| Show STRONG BOXES B ES OF U H S Washington Pst Post Uncle Sams treasure boxes are under undergoing going some Important alterations They They are not mit n t at all al up to date In the mode Q Q oJ their construction nor burglar burlar proof prof by bya any a means mens and it I might be a a good gOd thins thing thi If they were torn out altogether and I tor re replaced replaced placed with wih vaults of the proper an kind I such as a safe deposit companies companie have now nowadays lW nowadays But ut that would cost a great grat deal de of o money perhaps as much as lO and the government t would prefer to t avoid such an expenditure Away Aw back in 1892 8 this question was a asi agi hated and congress cong s went so s far as a ai to ag ap appoint appoint point a a special committee committe wih with an appropriation of 0 to make an an examination of the vaults in the and treasury report rep on oj o L their condition The report was decidedly unfavorable condemning the arrange arrangements arrangements ments as practically obsolete but noth ing was attempted in the way of substantial improvements It I was in the same se year that an a expert came from New Kew York York and at the request of the treasurer with wit only a few ordinary ordina tools tool of the te kind used In safe repairing opened one of the use big strong rooms in a few minutes minute J I thousand dollars have been ben appropriated for the present alterations alterton which consist in part of a new vestibule and strong doors door lor lr the great geat silver star stor storage age vault vault This Thi vault vaul cost O org and extends under the terrace terace at atthe the south end of the treasury building It I contains a mighty box of steel stee lattice work feet fet long fe feet wide and twelve feet high filled chock lull full ful of silver dollars Visitors ar are ace choc per permitted mite to walk around arund the mass mss of o treas treasure te treasure ure following a narrow passage which runs between the sides side of the hex box ox and the th steel stel walls wals of the vault vult This latticework receptacle holds j 00 in silver siver which is packed in wood wooden en boxes two t b bags of standard n dollars doHar wo l to a box and d each h box weighing bl blO 32 12 pounds Formerly O the t coin C was simply b stacked c up in bags but CIC CI notwithstanding s the walls wals of steel dampness dapne rotted the r bags bag and the money mone ran rn cut of them them rote Vis I I made Ide extra ext trouble truble requiring fresh fah counts count and a it I is no small smal job to reckon over such a gigantic tc sum in metal Hence Hen e it I was vas decided to pack the tile stuff in box s Each stack contains 1000 0 and so long as a the treasurers seal sl on it i is intact s its i contents do not net have haYe to be verified oa on oe onI Is 1 o Q when recounts are made I mad The bond vault is to be enlarged greatly gre I doubling its Is capacity a change beh made nde necessary by the te increasing number Qt of national banks bank which deposit bonds In the th treasury Many Man private and state barks banks ba taking advantage of the thc recent act of congress are coming cominer In as national bank A new e and thoroughly modern O t strong ft room is to be built for the registers e of ot flee to hold canceled paper money moey that is awaiting destruction in the Meanwhile the te in New York Y rk i is putting In two additional vaults one for gold old and the other for silver the 1st l i ive ter measuring v feet in length lent J by t feet 1 in width d te and tw ve I feet ing lag in in there tee height by Gold tons tans and an daily daiy silver siver and are i there ther pour pu is I no place to put all of it At the al o i pc nt time that PI has ha on hand U oO In gold coin and in ln silver There siv are arO now nois silver salver dollars in the treasury at Washington OO but only oni 0 In gold coin cin The treasury never neer keeps much muc gold on hand h here re th the great stock sock of or yellow metal meta being held hed in i got New York and at the mint In P Philadelphia If U one wants to see crude gold in delpha masses he should visit the mint In jj the Quaker te i City where he will find it stacked CIt mI ia in i up heaps of bricks brickton tons on tons t ns of ot it air for conversion into limbo coin rea oin At tt the present moment momet there te is I O worth of p gobi cold bullion at t this mint wort 11 lt mint with wih yr U in gold coin not ot to II ver gol er bunion bullion bulon con and t coin cOi mention manton In sl all Notwithstanding the te fact that t um treasury vaults al compare so s poorly with the impregnable si seel now used us by great geM private te la canens 1 that tr hava hav valuable tp th c ge feels fairly secure as a to tt th tl safety 1 Jr oJ ot J n stored wealth The ThE best sa sore d a coin is its It weight Just to lU rd r point nt It 1 t may m y be mentioned mentIon that tha i te e 00 Po in silver now mentone held In i n tL th tb th e hk roms of or the th treasury weighs e sr 01 ur tons toad t ns A X million n dollars dolar in o 32 IY J weighs s about two tons and l S take a very strong nina man to carry c ad I W Would worth of or the yellow low stu stuff T ot tt 0 f gold brick brck the tha te shape shap and si soUgh oUgh a f ordinary building brick rep s t Of aa ant Its Us heft belt is something re to have been made that SUg be eten practicable to t burrow brrow b i L t treasury by tunnel and b thus tho Uncle Sams s coffers by a sort thu of f e method metod but even eve if i this st were Here pushed it I is difficult to imagine c tm would u be practicable to 3 S the coin l n J of There was wa quite Quie a scare a few ago whets when was wa ti treasurer Y Years 8 cauan the vault in the cash casi the the ready redy money moa Is t kept kep ket ch refu room 1 P PIt t tow u ere It is always set for 8 3 refus I a a m w oa orn clock cock but on this ti occasion IO Wt seemed seme tb be b wrong wrone with the theand theand hn and ad the steel stel doors dor remained te oil 11 closed close Nine arrived arVe and IY the money was le m VI up for 1 Uncle Sams Sms bank bk was obliged e Wa to t pend payments Experts ped were sent and nd came me with wt their ther tools to break w r the but before bere they got U thor ther I big safe safe had opened of or Its It own ow accord accor 1 turned out that tat the time lock Jk had b set by an accident for 9 hd 1 a aIn In this ibis vault not vaul only gold and MK iii ad r si but many millions In paper milons moe always kept If thieves could are r e kept I thieve obtain o ta n a aN j eeE to it they might easily walk tey N ely wk w with an enormous sum the o Y wih Sm notes ne no a certificates being ben done up in pacing and a d neatly net labeled lee with wt the sums wms coMala C IR in large red r gires e K h heel hel eel cel holds notes and Is In el bold 40 note I size siz j about abut a foot cube cuba If I the theis m is i a a single such package However If I anybody did M St Mn ce In getting awa away wih with ch cash In n thi u shape hap a he ke could cul hardly hardy fall fail fl to be b Caugh 11 inasmuch as a the numbers of o the th bill it would be b advertised adert immediately ii It eve ev ry y bank In the country would I 1 On a f the tho lookout u for r tte them b Burglars may ma be b practically excluded but the te treasury does dos not claim t i h i l caln On an unlucky day in I 1 H t visitor came Into Ito the treasurer tr surer r mm urn 1 with wih a large lare Panama Panama hat ht in m his hani j The rhe treasurers attention was tj by b some seme s m other people who were wee trying Irving ia me talk to him and and the te nan man dropped drop hi hl hat carelessly over ve a package containing j 10 0 notes lying on oa the desk It note te I wa was n of several s veral such packages and th lo In loof of it was not ot noticed until some se h tm hur urs Of the notes not course cours were vere ad advertised a j and some time d a apart part of them were deposited In a X w York bank sak The depositor was ws s arre arret et tr i hut but nobody nob was wa as punished for the l rim A singular Immunity from pum puni hn nt seems ems to have hae attended es wh who ho have hae hav robed robbed the te treasury tre in such sh wa ay hi tr It ISTo 1575 l a I clerk named Benjamin Ben passed pe a package of notes noe m ming tag ing iO out of 9 a window in the th eai taim i it room rm to a saloon n keeper keer named namo OHm On t num M For some te the te robbery remain 1 a a amster mystery but later lter on one oe r Brown Brwn was caught betting on the ru rale rae at Saratoga with wih some of the mining t 6 notes note He was wa arrested and ad mi i Ottman and Hallock but Brwn was never neo tried fried tie and the other oher two wr v r aD not finally convicted Of the U stolen sen money mony mon y was recovered It n has ban ha been said sid that tat no n trust corn com company om pany panty would accept acet the responsibility n u of ofte uthe the te treasurer of the te United States for the th mh 0 a year salary salar which he lie gets get He HeIs HeIs ij Is responsible for fo all a moneys mony that th ma may b b stolen and on more mor than one oe un congress cO e has b been en obliged oblie to relieve b by formal foral act an official in the position piton wr wh would otherwise have haye been liable lible for the repayment of large arge losses leases Je On O on ore oc ut occasion n casion caston caon two to men named name Marden and John JohnS Johnson son S the te latter an assistant aint paying t took S 0 O by collusion Th The T government got back 0 of this money mo and ad th t i offenders escaped with wit a a year ear in prison for lor each Cach There Ter have haY been a a good go m maum av thefts theft in the redemption division the temptations are ar exceptionally great grea geat the te most famous of them being bing that per perpetrated pr perpetrated by b a woman who wh invented a method metho for making nine notes te out of o eight ei ht Incidentally to w the te process pro of put putting putting ting tn together scraps of torn bills sent m lit into litto to be redeemed Nobody ever knew Ie how much she stole though tough It i was ws a very ver large lage amount but she sh gave up a portion not porton prosecuted of her gains gin and was a In 1865 1 15 there tre wits was ws much excitement t o oWr ti tithe the loss los of 01 00 00 in paper money which had been ben shipped from Washington to the assistant treasurer in San Sn Fran Francisco Fa deco cisco The shipment was w made by a sail sailing si sailing ing vessel called cle the Golden Gole Rule and consisted of 1000 10 1 1060 notes note Unfortunately Unfortunately the ship was wa wrecked on o Roncador reef and the safe that tat contained the east cash cah was lost with wih It It Nevertheless a conspiracy Nr acy aC wa was suggested and a th theory or was formed to the effect that the th vessel veel had been deliberately cast ct away fer for the sake ake ak of stealing the money If this had hd b bI besa va true tre some of the nute would wk certain crin have turned ture up later laer but ut as a matter matte of fact none of them has ever been sea since and It may therefore be taken for granted that the missing wealth still ies e eat at the bottom of the sea Of course cours iv be iving leg ing only paper money it TOas ns no loss los to toUncle toUncle Uncle Sam Immense Quantities of gold are shipped nowadays across the ocean and the dan danger danger ger of loss is so small that the stuff may be insured at so low a rate raft as one tenth of 1 per cent It insured just jast like so munch much grain and the written in old style legal phrases phrase antee anteo its safety against all perils of th s seas as including fires ent en males pirates rovers thieves on letters of marque reprisals takings at sea arrests and detainments of all king princes p etc Every large steamship s has on board a treasure room which is a great steel box built much like a vault on land Shipments of gold coin from this rouT couii t ry to Europe have been large l arge recently The banker in New Yuri Y ra buys it from the there re c it in sacks acks of each Jt it U i carefully c cc weighed because Europe Europa will a i apt c our sold old only by b weight the quality of the coin its purity and e of fineness is guaranteed by Uncle S rn s tamp stamp s Usually it is I packed in casks cask that are much like herring casks ten sat sacks K to t teach each cask which weigh 18 pounds wh i thus hus t filled Thefts on the voyage are practically unknown but in a cask of gold coin was lost on its way to Paris Pans t b nn i finally located on the platform of f a J railroad r station between Havre and Paris Pari The station agent had thought it contain contained ed white lend lead |
