The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1882-08-19
shipping Gold.

| the Bank of America has cooper shop
attachment. This is scarcely true, how
ever, though the great array of kegs
which sometimes are rolled out all day
| long from the rear of the institution
would seem to give color to the belief.
The kegs are considerably smaller than
those which usually ornament beer sa-
loon sidewalks, and they are always new.
But, to those conversant with the SUBJ
| ject the interesting feature of these kegs
is their contents. Each keg contains
$50, 900 in clear gold. It is from the
Bank of America that most of the gold
shipped to Europe from this city is sent
This does not mean, however, that the
shipments are for the banks own ac-
count. They are not. Ata first glance
persons might suppose that when the
demand arises for gold to send abroad
the shipper would have only to send in
his orders for his hundreds of thousands
to the SubTreasury, where millions of
specie are on deposit. But there are
sufficient reasons why this plan will not
work. The Sub-Treasury can pay out
its coin only to creditors of the Govern
ment, and Wall street man can not be-
come creditor of the Government SIM
ply on his own option. He canEot pre-
sent check upon his banking house and
secure its acceptance by Assistant. Treas
urer Acton. The laws interpose. The
Sub-Treasury can pay out gold only to
such an amount as offsets its debts.
These frequently are comparatively un
important. For instance, couple of
days ago the debts aggregated only
300 900, and this was to be distributed
among large number of creditors But
while they can place no dependence
upon support from this quarter, the as
sociated banks of the city have means
of their own contrivance for providing
the needed gold. They have constituted
the Bank of America sort If trust COM
pany for their advantage. And with the
Bank of America the associated banks
keep on deposit constantly an enormous
sum in gold. During the past year this
SUM has ranged from S36, ,000, 900 to $46,
900, never falling below the first
named amount. To the members of the
Bank Association the Bank of America
issues its own certificates against these
deposits, redeemable on demand So,
when there is an occasion for making
a large gold shipment, the person desir-
ing to forward it secures from his own
bank these certificates for the amount
required, and, presenting himself at the
Bank of America, soon has the privilege
of looking down upon the cleaning
wealth as it lies piled at his disposal in
the rear Office of that bank-there, under
his direction, to be bagged and kegged
and made ready for shipment. 1t is not
always the case the packing for shipment
is done on the premises of the Bank of
America. One or two of the biggest
houses in the street have cooper shops
of their own and make their consign-
ments secure under their own roofs, but
the rule is otherwise. Kegs in which
gold is packed-''specie kegs as they
are called are made of extra hard
woods. They must have an extra iron
hoop, and their workmanship must be
above the ordinary Specie is not
thrown loosely into keg, nor, upon the
other hand, is it carefully wrapped in
tissue paper and piled up one coin upon
another. The keg serves only for pro-
lection for canvas bags, into which the
gold is placed in the ordinary hit-and
miss fashion of pennies in Jersey farm
er's wallet. The canvas of these bags is
especially stout, and the ends are sewed
particularly strong. Into each bag go
$4,000, and ten bags fill keg; SO that
each keg which rolls out from tue rear of
the Bank of America is worth the round
sum of 500, 900, plus the cost of the cask
itself and the value of yard or two of
rough canvas. In the interests of Sc
curlty each keg is treated to what is
technically known among shippers as the
red TAPPING" process. At each end of
the keg, in the projecting rims of the
slaves above the head, are bored four
holes at equi-distaSt intervals. A piece
OF red tape is run through these holes,
crossing on the head of the keg, and the
ends finally meet in the center. At the
point of meeting the tape is sealed to the
kegs head by hard wax bearing the
stamp of the shipper. Any meddling
with the keg must break the tape or wax,
and SO on the trip across the ocean it is
an easy matter to watch the valuable
consignment and detect any attempt to
interfere with it. Gold crosses the ocean
very much as does every other kind of
freight. Years ago there were
some shippers who detailed an en-
ployee with every consignment to act
as sort of detective and hold a watch
as best he could over their kegs. No
such care is ever taken now. AS O rule,
the gold shipped is insured. Safely
watched until, on shipboard. the pre-
cious freight is then under the control of
the vessel authorities and the marine in
surance companies, aud upon these
parties is all responsibility placed. The
average rate of insurance is about e35O
something over $1700-upon ship.
ment of 81 900, 900. There are shippers
who do not insure, or rather they insure
themselves. One prominent house in
Wall street, which sent some $50 600.
900 abroad last year, paid no tax to any
insurance company. The saving thus
effected amounted to about $50. 900. In
maintaining this policy of no insurance.
these shippers say that their savings on
this account since they have been in
business have been such as would en-
able them to lose outright a shipment of
81 900 900 or more and still have a bal
ance to their crsdit in the fund which
they have set aside in their own house.
instead of paying it out for insurance,
Carefully choosing the steamers upon
which to place consignments, they dis
count all probability of disaster. AS
rule, however, the shipper who does not
insure divides up his consienments.
Having to ship 81 .000, 900, he vii give
it in equal parts to four or five different
vessels. 1t is strict rule with some
Wall street firms never to trust more
than $3.50, 600 at time on any one ship.
One of the singular circumstances con-
nected with the shipping of gold is that /.