The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-24

dock it 10 handed over to the kurser, or
third officer, who then .becomee4 entirely
responsible for it until its deliveAy on the
other side of the ocean to thu bankers
agents. The entire amount il Insured for
its full value, the rate being atout one
eighth Of per cent, ard tho .Steamship
companies charge about the same for car
rying the precious load.
All the great transatlantic liners are
now built with special treasure rooms,
which are sometimes pl sced amifships, as
In La Champagne. snd sometimes far aft,
as in the Aurania. THIS room d IN iron
walled vault, about eight or tn feet in
each dimension, and entered onlt from the
top by hatch about . yard square. The
iron walls are three or four INDIES thick
with an array of bolts, bars land lock
sufficient to battle an ex pert Burglar for a
long time. visited ons Of thesss treasure
vaults not long ago, anG felt a. fiji I was
entering . tomb. Ii Is deep d.swn in the
bowels OF the ships, below everything else,
and practically right oa the ve4sel's keel.
ibid you ever hear OF the treshlure room
of any steamer being ROBBED" asked the
officer who accompanied me.
II did," he replied, "but osiiy in one
case. That was years ago on tie Pacific
when the passage TOOK so lonfas to give
tho men abundant tine to workfin. They
drilled through the iron wall4 from the
hold and when the vault was opened at
the end of the voyage $i4 900 wcet tn of gold
dust was found missing. The thieves were
never caught so far a. j know."s
Not less interesting TRAN the method of
transporting gold across the ocean and
from one part of the cisy to tht other is
the way in which 1t il carried across the
continent. Every one remembsSs the 3d.
900, 900 gold train which came from San
Francisco to New York last summer. This
train was composed OF five cars. one of
them bomb proof, AND guarded by fifty
one men. The gold, done up nSbags con-
tanning 5000 each, was packed in coffin
like boxes-small cotiils, Of ccS.rse-each
containing $4,000 worsh. Each box with
its contents weighed 1S0 poun'fs and was
carefully sealed with the red disk of the
sub-treasury At San Francisco. There
were 500 of these boxes The train left on
time and arrived on tire with 10 accident
or incident, and the whole Thing was
greatly to the credit o. the trfasury de-
partment. 1t took two hours sand forty.
i've minutes unloading this gid at the
sub-treasury and twenty ment were kept
working like beavers fer two weSks follow
ing counting the immense sunni
Not dollar was found missity.
called at the assay office thek other day
to get some more precise Information
about the quantities Cf gold which have
been sent abroad IN recent yeari{ II seems
that while the United States has been
steadily drained of portion 1T il. gold
during the whole century il is chilly during
the last two years THAI the AMOUNTS sent
away have become noticesbly gseater than
the amounts received back agaik
In 1891 over $65. 90. 600 worth ff gold was
exported against IS. Ot0. 600 im Sorted. In
1892 SO, O0O 600 was exported against S.
500. 900 which came back. The tdirector of
the mint in mis- last report exklains this
rather unsatisfactory state OFT affairs on
the ground that there has beef raised in
the minds of European investors q dis
trust of United States securities. caused
by the increasing preronderancs Of silver
over gold in the reserve held pr the re-
demption of our paper currency. To put
il more plainly, foreis ners holding Ameri-
can securities are afraid OF being paid in
deprecated silver aEdare selling out while
they are sure Of getting gold.
asked one of the officials the assay
office how large an amount OF fold he be-
heved had been exported by Tie United
States during the PAST fifty yes3s.
at is possible To get at thtt approx
mately," he answered, "by subj facung ali
the gold. both in cola and bui ;on, which
is now in the United States fit,m the en-.
tire amount which has beer. produced
from the mines during the fifte years you
wish to consider. There 10 altogether In
the country today gold TO the!amount OF
$t64. 2T5. $50. During he past hffy years the
entire product of geld in the c4untry has
been nearly of the value OF $3.50. 0Oo. 600.
That leaves q difference TO no accounted
for. as you see, of some 81, aOO. 0p. 0Oo worth
of gold. OF this certainly notsmore than
one-fourth has been used in fae arts. so
that it is safe TO say taat in tlA. last fifty
years the United States has l. ZEN drained
Of over $500. ooo0e1 worth of }yold. The
largest part of this mount va, sent away
between the years so and MO, during
the great gold production. During the
last twenty years, with the Exception of
the last two years, the impctts Of gold
have almost equsiie,' the explrts, and In
some years have exceeded ther9."
II should be noted that, IN kpite of the
large movement of gold from The United
States during the isscal year inding July
], Is22. there Was net INCREASE in the
gold stock of the country Iggregating
ST. 6Ss2. ass. against loss during the pre-
vious tiscai year Of 81 s~1. IL while the
stock of silver increa.ed So ,dSlsos