The treasury building is full of interest.There one may see the great vaults where the many millions of silver dollars are stored，the rooms where mutilated currency is exchanged for new，the many deft fingers and sharp eyes busy in counting the paper bills，both new and old，and the curious collection of counterfeit notes.It is not at all easy to counterfeit the United States notes.The paper on which they are made has a peculiar silk fiber，and the law forbids any one，unless duly authorized persons，to have a bit of it.Then，the process of engraving the notes is very exact and delicate.
from the owner the tax fixed by law.Goods brought into the countryfrom abroad are called imports，and the tax is called a duty.
48.The laws of congress also provide for a tax to be paid by the manufacturers of liquors，cigars，and a few other articles.This tax is called the internal revenue .Officers of the government inspect the articles as they are made and collect the tax.
49.The vast sums of money thus paid to the government as taxes have to be kept safely，and paid out as the laws direct.In the city of Washington is a huge stone building，the treasury，in whose vaults are kept many millions of dollars in gold and silver and in paper notes.In the city of New York，and in a few other cities，are similar buildings，though smaller，in which other great amounts are kept.And many banks indifferent parts of the Country also keep in their vaults money belongingto the United States.
5o.From these sums the government pays out whatever it owes.
51.Money.Money is a very convenient thing.If a man wants to sell a cow and to buy clothes and groceries，he might be able to trade the cow to some other man who happened to have clothing and groceries to sell.
52.But it would not be likely that the same man would have both those articles to sell，or，if he did，that he would want a cow.So a much better way is to exchange the cow for money，and then to exchange the money for clothes with the tailor and for flour and sugar with the grocer.If there were no money it would not be so easy for people to get what they want，even if they had things to sell.
53.Money is usually made of gold or silver，though pieces of little value are of nickel or copper.People would be quite willing to take gold or silver in payment for goods even if it were in the form of bars or dustbullion it is called.But that would not be handy at all，as everybody would have to weigh the metal，and at the same time to test it in order to see if it were pure.So the government takes gold andTHE MINT，PHILADELPHIAHere United States coinsgold，silver，and nickelare made from the bullion.
silver，and makes it into small round pieces called coins .These coins，we know，always have a certain amount of metal and a certain weight.So when we see the mark of the government on the coin we are saved the trouble of weighing and testing.In order to make sure that all coins can be depended on，no one is allowed to manufacture coins but the national government.The place at which they are made is called the mint .The United States has several mints，the one at Philadelphia being the oldest.
54.Notes.Paper notes are often called money，but they are not really money at all.They are only promises to pay moneyas you will see at once by reading what is printed on one.Some of these paper notes are issued by the national government and some by the national banks.
55.The notes of the national government are commonly called greenbacks .They are promises to pay by the government，but by law are to be received in payment of all debtswith one exception，which you will find printed on such notes.
56.The notes of the national banks are printed by the government at Washington，just as are the greenbacks，and are sent to the banks as may be requested by them.
57.The banks，however，are not allowed to issue paper notes until they have put in the vaults of the treasury at Washington valuable bonds，so that if the bank should fail the notes would still be paid.And government inspectors keep sharp watch of the banks to see that they are honestly managed.Then the government sends the banks the notes which they wish to issue.
58.The Treasury.All this enormous business of the government in dealing with moneycollecting taxes，paying out what the government owes，stamping coins at the mint，printing currency notes，printing and issuing national banknotes，and keeping watch over the national banksis attended to by the treasury department .Its head，the secretary of the treasury ，is one of the most important of the president’s cabinet.He has under him a little army of officialsthe clerks at Washington in the great treasury building，the officers in the many customhouses，the internalrevenue collectors，the bank inspectors.
59.The Department of Agriculture.The secretary of agriculture keeps watch of agricultural methods in all parts of the world，and publishes the information which he gathers，so that our farmers may know what to do.
60.We see what a great machine the government of the United States is.The eight heads of departments who form the president‘s cabinet hold very important places.And over all is the president of the United States，with the power to direct everything.
61.We have seen that if the president and vicepresident both should die，the duties of president would be performed by the secretary of state.In case of his death，the secretary of the treasury would take up the work，and so on in the order of the cabinet.This is the order of succession：secretary of state，secretary of the treasury，secretary of war，attorneygeneral，postmastergeneral，secretary of the navy，secretary of the interior.When the law which made this arrangement was passed there was no secretary of agriculture.So that officer is not in the line of succession to the presidency.