The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-08-26
FARM HOUSES AS BANKS.
The Dangers Involved in Keeping Money
and Other yaluables in Country Homes.

and Other Valuables in Country Homes.
The murder of a farmer and his wife
near Janesville, Wis. recently for the
purpose of obtaining the money hoar1ed
II their house is only one of several
hundred similar crimes that have been
committed in this country during the
past lew years. A month rarely passes
that an account of the robbery of some
farmhouse or the murder of some of its
inmates is not published in this paper
A prosperous or wealthy farmer who
makes a practice of keeping large sums
of money or other valuables in his house
generally lets the fact be known to the
public. He is fond of stating that he
has no confidence in banks, repositories,
OF other institutions designed for the
safe keeping of money. He advertises
to the world that he is custodian of his
own valuables, and that his house,
ordinarily MS bed-chamber, is the place
where he keeps them. By so doing he
invites robbers and burglars, who rarely
hesitate to take life if it becomes neces-
sary 10 do so IN order TO secure booty or
to prevent being captured. A house
breaker ordinarily carries set of burg
lars tools in one hand and revolver
in the other. He has no more hesitancy
about using the latter than the former
BY the common law the house of
every man in city or country is declared
to be his castle" As a rule, it does
not resemble castle in the matter of
means of defense. 1t has no massive
walls of stone, no ponderous gates of
iron, no deep moat filled with water, no
bridge that can be drawn at night or in
times OF danger, 90 protected place in
which armed sentinels can stand, no
alarm-bell for calling assistance. A
farmhouse generally stands at quite a
distance from other dwellings. IL is
not constructed with view of afiording
security to life and property against
robbers or assassins. 1t is ordinarily
built of wood, and has numerous doors
and windows that are easily opened
from the outside. 1t rarely ever con-
tains fire and burglar proof vault or
safe. 1t is not provided with means for
summoning assistance No person is
employed to watch it while the members
Of the family are asleep. A dog may
oe kept for the purpose of giving an
alarm in case strangers approach in the
night, but the chances are that the
creature barks so often and on such
slight pr0vocation that the inmates of
the house, if they are sound sleepers, are
not aroused by its barking in times of
danger.
Such building is not fit depository
for valuables of any kind. 1t is liable
to be burned down, and can be easily
entered by anyone who has the courage
and disposition to do so. As a rule, it
is senseless to offer resistance. Sup
posing that there are firearms in the
house, the chances are that they can
not be etfectually used. Persons who
are aroused from deep sleep by burglars
are not in a condition to fire rifles and
revolvers. They will be dazed, while
their unWelcome visitors will be active
and on the lookout. A motion or
noise on the part OF the sleepers will be
almost sure to bring the burglars to
their sides, when the pistol, dirk, or gag
will be used. The cases of torturing
persons in farm-hOuses with a view of
making them disclose where money and
other valuables are secreted are numer-
Gus. In repeated cases robbers after
plundering a house and tying its in
mates have set it on fire. with the in
tention of destroying all evidence of
their crimes. The instances where the
inmates of farmhouse have been able
to defend themselves against deter
mined burglars, to shoot them, or to
frighten them away are exceedingly
rare.
Every year when the time arrives for
starting fires in stoves outside the kitch-
en- we hear of large quantities of bank
bills, deposited in stove-pipes and ovens.
being destroyed. They were placed in
these receptacles for safe keeping by
some member of the family, who
neglected to inform the others, OF who
at the time of lighting the fire forgot
about it. The grain-bin and corn-crib
are sometimes used as repositories OF
the money saved by farmers. They
often serve 4 useful purpose, but Occa-
sionally the money is devoured by farm
animals or vermln, or is hauled OFT to
market with the grain. The practice of
burying money i'll the cellar or garden
or of secreting it in some crevice be-
tween the walls and plastering of the
house is far more common. In some
cases the money is secreted so well that
it is never found by the person who hid
it, or by his relatives for whom it was
saved. Sudden death, mental derange-
ment, or loss OF memory may prevent
the treasure from being found. In
many old country towns there are
legends about money that was lost in
this way. In case n fire occurs in a
dwelling, the money secreted in it Is
generally consumed.
That farmhouse is a very insult
able place for keeping money, and that
its presence there serves to invite burg
lars, must be admitted. 1t is by no
means strange that farmers have be-
come suspicious of crossroads banks.
that have little or no capital, whose
directors are irresponsible and whose
officials are of questionable integrity.
But there is scarcely a county in the
country that does not contain at least
one reliable bank. There is no con-
siderable city in which there is not
bank that enjoys the confidence of the
business men of the community. If it
is not convenient for a man living in
the country to make deposits in this
bank personally, it costs but trifle to
send money to it by express. The ex-
press company is responsible, and banks
viii forward receipts for money received
by the express agents. Besides the
banks there are now safe repositories
in nearly all large cities, where patrons
can place money, papers, and other
valuables in private boxes of which
they hold the keys. If they do not
afford absolute security, they furnish
the nearest approach to it that human
wisdom, skill, and ingenuity can 5ug-
gest- Chicago Times.