Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1888-09-19
AN IMMENSE CASH CHEST.
storing Away abe Millions of SurpI
SllYar DaHlRra.

storing Away the millions of Surplus
silver Dollars.
In the dimly lighted, dingy depths of the
north wing of the national treasury, says
Washington correspondent of tho Philadel-
phia Times, may be seen a stalwart man
wheeling in from the elevator foot of the
branch Office of the express company in the
building, truck after truck heavily laden
with canvas sacks foot and = half long, and
one third that width, each containing silver
dollars. AS the trucks, rafting over the
pavement, pass into the granite walled outer
room three accountants, with book and pen
oil in hand, examine the number of sacks on
each truck and enter the amount. The truck
then passes on through the heavy archsd
opening in which swings back ponderous
steel door, with all the devices of bolts and
bars and time-loeks against the ingenious
and skilful manipulations of burglars, into q
vestibule. Here stands the great brass coin
balances, 90 nicely adjusted as to record the
weight of hair. Each sack of coin il emp
tied into the balance, weighed and weight
sacks, tied and sealed and carried through
another door into one of the steel-woven lat
tice cells for its secure storage for indefinite
years while silver certificates are in circula-
ton. At every step in transit, from the
coin elevator to the storage cell, are trusty
survey every sack of the precious metal I'M
til 1t passes under the final survey of the Of
icers at the cell entrance, who are there key
in hand, TO fasten the steel lattice door when
the cell ia full or the hours of work ended.
This great steel cash box of the govern
ment, which has just been put in readiness
to receive tina Overlooking millions of coin of
| the republic, is the largest construction of
the kind in the world. It lies buried under
the north court of the treasury building,
where all the hundreds of millions of the
peoples money is kept. It consists of outer
walls of masonry and brick and q covering
of iron girders, brick arches and concrete
| Eve feet thick, with an inner lining of heavy
plates of steel. The inside measurements
are eighty by fifty feet and twelve feet
high. For the convenience and additional
security Of storage, the interior is divided
/ into sixteen steal lattice celia twenty by
| ten feet, with q capacity for six million
| They are surrounded by az outer corridor
| and open upon q transverse passage.
The inner door of this immense coin
| chest Is q massive construction of steel
1 eight by six feet, six inches thick and
weighs Eve thousand pounds. An appara-
tus consisting OF levers and combination
of cogs Is required to open and close it on
| its track. A half dozen men can barely
move it unaided by this mechanical appli-
ance.
! A practical idea of the size of this i'm
mense subterranean cash box may be formed
/ by showing its holding capacity in silver
coin It is estimated to accommodate one
hundred and four million dollars in the cells
or sixteen lattice Subdivisions, or in round
numbers one hundred million dollars. The
silver is maeked in heavy canvas bags eigh-
teen by ten inches, each holding one thou
sand silver dollars and weighing about fifty
nine pounds. Each cell contains ak million
Eve hundred thousand dollars, which Ia six
ty-fsye hundred sacks, making three hundred
and eiehty-four thousand i've hundred
pounds Of silver coin, or equal to over one
teen cells will hold one hundred million dol
lars one hundred thousand bags Of dollars,
weighing Eve million nine hundred Thousand
pounds, or about three thousand net toms.
The outer corridors and passage will store
twenty-eiRhs million dollars more or twenty
eight thousand sacks, or one million five
hundred and ninety-two thousand pounds,
equal to nearly eight hundred tons more; or
an aggregate storage capacity for one huns
dred and twentyreight million dollars in one
hundred and twenty~eight thousand sacks.
weighing seven million four hundred and
niuety-two thousand pounds or thirty-seyen
hundred and forty-six tons.
In event of sudden necessity to remove
this immense bulk of treasure it would re-
oufre about nineteen hundred four-horse
wagons carrying two tons each, and making
q treasure train thirty-six miles in length, or
1t would take railway train of one hundred
and eighty-ssven cars, each car carrying
twenty tons of coin.