| Show guarding bank note not plates these plates are surrounded with impenetrable safeguards the large room nearly the full length of the building is occupied by only the engravers at the windows mr oneil tho the chief engraver and the custodian on one side of tho the room is a railing and wire screen such euch as are seen in banks behind which are the desks of mr oneil and his bookkeeper on the other side bide of tho the room at the door of the vault is a similar inclosure where sits the custodian of tho the plates dies rolls and other property when the tbt chief engraver comes in the morning h ho makes a requisition upon the custodian for such of these precious bits of steel as he be wants each piece has its name or designation whether it is a bit of lathe work a vignette or an entire plate and when they are surrendered to the chief engraver upon requisition an entry is made upon the books of the custodian tho the bookkeeper or custodian for mr oneil makes an all entry on his books also to show what he has received then as the engravers want the different pieces of work a similar account is kept with them and no man can leave the room until the books show that e every ry piece of cengr engraving verg n that ho he had in ve his possession has been returned and he has a note from the chief engraver to show that such is the case the watchmen would not let them out of the building without this when a bell sounds at noon the engravers go to lunch but not outside the building when the work is over for the day the accounts between the chief engraver and liis his subordinates are balanced to show that each has returned all the work placed in his custody the rolls and dies and plates are returned by the chief engraver to the custodian from whom he got them and if no piece is missing his requisition is returned to him and the property locked in the vault for the night should ite it ver ever happen that anything was missing even if it were but the smallest fragment of engraving no one would be permitted I 1 to leave until it was found A complete record is thus kept of every piece so that you can tell just where it was at any time liow how long it was in any ones custody and what ho he had it for we know said mr oneil to a reporter to whom chief graves had extended the freedom of the building we know that whatever may bo be said about counterfeits being printed from government plates that there never was one so printed there never was a plate stolen there is no plate that has ever been made that is not in the vault there and every one can be accounted for for every mi minute of time you cannot name a little out of the way national bank but that we have the plate for its notes in that vault and can tell you ill all about it from the I 1 names of the men who worked on it to everybody who has ever touched it at any time washington star |
