CHAPTER XXXI.
THE WORKERS IN THE TREASURY—HOW THE MONEY IS MADE.
The Dollar with the Counters—In the Tubs—Getting a Wetting—Servants of Necessity—That Scorching Roof—Brown Paper Bonnets—Earning their Daily Dollar—The Work Progressing—In the Press—A State of Dampness—Squaring Accounts—Calling for a Thousand Sheets—Accounting for Them—Superintending the Work—The Face-printing Division—The United States “Sealer”—One Hundred and Thirty-five Presses at Work—Printing Cigar-Stamps and Gold-Notes of Many Colors—Presses “Flying”—Quick with Dangerous Motion—With a Begrimed Face—The “Help-mate” of his Toil—The Fiery Little Brazier—What the Man Does—The Woman’s Work-The Automatic Register—An Observer Without a Soul—Our Damp Little Dollar—The Drying Room—The First Wrinkles—Looking Wizened and Old—Rejuvenating a Dollar—Underneath Two Hundred and Forty Tons—Smooth and Polished—Precious to the Touch—A Virgin Dollar—The “Sealer” at Work—Mutilated Paper—What the Women are Paid—The Surface-Sealing Division—Seal Printing—The Aristocratic Green Seal—The Numbering Division—Attended Solely by Women and Girls—Critically Examined—A Lady Charged with Errors—Securing Adequate Care—Dividing the Dollars—To Start Alone—Ladies Serene at Work—Snowy Aprons and Delicate Ribbons—Needling the Sheet—A Blade that Does Not Fail—Sorting the Notes—The Manipulation of the Ladies—The Dollar “in its Little Bed”—Dollar on Dollar—“Awaiting the Final Call”—The Mandate of Uncle Sam—Fourteen Divisions—Making up Accounts—Tracing a Note—A Perfect System of “Checks”—The Safeguards—The Chief of the Bureau.
O my! that dollar! I left far back, flying through the fair hands (more or less) of thirty lovely “counters,” to find it here, sopped in the tubs of the “wetters.”
Long trough-like tubs run down the middle of an attic-room, at whose sides the roof slopes so low, a child could not stand under it. Even at its apex, a slender girl beside her tub can scarcely stand upright. At either side of the long troughs are rowed maids and matrons, some fair and young, some old and worn, all bearing unmistakably the mark of the servant of necessity. So near and hot to the brain is the scorching roof, each woman wears upon her head a covering of brown paper, for protection. Who will say these lowly servants of the Government do not earn the scanty pittance of their daily dollar?
In the “wetting division” is received, counted, and “wet down,” all the paper that is to be plate printed. Here, in different stages of progression, we see blank sheets wetted for first printing, and sheets in preparation for second, third, and even fourth printing. The counters of this division put every twenty sheets in the hands of the wetters, who place them between cloths and submerge them in the liquid of the tubs before them. Every one thousand sheets, thus wetted, are placed between wooden boards, under the pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds. In these cerements they remain for three or four hours, when they are taken out, the top sheets made to change places with the middle ones, that uniform dampness may be secured. The sheets are then laid again between the weights, to remain till the next morning, when they are taken out, piled up under damp cloths to wait the call of the plate-printers. All this systematic saturation is indispensable to the securing of a fine print impression.
A distinct account is kept with each printer, which must be “all right” before he goes home. For example, a plate-printer calls at the wetting division for a thousand sheets. These are given him, and charged at once on the books of the division. As fast as he prints his work, he sends it to the office of his printing division, and is credited with all the work that he has accomplished. At the close of the day, if he has any sheets left unprinted, he returns them to the wetting division, and is credited with them as sheets returned. His work performed and work returned must then be ascertained, and his account strictly balanced, before he can leave the Treasury.
The wetting division is superintended by Mr. J. H. Lamb, who, with Mr. Ward Morgan, the head of the face-printing division, Mr. Edgar of the examining division, and Mr. Evans, the United States Sealer, have all been chosen to preside over their distinct divisions on account of their practical experience in plate-printing, gained by personal toil at the press itself.
Now we come to the Face-printing Room of the troublesome little dollar. One hundred and thirty-five presses are flying in this room and another; the latter printing the seals and tints of cigar-stamps, gold-notes, etc., in hues as varied as the leaves in autumn. Standing in this door, looking down this long apartment, we see seventy-five presses flying at once. The air is quick with dangerous motion. Great shuttle-like fans flap above our heads. At every angle, presses, eager and accurate, seem ready to strike you, as well as the dollar, with unerring skill and execution. Beside each one stands a man, with face begrimed. Beside each man stands a woman, the helpmate of his toil. Between each flames a fiery little brazier, holding the gleaming plate to keen heat. The face printer runs his roller, wet with ink over the face of the absorbing plate. A cloth in his hand comes swiftly after, leaving only the fine lines of the plate traced with ink. The ready woman lays the moist paper on the warm ink-lined plate. The printer touches the wheel, turns it, the sheet flies up. Lo! at last, the beautiful new dollar! The girl takes it instantly, lays it, face down, on top of its new-born brethren. Already the roller is passing again over the polished plate, and her hands are outstretched to lay another sheet upon the waiting plate. In less than a minute another dollar is made.
An automatic register is connected with each press; thus every sheet, note, or stamp printed, is recorded, and serves as a check on the counter and printer. The register is locked, and the key kept with the keeper of the registers, appointed by the Secretary.
After leaving the press and being heaped a few moments by its side, the next thing that happens to our damp little dollar, is to be dried. The moist sheets, spread upon racks, are carried to the drying room until the next morning. The drying process leaves the sheets with a rough, wrinkled surface. The little dollar comes forth from its first bed, looking wizened and old, and is immediately sent to the “pressing division” to be rejuvenated. Here every thousand sheets, for six minutes, are subjected to a slow, steady pressure of two hundred and forty tons, from which every sheet issues smooth, soft, polished, and precious to the touch, as every soul will say who has been the first possessor of a virgin dollar.
The pressing division is superintended by Mr. Rallon, the “Nestor” of the Bureau. Mr. Edgar, superintendent of the examining division, assisted by thirty young ladies, takes care of the face-printed work. Mr. Evans, the United States Sealer, examines all the seal and tint prints. All mutilated, are carried to the counting division before being sent to the Secretary for destruction. Each printer is allowed a small percentage for unavoidable mutilation. If at the end of the month his number of mutilated exceeds this allowance, he is obliged to pay for the excess. Each printer works by “the piece,” and pays the woman who helps him—the price being regulated by the Bureau—one dollar per day.
After coming forth from the hydraulic presses, softly polished, every exquisite line and figure embossed in keen relief, the United States note sheets pass to the surface-sealing division. The process of seal-printing is the same as the first, and each sheet has to go through the same process the second time. Under the superintendence of Mr. Gray, six “Gordon” and six “Campbell” presses print the beautiful pink surface-seals. Here the small currencies, the national bank notes, the new special tax-paid stamps, receive the internal revenue seal. The “funded loan bond” alone is stamped with the aristocratic green seal.
Having been sealed, the dollar must now be numbered, and for that purpose passes into the numbering division, where it receives the last touch of printing from machines attended solely by women and girls. This machine works on the same principle as the famous paging machine. The numbers are set on the surface of a small wheel, and with every stroke of the stamp the next consecutive number flies up into its place; with the same stroke, a small roller, taking the red ink from the plate and feeding it to the type. These machines are regulated to change the numbers for a whole series. Two red numbers on each bill are put on by these machines. Intense care is necessary in this work, to prevent mistakes, and each bill is critically examined to ascertain its correctness. If mistakes are discovered at once, they can be rectified; but the red ink soon hardens and becomes indelible. If the mistake is discovered too late to correct it, it is charged to the lady who made it. This has been found to be the only way to secure adequate care on the part of the numberers.
The last line of printing is received in the red number set at top and bottom; all that remains for the dollar, before starting on its journey into the wide, wide world, is to be divided from its brethren, that it may start alone. Thus the United States note sheet is carried into the separating and trimming room. This used to be done by scissors, and gave to women, I believe, their first work in the Treasury. This room is one of the largest and busiest in the Bureau, and second only to the printing-room in interest. The wheels, straps and pulleys reaching to the ceiling, with which its air is perforated, give it, at first glance, a complicated atmosphere, till the eyes rest upon the many ladies sitting serenely at work below.
This work being all clean, and some of it dainty in its character, the result is visible in the tasteful attire of the workers, whose snowy aprons and delicate ribbons are in direct contrast to the worn and soiled raiment of the weary sisterhood of the tubs, and the inky presses of the wetting and printing divisions. Part of the woman’s work of this room is to needle the sheets, which must be done so accurately, that when hundreds together are laid in the cutting machine, the glittering blade will strike through a single line, not wavering a hair’s width through two hundred sheets. The room is thronged with those little guillotines, whose gleaming blades are in constant execution. Each Treasury note sheet which passes under them is cut into four notes at once, each sliding down, correctly sorted, into its own little box waiting below. Excepting the fractional currency cutters, all these exquisite machines are worked by ladies, who manipulate them with unerring accuracy.
In this Bureau but one more thing remains for our dollar, that it should be laid “in its little bed,” before it goes down to the Treasurer. This is speedily done, and its bed is a very dainty affair,—a pretty box, made in an adjoining room by pretty hands; and pretty hands lay our dollar away; indeed dollar on dollar, so many in a box, which shuts them in—fair, tempting, tantalizing—out of sight, to await the call of the Treasurer and the mandate of Uncle Samuel.
There are fourteen divisions in the Printing and Engraving Bureau. Yet it is its unyielding rule that not a sheet of paper can pass from the hands of one superintendent to his operatives without a verified count and a written receipt, which is made a permanent record in a book kept for the purpose. At the close of each day’s labor, the operatives in every room report to its superintendent, before they leave the building, how much paper they have received, how much finished, returning the balance. The superintendent of each room makes a report, on a printed form, at the end of each day, showing the amount of paper received, delivered up to the morning, through the day, the amount delivered that day, the amount on hand. This report is delivered to the Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and a duplicate sent to the Secretary. From these reports the Secretary compiles his report of the work of the entire Bureau, which must correspond with the report made by the Chief of the Bureau.
When any given issue of notes or bonds is completed, the Secretary of the Treasury holds a report, which is a complete history of the issue through all its stages of growth, from beginning to end. The test of the utter thoroughness of this system, is that every note printed in this department from its beginning, if returned to superintendents, could be traced, through every stage, back to blank paper; the books showing the date of its arrival, and by whom it was printed, sealed, numbered, separated, and delivered to the Treasurer of the United States.
The system of checks used by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving is so perfect that it is almost impossible for the Government to lose a fraction from it. The paper is registered at the mills—every sheet accounted for. Every sheet manufactured is accounted for every day. To perfect a fraudulent issue, there would have to be a universal collusion between all the superintendents of all the divisions and all the operatives, and between the superintendents and operatives. Several high officers of the Printing Bureau are appointed by the Secretary, independent of the Chief of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which is another security against danger. These are but a part of the safeguards within which the United States Treasury holds its dollars.
Mr. McCartee, the present Chief of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving of the United States Treasury, is so utterly the master of the momentous machinery which he “runs,” that you cannot ask him a question concerning the labor in detail of his eleven hundred _employés_, that he cannot answer more perfectly than the person doing the work.
Beside his own practical knowledge of the business committed to his charge in minutiæ, he employs only men trained from their youth up in the art of plate engraving, to perform the skilled labor, or to superintend the divisions of this most important Governmental Bureau. The responsibilities and mental anxieties of its chief are so inexorable, that he must be at his post by a little past seven in the morning, and remain till five P. M. He must return about seven P. M., and remain until ten at night. Often the wheels and presses, and patient hands of this department, go from day to day to be able to meet the enormous demand of the country upon its resources. No added comment is necessary to prove how honorable is its lowliest toil, or how indispensable to its chief are the highest mental and moral qualities.