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—A State of Dampness—Squaring Accounts—Superintending
the Work—The Face-printing Division—The United States
“Sealer”—Printing Cigar-Stamps and Gold-Notes of Many
Colors—With a Begrimed Face—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—Dividing the Dollars—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,” 317