The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1893-10-14
TRANSPORTING TREASURE,
HOW SILVER AND GOLD ARE SENT
FROM POINT TO POINT.
Single Shipments OF Mil1ions-Pre-
cautions Taken in Handlirs Large
AmCunts-Cost Of TRANSPORTATION.

-
NXSTHEN the financial strin,
Nv %&enoy begsn to be seri.
Y Y ousslX felt the receipts OF
handles tho 4 hlnment's treasure in
transit fell off IS Nly. Now the bust
ness has picked up little, because the
Treasury Depaytment is hurrying out
National bapk' notes to be put into
circulation 50 as TO relieve as much as
possible ths scarcity of small bills
This National bank currency is Gin
complete" when it leaves the Treasury
Department,for it lacks the signatures
of the President and Cashier Of the
bank which is TO issue it. Nevertheless
1T is classed with the completed cur
rency issued by. the Government, and
if the express company should lose any
of it in transit It would have to male
good the loss just as though it had
lost coin or silver certificates. The
banks pay the same rate for the ship
ment of this currency as they would
for National bank notes. AS custom
ers of Uncle Sam. though, they pay
Rmall rate for handling the money. In
some cases il is less than one-fifth of
the rate WHICH private customer of
the expresa rpeny would pay.
The conts >. for handling the money
shipped bRtae Government east Of
Utah is held Ivy the United Express
Company. E. L. Plstt, who is q son
of ex-senator Patt, of New York the
President of the company, is in charge
of the companv's Government service
He has charge of it ever since the
United States Company took the con-
tract away from the Adams Express
Company more than four years ago.
The Adams Company received twenty
five cents $1,000, while the United
States Company receives only fifteen
cents $1,000 in most of the Territory
which it covers This rate is for cur
rency. That Is what the Treasury De-
partment ships in the greatest quantity.
The rate for silver and gold is much
higher.
For this fifteeen cents the express
company guarantees the safe delivery
of the $1,000 at tho point of destina.
ton. "Of course, on single ship.
ment OF $1,000 We would lose money" ="
said Mr.. Plat, talking about the Gov
ernment service a few dayGago. Even
in handling lapg'a quantities Of money
there is SO srhaA a margin of profit
that n single big robbery would wipe
out all that we could make under our
contract III years. Up to this time we
have lost only $4,000. Part OF this
went in n robbery of part of the CON
tents of two packages out West and
the remainder III the robbery Of sack
g. G.. II.
cases the work of the robber was so
carefully concealed that the packages
were accepted by the Treasury De-
partment, which gave us a clean re-
ceipt for them III each case. OF course
We made good the loss when the pack
ages were opened and the money was
missed"
Small packA Of money arc
shipped il bags \ Large quantities Of
money going between big terminal
points are put in stationary safes,
which are bolted 10 the floors of the
express cars. These safes are usually
not opened from one end of the route
to the other, No one cOn open them,
because the handle is taken from the
door when tho car starts on its Jour
ney, and with this handle goes the
dial of the combination lock Expert
safe robbers have means OF getting
into combination locks; and of course
1T would be possible, by cullusion, for
the messenger to learn the combina
| tion and so I've able to open the safe in
transit. But a locked safe, without n
dial or a handle, ig a puzzle which
| has baffled safe robbers up to this
| time.
Most of Uncle Sans money is
shipped in stationary safes Nothing
has ever been lost in shipments from
the Treasury Depar tment or any ot
its branches. The losses are usually
from packac es of mutilated currency
sent in for redemption.
Gold cannot pe handled like cur
rency because OF It's great weight At
the time that so mach gold was going
abroad a couple of months ego the
Treasury Department was shipping
! about million dollars in gold every
day from Washington to New York
This gold weighed two tons to the
million. One of the portable safes,
holding about $500: 600 in gold, weighs,
when filed, l500pounds These safes
were looked and sealed at the Treasury
Department. The portable cafes have
key locks, A strip of iron slips over
the key hole, and is fastened in place
once with piece Of string, and once
with piece of wire. A lead seal is
used on the wire, and green wax seal
on the string.
| To get at the key hole messenger
or robber would have to break the
seals or cut the string and the wire.
The fact that the safe has been
tampered With would be plainly evi.
dent to the next person handling it.
The safe, with its 5000, 900 worth of
gold, having been sealed, is hoisted
with q fall and tackle into cage
express wagon--that is, wagon with
wire sides. Anything that occurred
in the wagon would be plainly visible
to persons passing on the street, and
as the trips are made in broad day.
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