The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-28
MOVING 60 IONS OF GOLD.
just How the WorA Was Performed In
New YORK.


| From the New York Sun
The transfer of So, 100000 in gold
| from the vaults of the Mercantile Safe
| Deposit company in the Equitable
building to the new vaults of the clear
ing house in Cedar street, which was
begun on April 30, was completed yes
terday, and all without a mishap or
more incident than the ordinary NOV
I ing of office fixtures.
Few persons realize what such a sum
as $32,OOO,00O means when IL is all in
gold. At dol ar a pennyweight which
is about its value, 1t means 1,600, 900
ounces, or 1888 1-3 pounds, equal to
66 l-3 tons. Had the transfer been
made in freight cars. the gold would
have loaded six of the old fashioned
ones. 1t would load six of the big
double trucks, or make more than 60
wagon loads in the country. If the
gold had been transferred by men as
carriers, and divided into loads of
1873 1-3 pounds for each man, ii would
have taken 1000 men to move it, and
the procession would have been long
nough to reach from Cedar street to
Thomas street, along Broadway. past
the city hall, and three blocks beyond.
Each of the 1000 men would then have
been supporting on his back a fortune
of $50. 900. Still there wouldn't have
been much more danger of his running
away with ii than there Is of a mans
running off with a ball and chain. The
gold and the men in such a procession
would be almost equal in weight.
All of this gold is the property of the
banks which form the New York clear
ing house. This is about one-half of
the gold which these banks keep con-
stantly on hand and this part of it has
been deposited with the clearing house
in exchange for clearing house certif-
Gates. These certificates are used in
place of money in settling the balances
which arise in the course of each days
business among the banks of the assoc
citation. The certificates may be re-
deemed for the gold at any time, but
there is little chance that the gold
which has just been locked and sealed
in the clearing house vaults will be dis
turbed again for a generation except
for an occasional counting.
Before the clearing house erected its
new building in Cedar street il had no
place of its own in which to keep this
vast fortune of gold. 1t therefore was
counted, weighed and sealed in bags,
each holding $1,000, and placed in the
vaults of the Mercantile Safe Deposit
company.
When the transfer began, the bags
were taken out in the presence of
Manager Sheerer of the clearing house
and Assistant Manager William j. gill
pin ana of members of the clearing
house committee, in whose presence
they had been originally sealed, and
the seals and numbers of the bags
were checked. Bach lot of 10 bags was
locked in a strong box made of Cali
fornia redwood. and the box, contain
ing $50, 1000, was placed in one of John
Barclays one-horse trucks. which was
waiting at the Broadway entrance to
-
vaults. Twenty boxes or two tons OF
gold made a load, and this was driven
around the corner and $50 or so
down Cedar street to the entrance TO
the clearing house vault. Some of the
members of the two committees of
bankers rode with each load and a
single extra policeman was on duty in
the street.
Two million dollars was transferred
thus on April 80. on the following day
SO OOO, 900 was moved, and since then
s., DOC, 900 a day was moved, except on
Saturday and Sunday a week ago. Yes
terday the last $2,OO0.OO0 was moved.
When the boxes of gold got to the
clearing house they were put upon a
vault just as If they had been boxes
of coal. Down there the bank commit
tee followed them, for il takes some of
both committees to open the big safes
in which the gold was slowed away.
The new vault was described in the
Sun last winter. Ii is the biggest and
thickest steel strong box in the coun-
try, and is supposed 10 be the nearest.
TO burglar proof OF all in the world IL
is a great steel box supported on piers. /
so that watchmen can see all around il I
and under and over IL. and its walls are
made up Of alternate plates of undrill-
able chrome steel and unbreakable soft
u. IL. Ea~H-~ - -
safe is divided into three cOmpart-
ments. and each compartment has a 10
ton outer door and the inner doors are
nearly as heavy. These doors have sep 4
arate combinations. and no one man is .
allowed to know them both. They are 4
by triple time locks and by 4
electrical connections both within the 4
building and also running over TO the .
Mercantile Safe Deposit company's .
watch rooms.
Within each Of these safes are 20 /
steel closets, and each closet has Two