St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1865-10-12
'rks. They count with both hands, and

with rapidity and accuracy truly wonder
full. They seem to possess sort Of in
stinct-the product of long experience,
which enables them to discover n false coin
at the first glance. Pieces which have been
split open, the inside filed out, the cavity
flied with Iridium, the two halves soldercd
together, and remilled on the edges, are so
like the genuine coins that the best Judges
are often deceived by them. They weigh
precisely the same as genuine coins. They
are precisely the right size. They have the
ring Of pure gold. Yet these counterfcits
are detected at glance by the experienced
clerks of the Treasury. 1t used to be said
Of Mr.. E. Il. Brdsale, the present cashier
that when he was clerk he could, in emp
tying out q $4,000 bag. at the first dip of
his hands into the glittcring mass, pick
out all the spurious coins
There is q quantity Of silver in the Sub
Treasury, in bags and kegs, but after one
has been handling millions Of gold, It seems
a poor sort Of metal. A silver closet holds
sc, 1000; there are few dozen Of them
full to repletlon. Within short time con-
siderable amounts Of silver have arrived
here from New Orleans-the product of du-
ties or Of the Coniscstion Act. Many Of
the coins are rusted and dingy, and it is
shrcwdly suspected that, during the dark
days Of rebel supremacy, these pieces slept
the sleep Of the just, in damp, underground
holes. One Of the New Orleans banks is
known to have buried its coin when con-
federate shinplasters made their appear
ance, and the plan was doubtless adopted
by many private individuals.
OF paper money the SubTreasury in
New York holds some forty millions. OF
this, over eighteen millions are in fves,
tens and twenties, and are piled on shelf
in the vault. AS nearly as we could calcu-
late by the eye, there is about cord and q
half Of this money. It might fill q two
horse hay cart. When o paymaster cslls
with draft, the clerks give him trunk
full or bushel basket. The notes are le-
gal tender and national bank notes mixed
Observation-Disclosures oil and worn show
ing evidence Of long service, others new
and crisp.
The larger notes, $100s, $500s, and
$lO0Os have the honor Of closet room.-
There is closet there which contains half
dozen millions. Lying on the top of a
mount .in of these notes was 4 package
which we examined. 1t could easily have
been put in tie coat pocket and carried
away without Inconvenience. 1t contained
one thousand $500 legal tenders, was:
therefore, worth just half million. But
for the contempt for money which the in
.pection of these enormous sums is apt for
the moment to inspire, one might have COW
cted this little package. How many able
and successful men toll for life time in the
hope of acquiring just such parcel!
But if you are going to steal, gentle
reader, let US recommend coupons as the
most convenient article to convey" Sow
en-Thlrty coupons are so small that you
can easily put $4,000 worth in your
waistcoat pocket, and as to Ten Forty cou-
pons. pinch Of them, between finger and
thumb, is small fortune. These little bits
of paper, no bigger than apothecary's Ia
bells. or half the size of five cent in frac-
tional currency represent sums varying
from twenty-five dollars in goll to three
hundred and slxty-6ve dollars in cur
rency. As interest day comes
round they pour in from all quarters
from the far West and the lately rebellious
South from Germany and Holland; from
crowned heads in Europe and from indus
trious washer omen in this country. To
examine and sort these little bits of paper
is no slight task. Ore of the richest men
in New York is said to keep his daughters,
msrried and single, busy cutting off cou-
pons tor whole afternoon and evening be-
fore interest day; when the cutting is done
the eldest daughter herself sweeps out the
room to intercept waits and astrays.
The vaults Of the Sub-Treasury may re-
ally be said to defy burglars. In the first
place they are built on thirty-fve feet of
solid masonry, so that digging under them
and working by tunnel to the floor, would
be impracticabl". Then, they stand in the
main hall ofthe Treasury building, in which
watch is always kept, and into which it
would require no small labor to intrude af-
ter nightfall. The vaults themselves are
iron chambers, with iron floors, roofs and
walls. The latter are two feet thick and
hollow, the hollow being filled with mus ket
balls, which defy the burglars drill. Four
doors of massive iron close the entrance to
the vault. Each door is looked with two
locks, 50 that eight different Keys of pecu-
liar mechanism are required TO open the
same. Uncle Samuel, poor fellow, is not
likely to be robbed at this Office, however
he may fare elsewhere. -
We remember the Sub-Trensury when
Mr.. Cisco was first appointed its chief, in
two rooms Of the Assay Bailding-a quiet,
retired establishment in which nobody
spoke above a whisper, and few clerks
leisurely counted their gold, and demurely
paid the salary of the President and other
public fLnctionaries. People went there
to chat with the Sub b-Treasurer--a man of
leisure aud considerable information-und