The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-09-01
GOLD SHIPMENTS.
Interesting Facts on = Subject of More
Than Ordinary Interest.

Interesting Facts on q Subject of More
q. Than Ordinary Interest.
| was not acquainted with the ODD
facts concerning the shipment of gold
to Europe until the other day. Each keg
contains $4,000 in clear gold. It is
from the Bank of America at New York
that most of the gold is shipped from
that city. The foreign steamships sail
ing from Boston now carry little OF no
gold, although the reverse was the case
years ago. The shipments of gold are
not generally on the banks account.
At first glance persons might well
suppose that when the demand arises
for gold to send abroad the shipper
would only have to send in his order
for his hundreds of thousands to the
sub-treasury, where millions of specie
are on deposit. But there are sufficient
reasons why this plan will not work.
The sub-treasury can pay out it's coin
only to creditors of the Government.
With the Bank of America the asso.
ciated banks keep on deposit con-
stantly an enormous sum Of
gold, sometimes amounting to $4O,-
100000. 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 occasion for making a
gold shipment the coin is prepared for
that purpose in the rear Office of that
bank-there it is bagged and kegged and
made ready for shipment. Kegs in
which gold is packed ..specie kegs" az
they are called-are made of extra hard
wood. They must have an extra iron
hoop. Specie is not thrown loosely into
key, nor, upon the other hand, is it
carefully wrapped in tissue paper and
piled up one coin upon another. The
key serves only as protection for can
vas bags, into which the gold is placed
in the ordinary hit-and-miss fashion OF
pennies in mans pocket. Into each
bag 60 $1,000, and ten bags fill a key.
In the interests of security each keg is
treated to what is technically known
among the shippers as the '.red-tapine''
process. At each end of the key, in the
projecting rim of the stove above the
head, are bored four holes at equi-dis.
tant intervals. A piece OF red
tape is run through these holes.
crossing on the head of the key
and the ends finally meet in
the center. At the point Of meeting the
tape is sealed to the kegs head by wax
bearing the stamp of the shipper. Gold
crosses the ocean very much as does
every other kind of freight, without anv
special looking after. The average rate
of insurance is about $4,000 upon a
shipment of 100000. There are
shippers who do not insure. Having to
ship $1,00O,O00, they will give it in
equal parts to half a dozen different YES
sells. 1t is strict rule with some firms
never to trust more than $3.50, 900 at a
time on any ship. Peabody & Co., of
Boston, recently shipped $1,000, 900 in
this way. A certain party furnishes all
the kegs for gold and packs them. The
man who does this is monopolist in
his way. Shippers of large amounts
always lose few dollars by abrasion,
but not exceeding sixteen ounces on a
million-dollar shipment. The only pro-
lection to be found against abrasion lies
in the shipment of gold in bars instead
of coin. Gold bars are not readily OBJ
Y. Cor. San Francisco Cali.