NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
Our Paper Money 
Interesting Facts on How the Government Handles Its Currency 
By J. E. Jones 
There has been so much agitation 
about the way in which the govern- 
ment handled its currency that I con- 
cluded to take a little trip to the Bu- 
reau of Engraving and Printing, at 
the National Capital, where Uncle 
Sam makes his paper money, postage 
stamps, and revenue stamps, to see 
what it was all about. 
Through the courtesy of Director 
Ralph our little party was shown 
the Holy of Holies, the inner chamb- 
ers, and initiated into the workings of 
this great institution. We stood be- 
hind the closed gates where one hun- 
dred and twenty-six women and 
twenty-two men complete and count 
of real filthy lucre $3,000,000 each 
day. In the center of this room there 
was little else in sight but money, re- 
minding one of that fascinating melo- 
drama which captivated the country a 
few years ago, wherein the ship- 
wrecked survivers stood in the center 
of their raft and looked about over 
the rolling sea, calling out dramati- 
cally: “Water wwater all around, but 
not a drop to drink.” And so it was 
here in the Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing—$3,000,000 ; “‘money, money 
everywhere,” but not a cent to give 
away to us as souvenirs of an inter- 
esting morning. 
Mentally I compared the process of 
handling these great stacks of bills as 
they came from the press to that of 
a bindery, where stacks of paper 
travel their pathway till finally con- 
suned in the “job.” Charles A. Par- 
ent, in charge of the numbering and 
sealing division, informed us that in 
the four and one-half years in which 
he had supervised that portion of the 
money-making factory, that there has 
never been a miscount or an attempt 
at dishonesty on the part of a single 
erployee. “In here every person is 
on their good behavior,” he said. Mr. 
Parent also gave the information that 
women are far more accurate than 
ren, and for that reason are almost 
exclusively employed in the counting 
of money. 
T have seen a great. deal in the way 
of printing incre but marveled 
at the operation of automatic feed 
presses that turn out one hundred and 
ten thousand notes in a short day, As 
of these notes are of large de- 
poeminations the volume of money 
produced by such a machine proved 
too much for my imagination. 
The $3,000,000, in the midst of 
many 
which our little party was privileged 
to “wallow,” was merely the finished 
product of the Bureau of Engraving 
and Printing, and there is at all times 
in process in the money plants ap- 
proximately $448,000,000. It takes 
four weeks from the time the first 
work is done upon a bill until it is 
finished. The bills have no value un- 
til they have received the last print, 
which is in blue ink,-and which in- 
cluded the serial number. No person 
of the forty-five hundred employees 
leaves the buildings at the close of the 
day until every item of money, reve- 
nue stamps, and postage stamps are 
accounted for. 
In a great many of the Depart- 
ments in Washington the work is 
largely routine and perfunctory, but 
there is plenty of variety in this Bu- 
reat. 
No one ever stops in these days 
to question the security back of our 
paper money, but there were days in 
the history of the United States when 
it was different. The old continental 
currency depreciated until 1781, when 
$1,000 in paper money was only equal 
to a Spanish dollar. In those times 
$242,000,000 were issued, and none 
ever redeemed. It is said that a sol- 
dier in revolutionary war time might 
use a whole year’s earnings to buy a 
single breakfast. Of the revolution- 
ary war paper, an additional $200,- 
000,000 was issued in paper money, 
the greater part of which also be- 
came worthless, 
The distrust of paper money  be- 
came so pronounced that for a period 
of twenty-three years (1798-1812) no 
notes were issued. The first mint of 
the United States was established in 
1793, at Philadelphia, and it was 
quite a relief to our forefathers to 
feel the weight of coins in their jeans 
after their experience with worthless 
currency. However, in the war of 
1812 paper money again appeared, 
but the $80,000,000 issued was retir- 
ed as soon as possible after the war. 
Again during the Mexican war, 
1846-7, paper money was issued to 
the amount of $26,000,000, and to re- 
lieve existing distress there was is- 
sued $87,000,000 up to 1861. 
However, the first real “green 
backs” issued by the government of 
the United States were authorized in 
1851. These bills were called “de- 
mand notes,” and it was the first in- 
stance that authorized bills of credit 
or circulation notes were made pay-— 
able on demand for lawful money. 
We are told that during the Civil” 
War gold and silver coins passed out — 
of sight, and were hoarded by people, J 
who, though they might have had 
plenty of patriotism, were rather : 
skeptical about Uncle Sam’s paper 
money, and preferred to store away 
the kind of coin that had a “jingle.” — 7 
In these days postage stamps were 
pasted on large sheets and used as 
money, while merchants and _ other 
business men contrived their own 
system of due bills and 1. O . Us, 
There was plenty of fiat money, shin 
plasters, and other questionable evi- 
dences of debts in those days. 4 
We were told at the bureau that 
the national bank notes last the long- 
est in actual circulation, and _ that 
their average life is three and six- 
tenths years. Next come United 
States bank notes with practically — 
the same life, while gold certificates 
have a record of two and one-half 
years, and silver certificates a little 
more than one and one-half years. 
The twenty dollar United States — 
notes have proved that they can 
travel successfully about for nearly 
six years, while the shortest lived are __ 
the one and two dollar silver certifi- — 
cates. j 
The experiences of the United 
States with paper money have been 
coupled with a good deal of disaster, 
and in an official statement we find 
this sentence: “Only a “rich Sane 
growing country could possibly have 
survived the panics of this country 
and the losses due to unrestricted and 
unredeemed paper money.” 
Strange as it may seem, China was 
the originator of paper money, many — 
centuries ago, but it is agreed that no 
nation has as handsome a currency 
as ours. It is historical that issues 
of paper money, where the demand 
has been large, have been repudiated 
by all governments. Paper money to- z | 
day represents real wealth jand is > 
never questioned. Our present form 
of currency moves the old state bank — 
notes out of circulation, and there 
has resulted a paper currency that is 
accepted without question all over © 
the world. 
Director Ralph who has _ spent 
twenty years in this bureau, coming 
up from the ranks, said to us: “‘Fi- 
nances, and not politics, have always 
been the aim of this institution, and 
the amazing results that you have 
seen here have been reached because 
the Bureau of Engraving and Print- 
ing has been made a thoroughly prac- 
tical business institution. The bureau 
at Washington stands today as man’s 
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AAP 
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