The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-10
WELL-GUARDED CASH
THE sUBTREAsURY AT NEW YORK
IS AN IMMENSE FORTRESS,
Which Cannot BE Touched by Thieves
and Capable OF Resisting the On
slaught of an Armed Mob.
Jew York letter in Boston Journal

and gaZed with jealous but adm.ring eyes
upon the white stone building OF the SUBJ
treasury, where hundreds upon hundreds Of
millions of dollars are stored all the time.
What pleasant dreams must have drifted
through the mind Of the gentleman cracks
he thought of all these things.
How nice II would be on a dark rainy night
to wallow in this ocean OF gold. silver and
bank notes, How greedily packages OF
hundred and thousand-dollar bank notes
would be stuffed into capacious pockets. He
would walk in poor man and walk out a
millionaire. Henceforth he would be one OF
the kings Of Wall street.
A happy vision: golden myth And the
gentleman craftsman knew IL. Behind
those walls. within few yards Of him.
he knew there was enough money TO make
q thousand men rich. But he also knew
that there was no power within him that
could bring those riches within touching dis
lance. Like all other cracksmen skilled in
his business, he knew something about the
defenses Of the subtreasury, and with this
knowledge he concluded that he might just
as easily try to capture the rock OF Gibral-
ter single-handed.
1t is boast OF the subtreasury people
that half q dozen OF the finest cracksmen on
earth could work undisturbed all night on
the building. with the most improved burg
lar tools known to the craft and they
Ds fha oe n they ne the nj
But the treasury officials Go not depend
upon the architectural strength Of the build
ing for defending the riches 1t holds. The
subtreasury is really great fortress. Ii
could hold at bay mob Of 10000 people,
and IL they came near enough blow them
into atoms.
A tour OF this building is an interesting
work, and when Il is over the visitor real
ICES the utter hopelessness OF any attempt
TO rob or mob it.
AN OLD BUILDING.
Fifty years ago work on the building was
commenced and not a stick OF wood was
put into the structure. To set fire TO 1t is
an impossib:lity. The architect was j..
Frazee, and the building was the pride Of
his life. He used to go down town two or
three times a week. a few years ago. and
gaze at 1t with admiration. II any one
complimented the old man upon his work
his delight was beautiful to see. 1t would
make him talk, too. and he would tell how
each of the great Corinthian columns was
laboriously drawn down Broadway behind a
dozen oxen and followed By half the popu-
lation Of the city.
The walls are OF granite. eight feet thick.
The floors are of marble and steel; the
interior walls are Of iron and stone:- the
the window cases are iron-sheathed; the
stairways are of iron and the roof Is OF
a projectile from one of the huge twelve
inch guns In the modern battle ship would
strike 1t and bound away in some other
The building was erected when the i'm
plements of warfare were very crude COM
Withstand modern assault with more sue
cess than perhaps any other building. not
excepting the treasury at washington.
criticised.
Some years ago an English writer had
this to- say about the subtreasury build build.
to have lively apprehensions that some day
outcast New York may rise in its rage and
and ease. Their bastiie of wealth is al
ways ready to resist assault by forlorn
hope It's bullet-proof doors. hand gre
matters of course. Such precautions are
common at every storehouse or riches In
the city. Not only can the safe deposit
every passage OF them can be filed at a
moments notice with scalding steam to
repel a mob"
fancy of the English writer. They do not
exist there. at least in the way described.
No mob could get near enough to the treas
ury to make water and steam OF any use.
These are the reasons: The granite roof Is
studded with armored turrets. strong
enough to Withstand a hailstorm Of bullets
OF the navy Port holes pierce the walls
OF the turrets. Some are just large enough
to hold the muzzle OF rifle, and give the
marksman space enough to draw sight
are large enough for the nose OF the Cat
lting and Maxim rapid-fire guns.
THE ARSENAL.
I'D to the third story. through numerous
walls and iron doors and up winding iron
stairways is the arsenal. An old colored
man who fought in the navy and on land
is the king of this room. He is a shrewd,
intelligent fellow. and has picked up a won
derful knowledge of firearms He follows
up the new inventions carefully. and II they
are worthy induces the officials to Introduce
them into his arsenal. In this way the de-
fensive and offensive equipments are kept
strictly up to date. He spends most OF his
45les s fa repeating ries, the one hundred
45-calibre revolvers and the rapid-fre guns.
and keeping the ammunition nicely creased.
He also inspects the hand grenades, some
of them three-pounders and others five
The old colored man is confident that the
subtreasury could stand off mob OF l0o.,
600 men, The work is a matter of perpetual
excitement to him. and he goes about IT as
If he expected fearful attack within a
quarter of an hour. II is safe to say that
arms Will be necessary those In the sub
treasury will be found to be in fine work
ing order Fifteen hundred hand grenades
are scattered about various parts or the
building, ard IL would only take one OF
them to wreck good-sized structure.
Each one OF the many narrow windows
can be used as a miniature fortress. They
all have recesses three feet deep, and are
fitted with shutters Of one-quarter inch
boiler iron. The windows are about four
feet square. large enough to- accommodate
two marksmen, who can sit In the recess
and do great execution with their rife:
through the portfolios Every other window
is fitted with bonnet attachment. BY de-
taching a pin the bonnet swings outward
so that ii extends several feet outside thu
sill. Two men can sit inside and eithel
shoot with rifles through the portfolios oil
drop hand grenades through a hole in the
bottom upon any belhgere1t individuals
who may gather below.
In the roofs above the porches on the
Wall-street and Pine-street sides of the
building are dozens Of holes about eight
inches in diameter. They look harmless
enough when you glance up at them from
the stone steps below, but each one of these
holes is the center OF a fearful arsenal
Grouped about them are boxes holding
dozens of pear-shaped grenades. Should
any riotous mob strive to ascend the gran
lite steps leading to the entrance doors, one
grenade, loaded with its five pounds OF bull
lets, dropped through one OF the holes
would scatter the assailants in little pieces
toward all points Of the compass.
INTERIOR DEFENsEs
Every precaution possible is taken to SeeI
mob at a distance from the building. but
should all these prove Intellectual and ar
entrance be gained. the real struggle would
take place inside the building. There are
scores of small rooms, each partitioned OF
from the other by walls Of stone and
steel. In event of necessity each one OF
a.. 60 1.slf l..