The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-09-03

Weighing, Counting and Storing Coin In
the New Treasury Department Vault

TONS OF SILVER l.
Weighing, Counting and Storing Coin In
the New Treasury Department Vault.
Washington Special
There is a stream Of silver pouring into Wash
ington st the rate Of half o million dollars q day.
1t comes In the shape OF fresh, glittering, new
dollars, standard silver dollars of the vintage of
1858, with the milling unnicked aud the face of
the Goddess of Liberty fresh from the stamp.
The stream is flowing at present from the Phil
adelphia mint. bat before long the sluice gate
will be switched around and the shining flood
will be turned in from New York, then. after a
time, from New Orleans. and finally from San
q silver belt that will outshine even
that OF . champion pugilist. The Adams
Express Company carries the silver in
trunks or iron bound boxes, guarded by armed
men. AT this end of the line the silver is car
ried direct to the Treasury Department in great
latticed wagons that look like the animal cages
in a mensgerie. At the Treasury the
boxes are taken into the building and into the
basement. then down o winding stairway in the
northeast corner Of the building into the sub
basement, where the air at present has an odor
of soft mustiness that brings thoughts of mys-
FERROUS treasrre-hidden gold, stories OF Captain
mystic are suddenly ~dispelled by a prosy, bust
nessliks door of grated iron that bars the way
and brings the visitor to a halt
Treasurer Hyatt and a Star reporter took this
route last Wednesday, when the first consign-
ment of silver arrived. and were consequently
stopped in their course by the barred door. In
the distance was heard the clink and musical
rattle OF coins, like the chains that were ratified
behind the scenes at the theater, when the pris-
oner is being ironed or liberated. Mr.. HYATT
shook the door, but the noise was drowned by
the blinking. Another shake brought . man
who opened the door for the Treasurer. Inside
the small room on the other side OF the grating
10 the machinery Of the freight elevator, which.
n g. AAr.a h -.02-A1 - 4..~tn. q
precious burden to its rsstine-place. On the
left. as the visitors proceeded, an opening in the
wall disclosed the painted door of a vault
marked with a great '2, aud containing upward
of ninety million dollars
Straight ahead, at the end OF a short corridor,
was a group NJ men, busy with the examination
of the silver. and producing the blinking heard
from the outside. On either hand was a stack
Of canvas bags. portly and proud in their appear
ance. each one of these bags contains 81 900
and weighs sixty pounds" said Mr.. Hyatt. .Try
to lift it and you will nee how hard il would be
for a thief to take away very much money"
The reporter grasped the neck OF one of the
bags with one hand, but it only slipped from the
pile to the floor with q mutled clinking that was
tantalizing. The reporter stopped to replace
the bag with both hands, out q tall. brawny col
ored man came to the rescue, and picking MP the
bag as though 10 were q feather, carried 1t a few
steps to a queerlooking wooden utensil about
two feet high. There was q shelf about a foot
square, on top. and below was a slide or chute,
narrowing to an opening about six inches across.
The bag was dumped on the platform and tho
securing cord cut with q rapid motion of a knife.
Holding the mouth of the bag down into the
chute, the man directed the silver stream into a
copper scoop, something like those used By
groce-s, with handles on the sides The thou
sand coins filled the scoop exactly, and as soon
as the clinking ceased another man liftec 1t from
the block and set il on the pan OF the scales.
These scales e~littered in the gas light like gold.
The too bar was massive and looked moreklike
the walking beam Of an engine than a part OF a
piece or apparatus SO delicate that the hundredth
part of an ounce could be easily weighed. The
pans hung down to a platform, while a great
brass standard in the center bore the weight OF
the whole. On the Ian opposite that holding
the coins were two great brass weights, one
equivalent of the money, and the other. on top
of the first, the balance for the scoop. These
weights were exactly in the center of the pan,
ss was the scoop also. As soon as the scoop
rested on the pan the salesman seated in
front of the center beam, turned q crank
at its base, moving q counle OF arms run
ming upward from the center to the cross
beam, and throwing the pans from their rest.
They at once began to oscilate slightly. but sooa
came TO a rest, when the man showed . little
button near the crank, and q long needle, point
ing downward at the very center OF the ma
chine, again to the central mark of . scale be-
low, moved slowly to one side aud then back TO It
A right" he said. quickly releasing the pres
cure on the button and turning the crank back.
As quick as a wink the scoop was whisked from
the pan and up to the top Of the shute, where it
was tipped, and its shining conteots slid down
into the mouth Of their original bag, held open
by a man sitting at the foot of the machine, who
tied the mouth Of the canvas and handed the
proved bag to another man at his elbow. The
latter placed it on q low truck already full Of
other bags.
He picked mp the tongue of the truck and
strained his muscles TO start it. Gradually il
moved, and then wheeled slowly up the corridor
to the middle door of the cages On either side
~ che aapfval aiola tho OrntiuOS roaa IN thu ronP
with unpleasant suggestions of jaildom. Away
down in the semi-darkness, relieved only by the
Pickering of a feeble g~aslight. q door yawned,
and into this the men guided the truck. On the
far side of the cell or cage . line Of white bags,
piled against the wall, showed the work already
done. The single line of bags reached up to
about the lower edge Of a mans vest, and cou-
tanned 5000, 900. The silver will be piled high at
the end of the vault furthest rom the door and
sloping down to the other side. Otherwise there
would be danger Of it's falling in when dis
turbed in the future. The Eouths Of the bags
point upward. flushing on q narrow corridor
running entirely around the cages. In order to
prevent the chance of q thief snsakine in with q
party of visitors, slipping around through this
corridor, and. by cutting some of the bags, help
ing himself to a pocket pull of wheels" Mr..
Hyatt is going to have this pa ssage way closed
by means Of iron doors at each end, to be Kept
locked.
The central aisle is also closed at each end by
heavy grated doors, and the keys 70 the cells arc
Kept lnSlCe OF the aisle, anu the COMMUNICATING
doors will be locked when the silver is all stored,
30 that it will only be necessary to guard the lit
tie piece of corridor In front Of the two outside
cells. In these the silver will slant back from
the front, so that it will be impossible for any
light-fngured visitor TO slit open a bag.
While the visitors were looking around the
clinkInR was going on merrily at the entrance.
and the pile of wealth in cell No. 4 was growing
higher. When the party returned to the door
the scaleman bad been relieved by another. and
through some means the apparatus Was not reg
istering the weight it should. Little pieces of
lead were dropped in either pan to determine
where the trouble lay. and It was finally con-
cludec that the money then on the pan was light
in weight, and it was taken of. bagged, tied, and
sent upstairs to a counting room. In case the
number of coins was correct each one would be
weighed.
ave could detect q trade dollar in a second
explained Mr.. Hyatt, land also adollar that was
plugged. See how fine the scales are" tearing
OF a small piece OF paper from a sheet at the
scslemanis elbow and tossing it into the SCOOP
full of silver in the pan. The needle, before
stationary. moved quickly to one side. "You
see that il would be pretty hard to get in some
old coins" said the Treasurer.
The atmosphere was horrible, close, da mp and
musty. and the visitors. who began to feel the
oppressive effects of the vitiated air, were glad
to get out into the corridor. The time-lock door
yawned at the entrances: the intricate machinery,
as fine as that of a watch. seemingly too frail
for the responsible purpose for which,
1T is intended. The real door of
the vault, however, is inside of this piece of
mechanism, at the end OF the short corridor. Ii
= IL