Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-09-26
WALLS OF STEEL AND IRON
The Rough Kind of Experience &
Burglar Would be Likely to
Have ira Entering Uncle
Sarn,s yamits,

of the visitors going through the building
is not attracted by any extraordinary
precautions. They are allowed to roam
about the halls. Nobody watches them
or asks any questions. In one room they
may see man signing bonds that are
stacked up in front of him, representing
probably thousands of dollars In an
other they may see some one putting his
name to little slips of paper, hundreds of
which lay unon his desk. These may be
warrants Or drafts for large sums of
money, but the visitor doesn't know un.
less he examines them, and even then
ten chances to one he wouldn't under
stand them. As matter of fact, none of
these would be of value to anybody get
ting possession of them by chance or dis
honesty. AT most they could only furnish
a basis for forgery, as they are in an in
complete form or are drawn upon some
particular place, to be paid to specified
person.
y THE MYSTERY OF THE THING.
One of the greatest safeguards of the
Department, though, of course, not the
one most relied upon, is the fact that a
thief wouldn't know what to steal, where
to find it or what to do with it if he
should happen to get it. To stranger
all the workings OF the department are
mysterious, and they lose sight of the
strong box in contemplating the business
establishment-th clerks at work on
correspondence, and a thousand and one
other routine matters. At the north end
of the building is tlae only place where
there are any indications of the presence
of great sums of money. Thsre are To-
Gated the Treasurers office, the cash
room, the counting rooms and the great
vaults. There is collected nearly two
hundred million dollars in silver, gold.
or paper currency, such as would be good
for use at once in the commercial world,
besides indefinite thousands of old notes
that have been cancelled and are on their
way to destruction, and in the neighbor-
hood of four hundred million dollars in
registered bonds, which are left as Sc
curity for the national bank circulation,
and are Of no value except to the
banks in whose names they are
registered, or to the United States.
But visitor passing to that part of the
building is not stopped by any grim
! SudIO, Dub dlIONSu tllc SdulC
privilege to walk through the corridors as
he had where there was nothing
more valuable than appointments or de-
cisions. He is even allowed to walk out
on a balcony above the cash room and
look at the men handling the money that
is taken out of the vaults for use during
the day. While walking aroung this
balcony admiring the marble paneled
walls they are at one time very near a
vault that is loaded down with wealth.
They may even lean with their backs
against it, but they don't know it. More
than this, it is not difficult for the visitor
to get pass that will admit him into the
very vaults themselves, and he can stand
in the immense iron and steel rooms, sur
rounded by piles of money, which, if it
| fall on him, would crush him to death.
Or the visitor may be allowed to 60 into
a beautiful little vault and be permitted
to hold a package of two Or three mil
lions in his hands for moment. Besides
all this there is huge vault in the south
end of the building, known as the Reg
listers vault, which at times has many
millions in unsigned bonds in it,
THE STRENGTH OF THE VAULTS.
Il must not be presumed from the fact
that bolts and bars and guards are not
visible that no precautions are taken
against robbery. 1t is the consciousness
of perfect safety that makes them so easy
The vaults are about the strongest and
best that the ingenuity of man could con
triye, and they are very carefully guarded
They are made of chilled iron and steel
and are as near being impenetrable as
safes can be made, Their double stee
doors are locked with time locks in the
night. In the day time these are opened
and the entrance closed with a steel graf
ing, near which the custodian stands will
his key. 1t might seem very easy tt
knock this man down, take his key from
him and bag the wealth, but it wouldn'
be at all easy. You would have to pass
through a great many iron gratings
where large number of responsible EN-
ployes are assembled, to get at him
You would GO in company with some Off
cial, and there would not be more thar
two or three of you 60 in at a time, where
there would be half dozen good men t.
deal with you if you didn't act right. |
YOU succeeded in getting away with al
these, YOU wouldn't have time to get on
before the whole Treasury watch woult
be on hand to receive you. If you hat
"pals'' in the corridors ready to join yor
in a fight with these, and you killed then
all off, the District police force would hav'
time to get there before you could do it
and if you were very hard to whip, fill
of soldiers and gatling gun might bt
brought to bear on you, by way OF re
cruits.
In this way the money and bonds are
safe during the day. In the night tn
vaults are locked up with time locks tina
can't be opened again till morning, ant
all the clerks and officials are away, tn
building being left to force of watchmen
who patrol the corridors as policemen d
the streets Of the city. There is con
stantlv some one at each door, and tn
rest walk about the corridors, one BEN
) left. however, in constant guard over I'd
vaults. Their strength is supposed to b
enough to resist any assault that Nigh
he made upon them long enough to allo'
plenty of time for the whole force c
watchmen, and if need be, such aid a
thew might call in to reach the scene
the attack and drive away the assallants
: of course the vaults would not be In
: penetrable if a burglar were given enoug
time, but whole night long OF undi'
: tlIrbed work would scarcely suffice Tor tn
3 most expert to get IN.
It OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF TUNNELlNG.
5 A gang of burglars might get houS
: across the way, and tunnel under tn
s street and up under the vaults, but the
, would have very big undertaking. The
would have to dig under the foundatlo
L of the building, which is four or five fe'
o thick, and nobody knows just how dee
n under the ground land when they went
come up they would strike their heat
!. AGAINST about foot and half or two ie