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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1916)
0 THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. HOW W. W. VENABLE, ORATOR MQ5WD copyiioht by viimn ritvsrAwt uiAoh conriiOHT y vtimfuitvsfAm union ifT Wtrtnarii i ibmITi e i. fimssli ABOUT NINE MIL LION DOLLARS IN CURRENCY IS PRODUCED EVERY DAY AT THE GREAT NEWPLANTOFTHE BUREAU OF EN GRAVING AND PRINTING AT WASHINGTON precious freight about one million dollars In paper monoy. It la In tlio troas ury department that the sheets of four notes each aro recounted by live dif ferent persons. After this Is dono the red seal of tho register of tho treasury la stamped upon them. Then a cutting machlno sepa rates each shoot Into four notes. Then one thousand sheets becomo four thou sand bills and then the money once more Is by several ox- T? u By EDWARD B. CLARK. N ONE building during tho yoar onumg Juno 30, 1915, Undo Sam made thirty and a half billion dollars. This monoy factory Is called tho bu reau of engraving and printing. Undo Sam 1b tho head of tho corpo ration which Is actively engaged in tho production of woalth, and ho has with him as other members of thn Ulrm about ono hundred million nephews and InlocoN. This govornmontal factory produces paper monoy, bonds, rovonuo, postago and custom stamps, chocks, drafts and all tho important docu mont8 printed from engraved plates. Tho direc tor of tho bureau of engraving and printing i3 Joseph E. Ralph. Ho might bo callod tho foreman of the greatest monoy-making shop In tho United States of America and perhaps in tho worjd. iFrom Diroctor Ralph's own wordB wo loarn somo .thing spoclllc about tho activities of this big shop 'of tho capital city: "Tho daily output of United Statos notes, gold tend sllvor certificates and natlonnl bank notes, is two and ono-quartor million notos, having a faco valuo of nino million dollars and weighing ovor .three and a half tons. If laid out flat thoy would cover nino acres, and If placed end to ond tho dally output would mako a chain two hundred and ilfty miles long. "Each day forty million postngo stamps aro manufactured, which would cover upproxlmatoly ovon acres, or mako n chain of stamps bIx hun dred and twenty miles long. Tho valuo of each day's stamp output Is nearly sovon hundrod and fifty thousand dollars. Six hundrod oraployoos aro Engaged in stamp manufacture. Flfty-ono different kinds of postago stampB, In denominations from ono cent to flvo dollars, aro mado for tho United States and its insular poasosBlons. Thoy aro print ed In flftoon distinctive colors. "Anothor Important part of tho bureau's work la internal rovonuo Btamps, through which an an nual Income of over flvo hundrod million dollars Is colloctod for Undo Sam. Thoso stamps nro of largor sizo than postago stamps, and whllo tho dally output is only twonty million stamps, thoy would covor twonty acros If spread out In slnglo flhoota, and thoy weigh bIx and a half tons. Moro than throo hundred dlfforont varieties nro issuod." In Undo Sam's workshop 1b made all tho papor monoy for tho Unltod States govornmont. This moans that ovory man who has a dollar bill In his lianri, or who Ib lucky enough to havo a bill of largor denomination, may know of a cortalnty that its origin was In a factory situated at tho , corner of Fourteenth and C Btroots, S. V In tho city of Washington, D. C. Aud speaking of counterfeits, thoro Is a thing bf marked interest which might bo said. Tho Isuroau of ongravlng nsul printing was organized undor an net of July 11, 18C2. From that day to this tho govornmont has dono Its own work. It Iiuh employed tho most skillful ongravcrs that It can find and It is a matter of pride today to this government that novor in tho history of tho bu reau has ono of lta omployoes boon engaged In tho .work of counterfeiting. It Ib truo that counter feiting goes on occasionally In dlfforont plocos throughout tho Unltod Statos, but In tho hundroda of arrosts which havo boon mado of men and women engaged in tho work, not ono over had boon in tho employment of tho govornmont, and not ono was found to bo tn collusion with any of Undo Sam's workmon. Concerning tho matter of ongravlng, Diroctor Ralph of the, burenu has had thlB to say: "Tho ongravlng division Ib tho cornor stono of tho bureau and tho bulwark of our securities. In this division ovory form of socurity has Its origin, and tho most artistic nsid skilled ongravors that tho world produces aro employed hero. "Steel ongravlng Is tho porfoctlnn of nrt as ap plied to securities; It differs from painting and sculpturing, inasmuch as tho engraver who carves his work on stool plates must dollborntely study Uio effect of each Infinitesimal lino. Froo hand, with a dlamond-polntod tool, known ns a grnver, ' fcldod by a powerful magnifying glass, ho carves away, conscious that ono fnlso out or slip of his tool, or miscalculation of depth or width of lino will dostroy tho artistic merit of his creation, knd wooko or months of labor will havo boon In vain. Although tho tradition that now members of congress, llko children, should bo scon and not heard, is not respected now ns it was In former days, rarely do freshmen of tho house mnko such an impression within a week of their arrival as did Repre sentative Vencblo of Mississippi, a young man recently elected to suc ceed tho lato Roprosontatlvo Wither spoon. Rising to answer an attack by a Texas Democrat upon tho president's advocacy of preparedness, young Vcn able delivered a speech that placed him at onco among the great orators of congress and earned him tho plaudits of Democrats and Republicans alike. Ono of his illustrations, empha sizing the benefits of preparedness, Is still being repeated in tho cloakrooms. It has been my pleauro during my lifetime," ho said, "to bo Intimately and personally acquainted with two dogs. One of them waB a littlo rat terrier who had a littlo tall curled over his back like a corkscrew. "That littlo dog's llfo was ono long" sad wall of misery. Ho was kicked by every man he met and whlppod by every dog ho ran across. I know another dog, a magnificent gentleman of his race. His great head reared itself above bis shoulders as tho head of a Hon. Ho was thawed and sinewed like a gladiator, and his curved forelegs and stanch haunches spoke of tremendous strength. Ho lived his llfo respected by dogs and men. I owned blm for flvo years and I caressed him when I felt llko kicking him. Why? Ho was a princo of tho houso royal, a gladiator of his kind and ho was prepared. "As a result, ho lived his life in peace, with all his Institutions intact and his personal and property rights thoroughly respected." "In no other form of printing can tho beautiful soft and yet strong effects in blnck and whlto bo obtained as In steel ongravlng. The Introduc tion of cheap mechanical process work has super seded tho beautiful creations of our mnstor en graver commercially, and now we find tho art limited to tho engraving of securities as applied in tho government's bureau of engraving and printing." In tho engraving division of tho big shop tho work is so divided and classified that tho engrav ers Individually become skilled In some particular branch of tho art. Thereforo, It Is that thoy aro classified as portrait, script, squaro lottor and ornamental ongravors. When tho classification and division havo boon mado each workman Is mado to conflno himself to his own specialty, and so It la that ho becomes extraordinarily expert Tho roBult of this system la that not only hotter oxocutlon Is secured, but a much greater amount is turnod out in a glvon tlmo, and what, of course, is of much greater lmportanco, Increased safoty for Undo Sam's bolonglngs Is obtained. Everything which Is Issuod from tho ongravlng department of Undo Sam's buroau coniblnos evi dences of tho Individual skill and characteristics of a numbor of men. Inasmuch as tho handiwork of several men appears upon each plato, It readily can bo understood how difficult a thing It Is for any ono engraver to mako a perfect reproduction of ono of theso plates. Tho combination of differ ent atyles of workmanship, all excellent, on a slnglo plato makes counterfeiting ono of tho most difficult things possible. In tho hnlls of tho bureau specimens of tho work nro to bo seen and examples of tho money aro shown In dlfforont stages of tho progress of tho work. No ono la nllowcd to see tho ongravors at tholr work. It Ib absolutely necessary that tho plates should ho guarded ngalust theft, and so it la that thoy nro undor watch all through daylight hours, and nt night thoy nro safely placed within great vaults. Ono curious thing Is to bo noted, tho government novor prints from tho original plato. A dupllcato of It Is made and this Is used for tho printing. It this wcro not dono and some thing Bhould happen to tho pinto first mndo, its place would have to bo taken by a new ono, and oven If tho skill of tho ongraver should products ono nlmost oxactly llko tho orlglnul, It would at host be only a copy of it, and anything that was printed from tho now pinto would In a way bo n counterfeit, provided, of courso, tho original plato had boon used for printing purposes. Visitors to tho bureau aro shown tho printing of tho notos. There aro six or soven hundred om ployoes engaged In this work. Tho pnpor Is a silk flberod mntorlnl and tho process of Its manu facture Is safeguarded, bocnuso It must bo kept as a trado secret. Anyone who Is found with paper of this kind tn his possession, or an Imitation of It, Is a violator of tho law. All of tho printing la dono on hand prcsBoa. A man with n woman assistant aro at each pross. Thero aro four notos to ench sheet, and each pressman turns out about flvo hundrod sheets a day printed on ono side only. A most careful count Is kopt of tho shoots. Tho counting la dono by several persons, and after It Is dono tho notos nro Bent to numbering machines, where bluo Ink Is URed to mnrk tho serloa letter and each note's numbur. Uvory dny tn tho year oxcept Sunday a stool conveyance goes from tho buroau of ongravlng and printing to th treasury department, carrying as Its countod ports. Money which Is worn by uso Is sent back to tho treasury department for rodomp tlon. Now, of course, for ovcry bill which Ib received a now bill of llko donomlnation must bo issued. So it Is that several moro counts must bo mado in order to guard against tho perad vonture of an error. Tho counters invariably aro women, as thoy aro be Uovcd to bo much moro accurate at tho work than men. About a million dol lars a day Is recoivod by the treasury for redemp tion purposes. In ono of tho rooms of tho treasury thero is what is called a macerator In which canceled bills aro destroyed. Tho macorater Is a great big potliko receptacle mado of stool. In Its Interior aro knives sot close ly together. They rovolvo throush water, which wots tho bills, and grind thorn into lino pulp. About a million dollars a day Is thus destroyed, but, of course, It must bo understood that anothot million takes Us place. Tho bureau of ongravlng and printing, to which wo will roturn from tho treasury department, Is a now structure It haB been occupied only since tho spring of 1914. Tho officials mado ovory effort to erect a building on linos which would improve tho wolfaro of tho employees and Increase their otllcioncy standards. Tho hygienic conditions are of tho best. Undo Sam has found that whoro the conditions aro right employees give In return tholr boBt physical efforts, and, thoreforo, tho monoy which is spent to mako proper tholr surroundings Ib money woll spent. Director Ralph says plainly that tho employees In tho old building woro com pelled to work undor hygienic conditions "that woro criminal and such as should not havo been permitted by tho government." Further ho says: "Had a private corporation operated and main tained its plant under llko conditions tho attention of tho authorities no doubt would havo boon called to It with a view to having theso conditions changed, perhaps to tho extent of closing up the factory." In tho building tho govornmont has provided for co-oporatlvo lunchrooms. It haB furnished tho nocoasary flxturos, kitchon utensils, heat, light and fuel, while tho employees havo organized themselves Into a cooperative socloty, assessing each member a nominal sum as a membership fee to crcato a fund necessary to commence business. Tho socloty has its officers and appoints a board to superintend tho conduct of tho business, pur chase tho necessary food and cook it, and servo it to the employees at cost. Thero is a specinl emergency hospital In tho burenu of engraving and printing, with separate wards for men and women. It Is Hnoly equipped and an experienced physician Is on duty nt all times, so that iujured or sick employees may ro colve lmmedlato attention. Of courso, this treat ment Is in tho nature of first nld, tho afflicted ones bolng sent na quickly as possible either to tholr homes or to tho city hospitals. Undo Sam mnkea a lot of monoy. Ho doesn't pay high salaries to either tho raon or tho women who help him mako It. Tho salary figures aro what might bo callod comfortable perhaps, and nothing moro. So It Is that somo hundreds of pooplo dally In Washington handle moro monoy than a millionaire sees In n year, and yet thoy nro not nllowcd to uso any of It for thomsolves. Fa miliarity, however, breeds contompt, and it la said that tho government's employees who finger for tunes ovory day never havo any Itching doslro to close tholr hands upon wealth and attempt to mako way with It. . M'CREARY QUITS PUBLIC LIFE After thirty-two of his seventy flvo years spent in public service James B. McCreary, who recently re tired from tho governorship of Ken tucky, announces that ho is. througb with public office. Mr. McCreary served six yeara In tho Kentucky legislature and was elected governor of tho state In 187E when he was thirty-two years old After that ho was elected to the houso of representatives, whero he served twelve years', and then was transferred to tho other end of tho capltol as a United States senator. For several years after tho expira tion of his senatorial term ho was n private citizen, only to enter again tho political field as a candidate foi governor, and ho is tho only man on record who was twice elected gov ernor of Kentucky after a long lapse of years. "I look back on my first cam paign for governor with a great deal of pleasure," said Governor McCreary. "It was that campaign that probably gave to tho United State Supreme court bench ono of its most respected and valuable members. My opponent in that fight was John Marshall Harlan. Not long aftor tho election I had tho opportunity of recommending that President Hayes appoint Harlan to tho Supremo court bench." SAVES INDIAN BABIES A unique baby-saving campaign launched by Cato Sells, commissioner of Indian affairs, la attracting tho at tention of statesmen, edilcators, churchmen and philanthropists in every part of tho country, for, Mr Sells declared, on tho success of tho campaign depends tho survival of a race. Commissioner Sells sent a circu lar lottor to all superintendents and other employees in tho Indian service, urging them to do thelr'utmost to savo the lives of Indian babies. Three fifths of tho North American Indian babies are dying in infancy on account of neglect of ordinary sanitary treat ment and lack of food, says Mr. Sells. Ho declared that tho Indian problem cannot bo solved with Indians,' and says that tho rr.co will becomo ox tlnct unless tho United States awak ens to tho necessity of improving tho conditions under which Indian children aro born. Ho directs the omployoes of tho Indian sorvico to mako thorough Investigations cn tho reservations to which thoy aro detailed and spare nc efforts in teaching tho doctrine of baby saving. Tribal funds aro to bo used in formulating tho work, if necessary. iWATOVICH'S BRAVE WORDS AS TO FEEDING BABIES. In a discussion nt a recent meeting of tho Now York Academy of Medicine on sovoro diarrhea with acidity of tho Btomuch, Dr. Abraham Jacobt said ono causo of it waB oxcosslvo feeding of fata. Ho also urged physicians to stop proscribing milk sugar. Ho himself nevor uaed It, because ho con sidered babies got enough of It In tholr milk foods. And he said milk should not bo glvon without bar Jsy or oatmeal water. Choddo Miyatovlch, Serbian dlplo matlat and poet, who visited America ' on a mission from his country declares that until hope is dead Serbia will not dlo. "Our friends apeak of our nation nl tragedy," says ho. "Wo aro gratcfu for tholr generous sympathy. Rut oui tragedy has not yet seen our tears, nor shall It over seo thorn. "Our women Buffer silently; out men dlo silently; wo bear our sad bur den silently. "Yot our tragedy is Illumined by tho light of hopo. Wo lost, In honest struggle, all tho territory of our king dom which wo raised up from rulnw by faithful lovo of nntlonal Inherl tanco, by tho solf-sacrlflclng offorts of generation aftor generation. Hut In thlB tho darkest hour of our country's history wo havo not lost faith in Ond and his Justlco; wo havo not lost fa!tt In oursolvoa. In our allies or in in,. manlty; wo havo not lost faith In thu , vu not iobi xaiin in ui'i nornetunl nrotrresa of tho world, mnnlnr, raninioi.iu , --- - , : - .v.,,,., uiiwuru, mougn some times through bitter rivers of blood, Bomotlmos tho ruins of uatlonal rcputu i tiona and of once-vaunted civilizations."