The Dickinson press., 1888-05-19
A PEEP AT THE VAULTS
OF One OF New Yorls's Safe Deposit Com
panies-The Guarded Millions.

OF One OF New Yorlt's Safe Deposit Cone
panies-The Guarded Millions.
They entered by n door leading from the
broad aud wonderfully arched hallway of the
Equitable building and encountered {, very
self possessed gentleman. who admitted that
the report about the hundreds OF millions was
true. and said that us secretary of the cun-
pnny they were for the time being III his care.
He didn't look like a man who lay awake
nights and worried, and when the reporter
asked him if he did not at times experience II
twinge of fear lest some one should wrong
fully appropriate u few of the millions, lie
smiled II confident smile and said:
Come with ne for awhile
.Ahalf dozen sturdy men in uniform salutcd
the party before it reached a massive door
way formed of alternate layers of steel and
iron. This was the entrance to the vaults.
The door was ut the time swung open, but a
substantial iron wicket gate, locked and
boltel, and behind which we're other men i'll
uniform, barred further progress.
"Thesc are our arrangements at this point
during tho day" explained the secretary.
"You hear that ticking pointing to Il shin
ing glass inclosed bit Of mechanism Inserted
into tho center of the great door; that is Il
time clock. When the door is closed at the
end of business hours that clock is set for
S:4j tho next morning. and no human being
can get into those vaults until the hour
named. Then certain OF these many and
seemingly complicated bolts are mechanical
~ released by the clock. But that does moi
open the door. There are two combination
locks as well, and two officers of the company
have to he present to unlock these. There is
q similar door, similarly guarded, al tue
other end OF the vault. You will see
what small chance there is OF anybody get
ting in here at night when J. tell you that.
besides the walls Of the building itself, the
separate walls of this vault are composed Of
thirty-six inches of solid masonry. re-cn-
forced OH the inner side by six inches of steel
and iron. But even if anybody should sue
coed in such an impossibility as getting in,
his difficulties would only have begun. Look
here" and the secretary led the way into the
electric lighted vaults. You are right III
the midst Of those hundreds OF millions now,
but what can You do"
4 hasty glance about convinced the re
porter that his chances of laying hands OF
any of tho treasure were very slim indeed
There were thousands Of double and trehl,
locked inner vaults before him Some %
them were not much larger i'll a front view
than the letter boxes in the postofficc, Will
Others were of the dimensions of bunk vaults
The small ones rent for SIS u year and til
biggest ones for 81 800 year, but ii burgla
, would have about as hard n job getting Il
the contents of a little one MS ut those of a bi
one. 1t is SO utterly hopeless n job that II
!. burglar has ever yet attempted it. Eve
though he got in he couldn't by my chane
have more than a minute or two to work il
because an infaNible system of burgla
alarms would announce his presence to I'll
I watchmen outside, who are kept wide awal
by the necessity of going from place to pla,
r all night, pressing the electric buttons to 81
/. nounce the fact that they are on deck Ne
York World.