Weekly Independent

How Stamps are Made.

Situated at Washington, within the shadow of the "Washington Monument" stands the "bureau" of engraving and printing Uncle Sam's giant stamp mint. The average number of stamps printed per day is between ten and twenty millions; but under stress of unusual conditions when the great print shop is going night and day, as high as forty million stamps have been printed in twenty four hours.

The original plate bearing stamp design is never used in actual printing. It is baked very hard and then used as a steel die to make impressions on soft steel, and those last, after hardening, are used for the printing. The stamps are printed in square sheets of four hundred each, and all of the printing is done in one room. This room, known as the "Bee Hive," contains over three hundred hand presses, and the ink is applied by hand to these machines.

Gumming the stamps is an important operation, and innumerable precautions are taken to make the gum harmless to the person who applies his tongue to the sticky stuff. The gumming is done by an electric machine, and afterwards the stamps are carried by an endless chain through a long miniature wooden tunnel where the temperature is 130 degrees F., and from which they emerge perfectly dry.

The grade of mucilage is changed in winter and summer to prevent the stamps from sticking. The mucilage is harder in summer and softer in winter. The gum is prepared by a special formula: three large kettles are in the basement of the building to boil this harmless concoction.

Such is the method of making these useful portraits, which cost Uncle Sam less than 5 cents a thousand.