National Republican., 1883-10-01
A Party Of EnglishmOn and Western Youth
View the Great Building,
Seeing the Relics and Curosites in the
Secret Service Division.
The Mysteries Of the Vaults, the MacOrating Machine
and the Room Where They Cancel Stamps.
The Wise Remarks and Grave CrIticIsms
Made by the Party.

United States treasury. One was elderly,
short, and stout, and wore white side
whiskers. Another was elderly, tall, and
thin and also had white side whiskers. The
third was young, we'll built, and wore dark
side whiskers. A round piece Of glass with
string to it covered an eye of the last one.
They looked like London bankers They
asked for guide, and one of tho guards who
perform that service for visitors started out
with them. Just then q wild western man
Joined the party.
"This is the flag which decorated Presi dent
Lincolns box at Ford's theater the nj ght that
Wilkes Booth shot him." said the guide.
GOOD gracious" said tho short, stout, ell
derly Englishman.
Then the party looked at the flag and OBJ
served the rent made by so mebody's boot heel
in tho excitement of that memorable night.
Then the guide led the way to the rogues'
gallery in the secret service division. There
he showed the horrible post mortem picture
of Jesse James and the little picture of boy
ish smooth faced Bob Ford, who killed the
outlaw. The guido explained who these
people were, and the wild western man ap-
peared to be interested. 1t was observed
that from this time he treated the notable
sights Of the building more respectfully He
had learned that the government un-
derstood and appreciated the products
of his country. When the tall elderly Eng
glishman looked at Jesse James's picture he
said "Um, big man." The guido showed the
pictures Of the counterfeiter Doyle and his
two accomplices, and explained how tho Sc
cret service officers arrested Doyle as he got
off train at Chicago, expecting to find o
800 counterfeit bill in his possession, but
found instead $40 IL 900 United States bonds
which were at first supposed to be genuine,
hut oft vi 70 hr
felt, because they were better than the gen.
uine.
"Good graciousw said the short, elderly
Englishman.
Then the party examined tho different
styles of burglars '.iimmies," the counter
feiters' press, the bonds made by Doyle, tho
SO bill raised to $50 by Cinnamon, and the 500
made entirely with pom and ink. 1T looks
like a good bill, said the tall, elderly Eng
lishman, as he examined tho last bill, and
the short, elderly Englishman said "Ah,"
when he looked at the Chinese handiwork.
The guide stood i'll corridor and showed
the party how long and broad and deep the
building was, said that it contained 5l7 rooms
and held 800 ladies; mot SO many ladies'"
he added, "as when the fractional paper cur
rency was in USE" The Englishmen and the
wild western man ali seemed greatly inter-
ested. There was a small hole in the door of one
of the little rooms, and the guide said that the
people inside were canceling stamps, and that
nobody was permitted to 20 in, but the work
could be seen through that little hole. Each
of the party stopped down and looked through
the little hole. The young ladies inside the
room did not happen to be canceing stamps
just then. They were simply talking together.
But the young Englishman with the round
piece of glass over his eye looked a
long time, and tho rest of the party
walked away unconsciously, leaving
him with his we'll eye fastened TO that little
hole in the door, They had got half way
down the corridor before he noticed that he
was alone. Then he hastened to join them,
looked around to see If anybody had noticed
his absence, and tried to appear unconcerned.
The next visit was to the gallery of the
marble ROOM" where'young men were TAX
ing in the money and paying out new all the
time. The guide explained that after the
government got hold of any of its old money
it never paid it out again. That's like the
Bank of England" said the tall Englishman.
at never issues one Of its bills second
time"
The party looked at tho pictures made en-
tirely of internal revenue stamps, of all val
ues from l cent to 5000, of which latter
denomination he said only six were ever
printed, and only three were ever used, they
having been placed upon railway mortgages.
GOOD graciousW said the short elderly
Englishman.
clerks were shipping corners off from national
bank bills and another room where they were
splitting greenbacks into halves. The guide
explained that all these redeemed bills were
counted three times before they were put up
in packages, and that the last clerk who
counted them put her name upon the package
and was responsible for any mistake. In
another room clerks were counting the blank
paper upon which bills were to be printed.
In another room stood the macerating ma
chino, which chews redeemed bills into pulp,
which is sold to paper mills for 81 ton.
The western man wanted to see the money
and the guide led the way into corridor and
showed two large iron rooms behind q high
iron fence. "These are the silver vaults" he
said, "and each one has three heavy doors
with combination locks, and another with a
time lock, which is set at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon and will not let the door be opened
until o'clock the next morning. Sundays it
holds the door twenty. -four hours longer. The
treasurer of the United States is the only man
who knows the combination of all of those
locks. Each Of the locks Is in charge of an
official who knows its combination, but he
does not know the Others"
'Do all tho vaults have tho same system OF
locksT' asked the Englishman.
"All the same"
SIS there any other protection for the
money!"
''rhere are sixty armed guards, divided
into three watches, and some of them are sta
toned in front of these vaults night and day.
The others are about the building"
just then the gate was opened in the high
iron fence to permit man to wheel out some
boxes, which the party supposed were filled
with silver. The wild western man at
tempted to pass through the open gate, but
was stopped by the guide, who said that en-
trance was prohibited.
How can we see the money then?"
You can't see the money. Nobody can 90
into the specie vaults but by getting pass
You can be shown into the vaults where the
securities of tho national banks are kent.
There are about $400,00o,000 in United
States bonds thore,"
"Can we take hold of them?" asked tho
wild western man.
eyes. Sometimes the country bankers
come hero and want to see their bonds. They
are shown the compartment belonging to
them, and are permitted to take their securi :
ties out and count them"
The tall Englishman stated that when
visitors went TO the bank of England,
affectionately known as "rhe old Lady of
Threadneedlo street." they were taken into
the vaults and shown shining piles Of gold
and silver, and q little package Of bank notes
is put into their hands and they are informed
that they hold Gl,000,0O0 Then the party
started out to get pass. Tho United States
treasurer was absent. and the assistant
treasurer was visited. He stated that neither
he nor the treasurer Ind authority to grant
passes and Secretary FOlger must bo seem