The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-02
WORLDS GREATEST BANK.

 Magnificent Equipment of the Bank of Ensiand-The Bidweii forgerlss-How H Clever American Gang Systematically Robbed the Big Bank Untii They Were Detected Through small Clerical Error -Msthods and Management of tho Rank. New York Evening sun.t
 In America there is no one institution which corresponds in all its functions with the Bank of England. the greatest institution of Its kind in the world, which celebrated its two hundredth birthday yesterday. Here we have our treasury and sub-treasuries and our national banks and our hints. which attend to the stroing of the federal as- sets. the printing of the paper currency and the coinage. while in the four acres of building on Threadneedle street. Lon- don. all these parts of the monetary system of England centers. It present government and management-eyen as the growth of the mammoth pile of buildings-is the product of two cen turtles.
 The Bank of England was founded on July 27 1884. Its first home was a small building fronting on Threadnee- dle street.
 Now the building covers the city block bounded by Threadneedle and Princes streets and Lothbury and Bar tholomew lanes The debt owed by the government to the bank when opened 200 years ago was s6,000,0 it is now $55,000,000, on which its 270,000 stock holders draw an Interest of 2k per cent.
 The present majestic structure is the center of 150 banks of worldwide fame. scattered about in the narrow and crooked streets. Within a half mile thereabout Is the center of the wealth of the English commercial world, az gregating in excess of ss.000. 900, GOO.
 The bank is divided into three de- partments-the national debt depart ment, the issue department and the government and the general banking department. In the last named all the functions of national treasury and an ordinary commercial bank are tram sacted.
 The privilege of going through the buildings is very difficult to secure and 1t is well worth all the trouble it costs. The sense of sombreness and immensity is only relieved by the fre- quency of guards in light colored uni forms and of impressive dignity. One of the interesting features of the issue department is the automatic arrange ment for separating light from full weight coins, by which 30000, 900 pieces are tested every year with the help of single employe.
 The counsel room, where the stock holders annually elect the. governor and deputy governor and board of di- rectors. is large hall. 79x4O feet In this room is a statue of King William, In whose reign the bank was founded.
 The bank is managed by board of twenty-four directors, a governor and a deputy governor. The chief account ant and the chief cashier reside always within the banks walls, and they or their deputies are supposed to be al ways on the premises. A guard of sol diers is also on duty every night. In the bank there are about 1900 em- ployes;' the salaries aggregate f290, ,00O and the pensions f44OO0.
 In the circulation department there are from 50,000 to 6O,OOO notes issued daily. Not one is issued twice. When a note is cancelled the signatures are immediately cut off and the mutilated note is filed for future reference. These records are a great help to trace out forgeries and thefts. :
 The question whether notes of the Bank of England should be redeemed, even though they have been stolen, was settled years ago fin the affirmative This decision was reached in a case where a theft of f20,O00 by clerk was involved. He sold the notes to a Jew In Holland.
 At first""the Jew met with refusal when he presented the notes for re- demption; but when he raised cry that the bank was insolvent the for mer decision was reconsidered. An other incident of this character was the loss of a note for $150,O00 by one of the directors. Tt. was received. at the re- demption department thirty years af- terward, and the bank paid in full After printing, the notes of the bank are cut apart by a cutter in such way as to leave three of the edges rough.
 The paper itself is of peculiar texture. It is made of pure linen rags, and is as thin as wafer and very tough. The color is a peculiar white: The printing is done with an indeiible, manufac- tured especially for the purpose.
 But with. all the greatness of the Bank of Englandit remained for an American, George Bidwell, the forger, to give the most severe shock of it's 200 years existence. The money that the Bidwells got out of the bank was large enough, but it was mere nothing to the plan which had been perfected. Success, too, would have crowned the leffots of the conspirators had they not been careless and failed to date one of their forged notes. Their forgeries of the signatures of many reputable firms had been very extensive and so perfect that they were impossible of detection, George Bidwell was the genious of the gang of operators. His confeder- atess were his brother Austin. George Macdonald and 8 young American of the name of Moves. The clew of the scheme was the knowledge of the fact that commercial paper usually bills at three months, went through the bank without any question until they sha