toy in M i G y J guard against the per peradventure d- d y r A venture of ot an error The 4 counters invariably are areS f women as they are believed believed bety be be- S ty to be much more work than f accurate at the t I men About a million dollars dollars dol dol- f lars a adap day dap i la received by bythe bythe bythe the treasury for redemption redemption redemption tion purposes In ono one of the rooms of ot tho the treasury t there ere Is what Is called 0 In no other form torm of ot printing can the beautiful soft sott and yet strong effects In black and white be obtained as in steel engraving The introduction introduction introduction tion of cheap mechanical process work has superseded superseded superseded super super- the beautiful creations of our master engraver engraver engraver en en- graver commercially and nd now we find the art limited to the engraving of ot securities as applied in the governments government's bureau of ot engraving and printing In the engraving division of the big shop the work is so divided and classi classified classified- ed that the engravers engrav engrav- ers individually become skill skilled d in n som particular branch of the art Therefore ft It Is that they are cl classified as portrait script square letter and ornamental engravers When the classification and division have be been n made each workman is made to confine himself to his own specialty and so it is that he becomes becomes becomes' extraordinarily expert The result of at this system is that not only better execution is secured d but a much greater amount is turned out in a given time and what of ot course is of much greater grea er importance Increased safety for Uncle Sams Sam's belongings is obtained Everything which Is issued from the engraving department of ot Uncle Sams Sam's bureau combines evidences evidences evidences evi evi- evi- evi dences of the individual skill and characteristics ofa of ot ota ofa a number of men Inasmuch as the handiwork of ot several men appears upon each plate it readily can be understood how difficult a thing it is for any anyone one engraver to make a perfect reproduction of ot one of these plates The combination of different different different differ differ- ent styles of ot workmanship all excellent on a n single ingle plate makes counterfeiting one of ot the most difficult things possible In the halls of the bureau specimens of ot the work are to be seen and examples of ot the money are shown in different stages of the pr progress gr ss atthe of at the work No one is allowed to see the engravers gravers e at their work It is absolutely necessary that the plates should be guarded against theft and so It Itis itis itis 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 al plate A duplicate of ot it Is made and this is used for the printing If It this were not done and something something something some some- thing should happen t to the plate first made its place would have to be taken by a new one and even if It the skill of the engraver should produce one a almost most exactly like the original it would at best be only a copy of it and anything that was wa was printed from the new plate would In a a. way be a counterfeit provided of course the original plate had been used for tor printing purposes Visitors to the bureau are shown the printing of or orthe the notes There are aro six or seven hundred employees employees em em- s engaged in inthis this work The paper is a silk- silk material and the process of ot its manufacture manufacture manufacture manu manu- facture is safeguarded because it must be kept asa as asa a n trade secret Anyone who is found with paper of ot this kind In his possession or an imitation of ot it is a violater of the law All AIl of the tho printing is done on hand presses A Aman Aman Aman 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 aday aday aday day printed printes on one side only A most careful count is kept of the sheets The Tho counting is done dono by several persons and after it is d done ne the notes are sent to numbering machines where blue Ink is used to to mark the series letter and each notes note's number Every day In the year ear except Sunday a steel conveyance goes from the bureau of engraving and I printing to th treasury department carrying as its I 1 ow 0 a in which c canceled bills are destroyed The r is a great big receptacle made of steel In its interior are knives set closely closely closely close close- ly together They revolve through water which wets the bills and grind them into fine pulp About a million dollars a day is thus thua destroyed but of course it must be understood that another million takes its place The bureau of ot engraving and printing to which we will return from the treasury department is anew a anew anew new structure It has been occupied only since the spring of 1914 The officials made every effort to erect a b building on lines which would Improve the welfare of ot the employees and increase their efficiency standards The hygienic conditions are areat of at the best Uncle Sam h has s found that where the con conditions itlo are right employees employee give in return their best physical physic efforts and ther therefore fore the mon money y which is spent to make proper their surroundings Is is' is money well spent Director Ralph says plainly that the employees In the old building were were compelled compelled com to work under hygienic conditions that were criminal and such as should not have been permitted by the government Further he says Had a private corporation op operated rated and maintained maintained main main- its plant under like conditions the attention of ot the authorities no doubt would have been called to it with a view to having these conditions changed perhaps to the extent of ot closing up the factory In the building the government has provided for operative co lun lunchrooms It has furnished the nece necessary sary fixtures kitchen utensils heat light and fuel while the employees have organized themselves into a operative co society assessing each member a nominal sum as as s a membership fee to create a fund fund necessary to commence business The society has its officers and appoints a board to superintend the conduct of the business purchase purchase purchase pur pur- chase the necessary food and cook it and serve it to the employees at cost There is isa a special emergency hospital In the bureau of engraving and printing with separate wards for men and women It is finely equipped and an experienced physician is on duty at allUmes all times Umes so that Injured or sick employees may receive receive receive re re- re- re Immediate attention Of Ot course this treatment treatment treatment treat treat- ment is In the nature of ot first aid the afflicted ones being sent as quickly as possible either to their homes or to the city hospitals Uncle Sam makes a lot of ot money He doesn't pay high salaries to either the men or the women who help elp him make it ft The salary figures are what might bo be called comfortable perhaps and nothing more So it t is that some hundreds of ot people daily in Washington handle more money than a mill millionaire sees in a year and yet they are not allowed to use any of ot it for themselves Familiarity Familiarity Fa Fa- breeds contempt and it is said that the governments government's employees who finger fortunes fortunes fortunes for for- tunes every day never have any Itching desire to close their hands upon wealth and attempt tomake to tomake tomake make way with it |