OCR Text |
Show STRONG BOXES THESE. " PLACES WHERE NEW YORK CRCC-SUSES CRCC-SUSES STORE THEIR VALUABLES. Tim Hard Money of Ilie t'nltMil Klulea, Where 1 II?-Why, In the VnulU Here Detx-rllird, mid locked In, Too, with Wonderful I.ticks. (SMciol Correspondence. New Yohk, The bankers, the government ooVers and tho men who control tho clearing house in New York have boon doing a great li'l of figuring lately, that t hey mny discover what becomes of a good deal of the hard money of the United Slates. They know just how much gold anil silver has leen coiutd, how much is held by tho treas- the frequent visitors, as he has been drawing on his fortune to build his luxurious lux-urious place in the mountains of North Carolina. About once in so often the Yanderbilt boys, averaging six times a year, visit the vaults to deposit new bonds and stocks, representing accessions acces-sions to their wealth. In this corner ulone there is property representing not far from $:HHI,000,000. It was in this golden cell that William : II. Yanderbilt wrote his fatuous check for $11,000,0110 the largest individual check ever given up to that time. After he had written it he said to a financier who was wifli him, representing the original West Shore interests, "I could duplicate that check at this moment, if necessary," showing that at that time he had $12,000,000 at least iu cold cash. Tho accompanying cut represents another an-other dark cell in this safe deposit company's com-pany's vaults, containing " largo number ; of small boxes rented to individuals, who alone hold the keys, as well as some ; larger boxes. The largo box iu the lower I right, hand corner is always hired by Adelina Patti when she is in this couu-i couu-i try. She usually stays at a neighboring hotel, and the first thing she docs af feline fel-ine vexations of tho custom house are suded is to take her jewels to this vault. At her last visit here she brought jewels Valued at 4100,000, and these were deposited de-posited in this box, which is made of chilled steel, within twelve hours utter her arrival. When she was to appear in opera or iu Boncert she sent her trusted servant, accompanied ac-companied by a policeman, to the vault, and he selected the jewels which she desired de-sired to wear on that evening. After the ojx'ra was over the jewels were deposited de-posited iu t lie safe of the hotel over night, midas early as possible in the morning were sent back under guard to the vault. But strangely enough when Tatti started on her tours through the country she left her jewels iu this place of safety, lilt WIIKRE THE TANPKHRII.T TRTASfRK IS. nry department and how much by the banks, and they have discovered that between be-tween tho actual amount coined or in existence ami that wlucti can be accounted ac-counted for there is n discrepancy of some fifty or sixty millions of dollars. The secretary of the treasury, Mr. Window. Win-dow. Jay Gould, Russell Sage and the president of tho New York clearing house all assert that it will be useless to try to hunt for this missing amount of gold, becuuso it is all hidden away by timid aieu who put their faith in gold ulone, and who want it where they can pet it, and by misers throughout the country who lire hoarding it iu stockings cr old trunks. Tho greatest amount of gold, probably, proba-bly, is hoarded right in New York city, and in places where burglars can neither break through and steal, nor moth and rust corrupt. Nothing short of an earthquake earth-quake or the conquest of New York by a foreign power could got this gold from the 4ace where it is securely hidden. It is stowed away in the mysterious vaults of various safe deposit companies, and no one excepting he who has put it in its hiding place knows where it is or how to get at it. Gold is carried into the vaults secretly, but within the past six months avast amount of silver bars has lieen lodged in one of tho safe deposit vaults, and put there openly in the view of thousands who pass up and down Broadway. It is taken on trucks, like a load of pig iron, and ishandied as carelessly, for its weight would make it impossible for anvthief to A WONDKHFl'I, DOOR. which causes a susiiicion to arise that her ornaments elsewhere in the country possessed little intrinsic value. The large box just above the Patti 1hs was hired by Marie Halton, the opera singer, who caused a sensation a year or i two ago by quitting the stage without notice and eloping with diamond merchant mer-chant of London. She returned in some carry away a bar without detection. Besides these hoardings, these vaults contain the accumulated wealth of a personal per-sonal nature of all the millionaires of New York city. They no longer leave their stocks and bonds in their office or house safes, but take them to the vaults. In many of the vaults are kept tho family jewels ninl the expensive plato of gold and silver this last being taken to the homes whenever an entertainment is to be given, and returned at once to its place of safety iu the vanlts. Hundreds Hun-dreds of millions of dollars are kept in these place of security, and some most interesting tales might be told of the customs of men of wealth in visiting the vaults and counting their wealth. Probably Prob-ably the most interesting place is the vaults of the deiwsit company which contain tho enormous wealth of the Vanderbilts, in stocks and bonds, and much of that of Jay Gould, Busscll Sage, the Astors, ex-Mayor Grace and many other men known as New York's tiiillionairus. These vaults are opposite six months and went again upon the stage. The day after her return she hired this box, and deposited in it jewels which she thought were worth a hundred hun-dred thousand dollars. These jewels were kept there during her engagement, and it was a delight to the attendant to see this pretty and vivacious woman occasionally oc-casionally call, demand admittance into this golden cell, that she might take a look at her jewels and add to them some crisp new bonds, representing her increasing in-creasing wealth. Lillian Russell has one of tho smaller boxes, but she does not visit it very often. of-ten. Side by side with Tatti's box is one in which a good deal of Jay (iould's wealth is placed. This wizard of finance occasionally comes in in a timid, modest sort of way, and opening his Imjx takes from it a bundle of bonds or stix ks and then retires to a secret compartment, which is not indicated in the picture, where for some moments the exhilarating exhilarat-ing noise of scissors clipping coupons is to be heard. Ex-Mayor Grace has a box on the same side, as have ltussell Sage, Commodore Van Kantvoort and William Wuldorf Astor. This vault is so strong and so absolutely burglarproof that the light of day never penetrates it. It is lighted by electricity. The entrance to these great vaults is guarded by a door of exquisite workmanship, work-manship, most intricate in construction and so massive as to be able to withstand with-stand even a discharge of artillery. It is indicated in tho picture. On a recent ! visit to New York Cardinal Gibbons, j being desirous to see the place where 1 such enormous stores of wealth were ' ketit. was shown these vanlts. the Van-1 (- w derbilt chair and desks and boxes of dis- j tinguished persons. But what interested the cardinal most was this disjr. He stood for some moments surveying it with admiration, and then said to ex- J Postmaster General James, who is the ! I chief officer of the institution, ''It makes i I me think of the old couplet, which I will I take the lilierty of slightly changing: ! "Man's ingenuity for man j 3duUes countless burlure mourn. " j j E. J. El WARDS. j VI I . ' THE HIDINO TLACE Of UNTOLD WEALTH, the headquarters of the New York Central Cen-tral railroad on Forty-second street, and were built linden- the eye of William H. Vanderbilt. In the accompanying cut is a representation repre-sentation of what is known as "the Vanderbilt Van-derbilt corner" of these vaults. When William II. Vanderbilt, or when his sons Cornelius, William K. and Frederickdesire Fred-erickdesire to add to or take from their enormous deposits of stocks they are admitted ad-mitted into the pnsotiliko compartment which is indicated by the massive bars. When inside titdour is shut and locked, and they are virtual prisoners. They cannot get out until an attendant opens the door, but no burglar, assassin or thief could get in. The chair indicated is a representation of the one which William II. Vanderbilt caused to be placed there, and at a little table beyond he used frequently to count his massive pile of stocks and bonds. The compartments compart-ments are indicated by the numbers over the Kinallcr doors within. William II. Vanderbilt was not so secretive se-cretive in examining his wealth as are his sons. He used to open one of tho doors, draw out a great pile of bonds, ' spread them on the tublebefure him, aud in full view of the attendant, aud make his computations, half muttering rohim-eelf rohim-eelf as he did so, or else cut off his coupons cou-pons by a nervous snap of a large pair of shears which ho kept in the desk. The large compartment within now contain much of the wealth of .'ornelii-s Vanderbilt. Vander-bilt. and the one adjoining it many of the millions of William K. A smaller compartment nearer the floor contains the fortune of the student, George Van-dtrbiit, Van-dtrbiit, und he, of Jate, has been one of , |