The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-26
Armour Packing Co
SAVANNAH. CA
UNDER CLOSEST GUARD.
How Government Bonds Are Sent Abroad
for Sale.

Fabulous Fortunes Intrusted to the
Care of Faithful Treasury Messengers
When the United States Are Borrow
ing Money-Robbery Nearly Impos-
sible.
From the st. Louis Globe Democrat.
II. as seems not unlikely. the treasury
makes vet another issue Of $4,000. 900
worth of bonds, some Of them may be sent
across the ocean for sale in Europe From
1871 to 1881 hundreds OF millions of dollars
worth of such securities, both coupon and
! registered, We're transmitted to London
for negotiation. They were carried by
trusted messengers, the sums represented
being often in negotiable paper and
amounting to gigantic fortunes Tn
doubtedly the same method of Transport
tation will be adopted in case any fresh
issue is to be disposed of in Europe.
An enterprise of this description is al
ways kept very secret by the government
authorities, because it is not deemed wise
to invite attention to the contemplated
transportation of immense values over
land and water The custom has always
been to issue private orders to the men
who are to act as messengers. OF the
latter there are usually three or four and
it goes without saying that they are picked
out for exceptional trustworthiness. Not
the keenest-nosed newspaper man gets
scent of the affair. At night covered
wagon is backed up to a side door of the
treasury, and upon it are loaded several
small iron safes containing the bonds
The messengers get into the wagon with
the safes. Each of them has a big revolt
yer strapped to his waist. They are driven
to the railway station, where they get
aboard mail car with the safes. They sit
on the safes all night while en- route to
New York, with pistols ready, in case of
an emergency. To hold up the train would
be likely to prove a serious business for
any robbers who might attempt such an
enterprise On reaching New York the
! messengers are met by officials from the
| sub-treasury, the safes are conveyed to
the sub-treasury, and are kept there until
the time arrives for the sailing of the
| steamer on which they are to go.
The safes are hauled to the steamer in
a wagon, under the same guard, and are
put in the specie vault in the hold of the
ship. Every great passenger vessel now
adays has a steel-clad strongroom, like
a banks, for carrying gold and other val
uables. Hundreds of millions OF dollars
in gold are shipped across the Atlantic
to and fro every twelvemonth The bonds
being locked up, the messengers are re-
| lieVed from care for the time being-that
is to say, until the steamer reaches
| Queenstown. There the vault is opened
| for the purpose of getting the mail which
is kent in the strong-room The messen-
! ri the mail has hpep
| taken out and the vault is locked up
| again. They have no further duties to
perform until the ship arrives at Liver
pool.
From 1871 to 1881 many shipments Of
! bonds were made in this fashion and never
a penny was lost. Millions worth OF me-
gotiabIe securities might have been stolen
but the theft could only have been accom-
plished by three men cOnspiring together
Each safe employed for the purpose had
always three locks. Each of three mes
/ eengers knew only the combination for
/ one lock. All three combinations We're IN
possession of the United States treasury
| officials at the agency in London. In Sil
/ the treasury established an agency IN
| that city for the purpose Of negotiating
| bonds 1t was located in the Rothscnlld
| hank The last business done through IT,
/ i'm 1881 was the exchange OF new 312 per
! cent bonds for other bonds which had
already become payable. They were sent
| abroad in the manner already described,
and. after they had been disposed of, the
| office was closed. On reaching Liverpool
| the treasury messengers were met by
man from the agency in London. Together
thew took the safes by rail to the metro
| nolis hiring a compartment Of a passenger
! car for the purpose. If the steamer got
in too late TO accomplish the journey 10
! Tondon and get to the Rothschild bank
! before that institution closed they would
I re- 70 N,a hotel
| Liverpool, take them to room, ana re-
| main with them all night taking turns
81 xeepinar watch. On arriving in Lon
dom the safes were carried TO the bank
and put into vault there.
II seems queer that Uncle Sam, at peace
with all the world, should have to borrow
s1o0 0C0 900 in a single year to help pay run
/ ming expenses. Such a sum is beyond the
Dover of the human mind to grasp. ore
! hundred millions Of dollars IN gold Ihat
amount of the yellow metal weighs wv
! TONS Take 900 worth of $40 gold
pieces and stack them up in one pile like
Doxer chips Truly they would make
/ Drettv tall column How tall, do you sup
/ nose? As tall as the Washington monu-
I nent? That giant obelisk is $50 feet high.
( The stack of gold pieces would be taller
than that The Eifel tower in Paris is
the highest structure in the world-l0O
feet. Yet this imaginary pile Of yellow
coins would considerably surpass it. For
a comparison, then, one must look around
/ for some natural elevation-a mountain,
saw. of small size. Vesuvius, the volcano
! of Males. is three-quarters Of a mile high.
! Vet the stack of gold pieces is higher.
but why not take big mOuntain-for ex-
annie Mount St. Elias, which, until re-
Gently, had been supposed to be the tallest
neal< in North America Though tower
/ ing to a hight of three and one-Guarter
miles it is not SO lofty as the pile Of coins
representing 500 100000
The highest mountain in South America
| is the active volcano Aconeagua, in Chile