Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-10-25
BUSHELS OF GOLD.
How II Is Cared for by the
Atlantic Steamers.
Peep Into the Specie Room---The
Chances Of Loss.


NEW I0kh ott. St.-- IL vVulu uc HI
possible" said Captain Albers of the
steamship Fuerst Bismarck. which had
just arrived at her dock with one of the
largest consignments Of gold ever brought
To this country, for any one to break into
the specie room Of transatlantic liner
Come with me- and will show you where
we stow gold" And he got up from the
table in his office on the bridge. where he
was making out his report Of the voyage
just completed, and led the way.
NOW" he said. when we had reached the
particular hole in the upper deck that is
spoken of as the after hatch. look down
That iron door that stands half way open is
the door of the maiisoom. Inside the mail
room is another and smaller room with an
other iron door. The smaller room is the
specie room. These two rooms are as secure
as ingenuity can make them. The sides
and bottom and top of each are Of iron, and
the doors are secured by patent, unpickable
locks of which l personally hold the keys
during voyage. The only way to get into
either of these rooms without picking the
locks would be TO drill through the iron
walls. And to get into the specie room from
the mailroom would be to double the task.
European consignors of gold pack it in
boxes. iron bound and protected with wax.
en seals which would break II the boxes
were To be tampered With in the slightest
degree Gold and other coin is sent from
this port in kegs. similarly bound and
sealed. Not penny's worth OF coin has
ever been lost in steamship transit between
the continents. Although the shipments
Of gold are this year all one way, from Eu-
rope. to America, silver is constantly going
from America to Europe as an article of
commerce."
Then with the captain as my guide l
climbed down into the bowels of the ship
to the deck where the precious metals are
stored. When they were loaded, the boxes
of gold brought over by the Fuerst Bis
marck on this voyage were piled on the
iron floor of the specie room until il WAS
quite covered. Then tarpaulin was spread
over the boxes, then this was covered with
planks, then another layer Of boxes was
laid down and so on until the entire ship
ment was slowed OF course careful
record was kept of the number of boxes
and the amount of coin contained in each.
The largest cargo Of gold ever brought to
New York from Europe came on the Nor
MAMMA of the same line as the Fuerst Bis
marck and amounted to a, 10000.
The boxes in which gold is brought from
Europe are Is inches long, IL inches wide
and 10 inches high, and each contains from
S45, 900 to $50, 600 worth of coin They had
been brought out of the specie room when
l was on the ship and lay on the floor of
the mailroom near the open door carefully
guarded by ships officer and a member
of the crew. The passengers had most OF
them debarked and departed after running
the gantlet of the customs officers before the
messengers arrived from New York for the
precious consignment. These messengers
seemed to be clerks, and they came on the
ordinary trucks Oh which the gold was to
be brought across the North river from Ho
boken to this city They were unaccompa-
MED by guards of any sort unless the driv-
ers OF the trucks might be considered as
guards In a certain sense. In one case there
were two clerks but the extra man ap-
peared to be on hand as much for his own
pleasure as for any more weighty reason.
He certainly did not appear to be there in
order to increase the safety of the gold.
As soon as the first of the permits for the
removal Of the gold had been secured by
one of the clerks some one on the dock
blew a whistle. Then from the hatlesS,
half clad throng of longshoremen that
crowded about him in their competition for
working an hour or two this individual Sc
leCted % or 30 men, who hurried up the gang
plank and aboard the ship. In the mean
time the boxes of gold had been hoisted
from the specie room to the deck by rope
and canvas sling and were ready for the
eager hands of the longshoremen. Al
though the boxes weighed from 120 to l35
pounds apiece. none but the heaviest re-
quired the strength of more than one man
to carry them down the gangpank.
None was allowed to shoulder his load, as
there would be greater danger of fall if
the boxes were carried in that way. II
box were to fall on the deck or the floor of
the pier, its seal would be destroyed even if
the package did not burst. If box were
to fall between the ship and the pier, there
would be period of excited fishing for
submerged treasure. The prohibition as to
shouldering the boxes marc II necessary
that they should be carried in the arms,
somewhat as you used to carry armfuls of
wood when you were a boy at home on the
farm.
As fast as the trucks were loaded they
were driven away with as little ceremony
and apparently as little care for their con-
the last box had been taken from the spe-
Gle room, the room was examined and
swept to see If any stray coins had slipped
from any of the boxes, This precaution has
never resulted in n find at the conclusion Of
a voyage from Europe to America, but on
one occasion a keg Of silver dollars that
was being shipped from America burst,
and the coins were scattered all over the
floor.
''I'll guarantee" said an official at the
Hamburg American pier as the last truck
load of gold drove away, that not one of
the clerks or drivers who took the gold
away today had weapon with him more
formidable than a pocketknife. l don't
imagine any one will ever try to rob one of
the trucks, but suppose that after reaching
New York one Of them should come into
collision with another truck and one Of the
boxes should be knocked off and into the
street. 1t would burst open, of course. The
coins would be scattered on the pavement,
and it might be hard work to recover them
all if a crowd of vicious men was at hand.
In fog, too, there would be some chance
of robbery. Anyway we are glad when
we have delivered the stuff and got our re-
ceipts for it. We shall take care to see that
none il ever lost through usr