The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1888-11-03
SIX HUNDRED MILLION
All Put Away Together in Uncle Sans
Treasury.
How the Funds are Guarded-It Would
be a Difficult job to Rob the
Great Vaults.

If one of those gisnts about which we
heard so much In our younger Gays was
to develop modern Bill Sykes tendency
and select the Treasury Department as
the scene of his operations, says tn
Boston Globe, he might make a pretty
good haul, pro-ided the watchmen allow.
ed him to get away.
Suppose ali the money in the Treasury
was pile up In one room. My giant burg.
lar wou d find at his hand 1924, 900, 900
in gold and silver, S250,000, 900 In bonds,
and an additional $10O,0O0,O09 in new
silver dollars If be happened to time his
visit when the new silver vault in the
main courtyard is full, and a silver
stream of 100000 day is steadily flow.
ing into that subterranean treasure
house.
Here is nearly $60O,OOo,OOO. Just
think of it! More money than can be
found in any bank in Europe. The Banh
of England has only $l0l, ,o00,0 ,0o0; the
Bank of France, Si52, 900, 900; the Imper.
ial Bank of Germany, 1921, 100000.
This little wad of $500, 100000 Ia nom
inally in charge OF James w. Hyatt, the
United Ttates treasurer, who by the way
is very bright specimen of Counecti-
cut Yankee. Mr.. Hyatt has to give a
bond of Sl5c,000 for the safe keeping
of that money, not a cent Of which he
ever actually handles, but he doesn't stay
awake nights counting his cash, and the
cares of Office sit lis upon him.
Massive iron safes, embedded in solid
masonry, protected by time locks and
every other kind of anti.burgular device
known to the ingenuity of man, guard
| this treasure, and In addition Il force OF
armed watchinen patrol the building
night and day. II man wanted to steal
money out of the treasury he would have
a pretty hard time of it. | don't remem.
ber now of any attempt of the kind hav-
ing ever been made, always excepting
the firm of T. j. Brady Il Co., and some
others of the same kind, who plann cd
a very successful raid. But they had the
combination at thai time, and since
then we have changed all that
Any one who has been abroad is al
once struck by thu armed sentries con
stantly on guard in front OF the Govern
mant banks. If you should happen te
pass the Bank of England any nigh
about O'Clock you would see detech
ment OF the Gaenadier Guards march
into the bank, and there they remain un
isn't sentry, not even as much as 6
marine, to be seen any where around the
Treasury, but at every door sits vigi
tant watchman, and he sharply scruti
nizes al comers, especially those who are
strangers to him. He doesn't look very
fierce, but the drawer os the desk at which
he sits contains heavy Colts revolver
and at a given signal he would immedi
,Sal, v,Ina k.s aen I'D
revolver in hanc.
At . O'Clock the department is CLOSED
to visitor, and light iron grating
series to bar out ihe general public. Only
persons armed with pass are then ad
mitted. At 4 O'Clock the employees
| leave, and the building is turned over ts
the night watch, to remain in their pos
session until O'CLOCK the next morning
Forty four men comprise the nigh
watch in two reliefs, each of which is in
command of a lieutenant. The nigh
| watcnmen carry +5-caliber revolvers in
| their belts, ready for use at moment.
| notice. The first thing they do wher
they go on duty is to see that every room
| is properly looked and all fires "bankec
up" for the night; then they turn th'
| keys into the Office of the captain of tn,
watch, where they are hung on bis
| board.
The men are distributed round the
| various floors and assigned 10 certain
corridors, and every half hour they turr
| in a signal from a watchmah's box. The
big money vaults are never left up watches
| for moment during the entire night
| and in case of necessity the guard can i'm
| mediately summon assistance by turning
| in a signal from his call box. Three mel
patrol the building on the outside. II
the captains office is a case containing
thirty-fve Spring field rifles and bay onets
and the same number of cartridge belt
| and 500 rounds of bali.
All things considered, it wouldn't b.
safe for mob to try and loot the treas
ury.