The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 29, 1901, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CALL, - 1 the ore from o ne is changed into new and - ie long and tedious. ore as it comes from the ground mus 2 the smelting pro- ess, b the metal is ex- o bars of gold ds naturally varying r of the ore and e enormous andled by the s s shown by the = represents N age of the va- States from the ladelphia Mint to 00. Of this amount the ge was $2,167,088,113, the er $796,171 and the total mi- nege a ted to $33503,969 72. The of gold r. known as “bullion,” t the mint New York Denver, Colo., and are made. The first preparing an alloy for of the refined gold or silver which 159 65, hese lead crucible; and after the als are thoroughly mixed they into castiron molds to produce ar bars called “ingots,” which size according to the denomina- for which they are intend- ingot for the “double , % inch thick d weighs 80 ounces, he silver dollar is tnch thick and 1% e s then passed between heavy b it issues in long narrow s of ion is called “breaking nd mekes the metal hard and zed would cause it In order to prevent ealed by being nace of about 1500 degrees they remain for about according to the heat size of the strips. water and each through the while “half” THES may not make the man, the old maxim, but ac- & well-known Chicago fen they may unmake him & facil that ought to turn ler green with envy. big, modern furnishing e, “and you can scarcely upon an article of wearing isn’t either murderously insistently detrimental to you might arraign all othing with & good deal of common y #ense ard consistency. the first place, we breathe through as truly s we breathe h our nostrils. You may prove this ger = c by varnishing & man’s body; not all the work his lungs can do will keep him from smothering to Geath. Then, just to the extent that cf g interferes with the functions of the skin, to that extent it is detrimental. “Among all the murderous forms of @ress underclothing takes the lead, and of this cotton and linen garments are the ef offenders. The cotton shirt especial- ous thing. When it has become damp from perspiration it is virtually alr- t, and & riking it converts it cold-storage lining, which could not Gesigned for pneumonia. A gar- of e wool takes up this per- on and the warmth of the body un- der it evaporates the moisture. * Consumption Due to Underclothes. ok te’ In t of un- viclous. There may 1 in it, and the careful nner cotton fibers of further re- ture from the olds, sore throats and may result from the e of this kind of undergarment. ary vest, worn by all male f the most insidlous of mur- The vest of a “vinter heavy In front, and is e back It is cotton, ‘farmer’s thin satin. Such a com- could not better further all lung is & vi tte category s. Under the shoulder blades a s gs are much nearer to the sur- they are front and much be attacked by congestions cold. 1f men had a proper re- salth they would insist that make their vests of the same the way around. ary muffier is & particu- thing. It may keep one's ¢ lkewise it may send one Jere collars are mot needpd. roat at best is certain to The muffier is something that rgotten, and for a man who is to go out without it between 1 and April 1 is to invite an inflammatory attack in the at or lungs. Indeed, no matter how arefully one may seek to drop the thing always gives him and “‘quarter eagles” must go through at least four times. The strips are again annealed, cut in two for convenience in handling, taken to the pointing rolls so that an fnch and a half of the end may be pointed or flattened cnd greased with tal- low to permit their easy passage through the dles of the drawbench. The draw- bench consists of two independent tions, each of which has two dies regu- lated by setscrews, and between dies the pointed end of th being seized by the Jaws o drawn by means of an which reduces the strip as nearly sible to standard weight. This is asce tained by weighing sample blanks or planchets that are cut from either end When the strips are deemed of proper weight they are taken to the cutting shears and the pointed ends cut off, after which they -pass to the cutting T where by means of a steel punch wc into a matrix the planchets are cu from. These blan n taken to washing-room, ey are clear from grease by washing in a lye cor sec- these strip is pas: the cari endless pos ss, ing there- the ed ed *The mackintosh is another horror. In this climate a comparatively warm rain may follow a period of freezing weather in almost any winter month, As I say, it is only comparatively warmer; the ther- mometer may register only 00 degrees, but if the rain is heavy enough the man who has been wearing an ulster that is half an inch thick puts on a mackintosh and goes out to freeze to death. He is a lkely subject for pneumonia always. The fact that the rubber rain coat is water tight is only another of its evil aspects, as preventing action of the pores. “Footwear always has been detrimental to the general health. No portion of the body is more exacting in the matter of free pores than are the feet, yet they are covered often in cheap stockings, colored with polsonous dyes, and then crowded into tight, pointed-toed shoes that squeeze them out of all semblance to a natural foot. The inside line of the feet, which should be perfectly straight, becomes erooked around an enlarged joint, the big toe is turned in, and half of the natural functions of the feet are strangled. Then when a rubber sandal—or, worse, an arc- of sgap, borax and -/ater. After rinsing in clean water they are dried in a large copper pan heated by steam. They are then carefully examined on the selecting able and all perfect blanks separated m the imperfect ones, and, in the case of gold coins, must have the following weights: “Double eagle,” 616 grains; " 258 grains; “half-eagle,” 120 and “quarter-eagle,” 645 grains, allowance of a half-grain Is the case of the “double and a quarter grain quarter eagle.” This determined in the adjusting- ch piece is placed upon the b nce, and if keavier than the limit is reduced by filing its edge, whereas If lighter it is cor.demned and returned to though an in rmitted gle” n the *‘half’ ht s room, where welg: the melter. The accepted planchets are then taken to the milling machine, where the raised edge, technically called *“mill- ing,” 18 put on them owh as milling’ ma- et g devices, and often misleads The mac nation tic overshoe—is drawn on the foot the work s complete. “The high heel in women's shoes is es- peclally yiclous. It throws the toes into the tips of the shoes, cramping and crooking them and making the natural springiness of the foot wholly impossible. Recently the rubber heel has done much to mitigate the evils of heels on hard pavements. i Prince Killed by Polish. “Some of the brown polishes used on summer footwear are polsonous, espe- clally when applied to thin leather. Don John of Austria died from such a poison percolating through thin shoes. Times without number physiclans everywhere have been called upon to treat cases of foot poisoning from wearing of red stock- ings. “Garters as worn by both men and women are bad. By compressing the veins of the leg above or below the knee they hinder the return of the blood to the heart and lungs, and at times this congestion 1s such as to congeal the blood in the limbs with fatal results. Such garters at the best are conduclve to one not familiar with minting processes. Their duty s to upset the blank after it leaves the cutting press by passing the plece between a segment and a revolving disk, just below the feed tube. Grooves are cut in the disk and segment by a sharp tool, and the shape of the grooves has been the sub- ject of considerable experiment in order to give as square an edge as possible to the finished coin without producing a fin. It is driven by a three-horsepower com- pound wound moter running at 37 revolu- tions per minute, and transmits a rotary movement to the disk through back- gears. The disk runs at sixty revolutions per minute. The blanks are fed by the operator into the tube and are pushed against the disk by a small feeder, and the friction on the disk carries the blank around the inside of the segment and then it drops into a box. This upsetting machine will upset 675 half dollars per minute, and the machines for other de- nominations will turn out a proportional amount. Nine of these machines, except- varicose veins and at all times they tend to cold feet. The wise person who would hold up his stockings uses the suspender garter hanging from the walst. ‘The ordinary suspender, on the face of things, should be quite harrhless, but B THROWING OLD SHOES HE custom of throwing one or more old shoes after the bride and groom when they go to church or when they start on their wedding tour is #0 old that the memory of man stretches not back to the beginning. Some belleve it is a lingering trace of the custom among savage nations of carrying away the bride by violence. Others think it Is a relic of the ancient law of exchange or purchase and that it formerly implied the surrender by the parents of all dominion or authority over the daughter. It was a Jewish custom. In Deuteronomy, xxv:5-10, it 1s found that the widow refused by the surviving brother asserted her independ- ence by ‘“loosing his shoes,” and in‘ the etory of Ruth it is told that it was the custom in ancient times to place the hus- band’s shoe at the head of the nuptial couch in assertion of his domination, and that he assumed the government of the household. ing the motor, were designed and bulit at the United States Mint, and it is the intention of the authorities to gradually work back into the designing and bulld- ing of .several special machines for coin- ing operations. The advantage of the milling process is that it protects the surface of the coln from abrasion. The milled pleces must be again cleaned and softened, which Is accomplished by annealing them at a cherry-red heat, after which they aro dipped into a solution of sulphuric acld and water sufficiently strong to clean and brighten them. They are then rinsed in boiling water and shaken in sawdust to dry them, after which they are ready for the stamping press. Before stamping a briet description of the die is negessary. The design being selected, a drawing is made the exact size of the coln required, and from this drawing & tracing is taken for the purpose of transferring the design to the die. This Is accomplished by covering the surface of the dle, which has previously it fsn't. If the braces are narrow and of inferior rubber they often induce deformi- tles in the back and shoulders of the young. They may prevent a free expan- sion of the chest and if one's back s weak they tend to bring about spinal curva- tures. You may get a suggestion of the hampering effect of suspenders in general by attempting some actlve out-of-door exertions; you have to throw your sus- penders off your shoulders for the neces- sary freedom. “‘Compression of the walst, too, is bad the worst example of it is found in the ‘woman's corset, however, and not in the belt of the tennis player. Everybody is familiar with the crumpling of the float- ing ribs which may resuit from tight cor- sets, but not so many know that tumors, and even cancers, result from the friction of stays with the skin. Several cases of fatal stabbings from corset steels are known to the medical profession: the pleural cavity has been punctured in such cases, causing speedy death. Collars and Hats Are Bad. “Even the stiff hat has a hard reputa- tlon; by compressing the blood vessels been made smooth, with & thin costing of transfer wax; on this wax the tracing 18 reproduced by rubbing, leaving the de- sign on the steel, and as this is easily ob- literated it is best to go over the lines with a sharp-pointed Instrument. The next step is to remove the steel in the die by means of chisels and gravers, so that a relle may be had on the cofn. From time to time, as the work pro- gresses, proof impressions are taken until the desired result is obtalned. The die is then hardened, after which It Is ready for use in the press. These dles are then adjusted In the stamping presses and the blanks fed to the press through a vertical tube, and as each plece reaches the bottom of the tube steel feeders carry it over be- tween the dies and place it in a steel collar, so that when the dles close upon the planchets it will make the obverse and reverse impressions on the coin. Accord- ing to a description of the process In the Philadelphia Mint it is sald that “‘double eagles” and ‘‘eagles’” may be struck at an average rate of elghty a minute, while supplying nutriment to the hair this blood supply is cut off and baldness is ene of the results. 10 uw wan working at a desk a high collar Is one of the most murderous of all men's apparel. Our grandmothers knew something when they knitted the yarn 'writers’ of fifty years ago. A palr of them was worth more than an overcoat pulled on over starched cuffs. The wrist 1s the most susceptible part of the body to cold and the flaring cuff invites every blast of winter, chilling all the blood in the body in a few minutes. The cuff is a good thing in hot weather but a menace to health In winter. “The glove in cold weather, too, is a viclous interferer In the circulatory sys. tem. A man's fingers will freeze in a glove twice as quick as they will uncoy- ered, all because the pressure prevents circulation. For warmth a kid mitten, fleece lined, Is the only sensible hand covering. “What is the one article of dress that can be recommended?’ he repeated. “I really don’t know—the collar button, per- haps!” I EARY for the “half” and “quarter eagles” the average rate is 20 per cent greater. The pressure required in the stamping press to produce a sharp, clear impression of the “double eagle” is sald to be 175 tons, while only 120 are required for the “eagle,” 75 tons for the “half eagle” and 40 tons for the ‘““quartep eagle.” The silver dol- lar, half-dollar and quarter-dollar are struck at the same average rate as the “double eagle” and ‘“‘eagle,” while the speed for the dimes is equivalent to that of the smaller gold coins. The pressure used in stamping the silver coins is 150 tons for the dollar, 110 tons for the haif- doflar, 80 tons for the quarter-dollar and 40 tons for the dime. From the stamping press the coins pass to the counting room, where they are put up in proper quantities for distribution. All coins but cents are counted the usual way, but the latter, however, are counted by means of a kind of screen. There are 1000 depressions in it the exact size of a cent. The coins are brought from the machines in pails and a quantity are thrown upon the counting screenm, which is shaken until each of the depres- sions is fllled. The cents are then tled up in coln sacks. In this very brief summary of the process by which the coin passes trom the bullion to the finished money many of the importanf details have neces- sarily been omitted; but if there is any one thing more than another that is of conspicucus interest in the mints and as- say offices of the Government it is the fact that nothing is lost. Every bit of metal is carefully accounted for, and de- fective blanks are promptly returned to the melter. Every kind of a waste mate- rial that is likely to contain gold s pre- served. The floor of the melting room is swept each day, and the gatherings are mixed with a suitable flux and thrown into a crucible. “Sweeps” consisting of broken crucibles and dipping cups, all ashes from the fires, burned gloves, aprons, sawdust and packages in which bullion has been sent to the mint, settlings and catch wells and roof gutters are care- fully preserved. It is reported that sales of such “sweeps” at the Philadelphia Mint have ylelded a return as high as from §18,000 to $20,000 a year from the meit- ing department alone. —_— s in HIS pen and ink of “March” is one of those clever creations of the hu- man form divine for which the hand of C. F. Underwood has become 10 noted. Miss Underwood catches mo- tion with so sure a stroke that her pict- ures seem endowed with the breath of life. She gets real strength in her draw- ings, not by the number of lines, but rather by effective, broad strokes with just the right dash to emphasize her com- position and to tell a story. It needs no other caption than “March” to explain this picture; the drawing itself is the per- sonification of the windy old month “com- ing In like a lon.” There is not a line too much ner 2 line too little—just enough to catch and please the eye by the graceful execution and te hold and fix the attention to the meaning of the composition. This drawing is but one of three dozen equally good that go to make up the con- tents of a portfolio of Miss Underwood's work recently published by Quall & War- ner of New York under the general title of “Some Pretty Girls.” Each drawing bas been printed on a loose sheet of heavy paper suitable for such work, and all of them have been placed in an orna- mental cover similar to those in vogue among the artists as sketch-holders, mak- ing a most attractive addition to a center table. The cover is ornamented by one of Miss Underwood’s sketches of a swim- ming girl, with just her fair head bobbing up above the waves. The ections are charmingly varied with glimpses afleld and in town, at home and abroad. There is “On the Road to Scheveningen,” with a fashionable equip- age in the foreground driven by the swell girl and her mamma, and with three little Dutch peasants for color just hurrying off the page at the right. Of other forelgn views there are sketches of “On a London "Bus,” “In Rot- ten Row, London,” “Punting on the Thames™ and “Off to the Pyramids.” There are two types In the collection that are especlally good—“A Girl of the Latin Quarter, Paris,” is really worth a frame and glass. and “A Petticoat Lane Flower Girl" 1s also just as well done though possibly not so pleasing throush the necessarily dilapidated state of model. In outing subjects Miss Underwood shows the ‘master hand. Her drawings not only please for their art, but they equally delightful for the story that they have to tell. There are the two charming and shapely maids in wading, who stand with their dresses to their knees and with are eyes to the shore wonder “What are they looking at?"” and another of “Beauty and the Beast,” of two girls who driven a little cart and donkey into the middle of the stream, only to find that he refuses either to go on or to go back. Then there are plenty of jdlly ones—of fun on the old far lovers yachting, and a few with some of the younger Americans drawn in to help out their older sisters and brother= of lovers awheel, of