Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-01-17
A SECURE SAFE.
NO STRONG ROOM LIKE 1T HAS
BEEN BUILT.

The Enormous Treasury Safe Of
the New York Clearing House
Now In Process of Contraction
Is BiE Enough to Hold the ss Gold
Reserve"
The great strong room for the New
York clearing house, which is now be-
ing set up, will be, when completed
the heaviest and strongest safe in this
country, and the best if not the big.
gest in the world. 1t is capable ot
holding 21S tons OF gold, or $lOO, ,OOO,-
600 in coin. Though it is not likely
ever to hold this amount, it will al
ways contain vast sums of money.
The New York Clearing House associ-
alton gave orders to have the best sale
which money and skill could furnish,
and the steel vault which has been
built is for all practical purposes abso-
lutely impregnable. Down in the
basement of the clearing house, in
Cedar street, says the World, work
men are busy fitting together the
plates which make the sides of the
great strong box and putting the huge
doors in place. Just now the big Gel
lar is a chaotic mass of iron plates,
bars and bolts, for the strong room
will not be finished for some time.
1t has already been put together at
the factory of the manufacturers, and
was taken to pieces again in order to
get it into the basement OF the clear
ing house.
When set up the great steel room
weighs $50 tons, exclusive of the
heavy iron grille which will surround
it. The safe rests upon platform OF
steel railroad rails, which in turn rest
on brick pillars. 1t is possible to walk
around and under the safe, which is
supported by the pillars in mid.air.
This prevents any undermining and
burrowing into the safe from its under
side, while it allows at the same time
the flooding OF the foundations with
water if necessary.
The steel rails are Of the ordinary 7
pattern, each rail being bent over and
interlocked with its neighbor. A steel
band runs around the edge OF the plat
form and binds the rails tightly to-
gether. Upon this solid foundation
rests the ponderous steel room. Its
walls-top, bottom and sides-are 64
inches in thickness. The safe is oil
the same size as the platform-24 feet
81 inches wide, l6 feet s inches deep
and IL feet 6 inches high. The walls
are built of ten thicknesses of plate.
These plates vary in thickness from
to / inches, the thickest being on
the outside. Each plate is bol,ed to
its neighbor by heavy screws, and the
plates are SO arranged that they break
joints with those next them. The
outside layer is 1t inches thick, and is
secured to the others by blind screws
which do not reach the surface OF the
plate, and therefore present no poin,
open to attack.
Each plate is made up of five layers
three layers of steel and two of iron
These layers or sheets of metal are
placed alternately and welded and
rolled together until they become one
solid mass. The steel used is called
chrome, and is very hard-so hare
that no tool will touch it. When pu,
in combination with soft iron the re-
sulting plate is impervious to botl
drilling and hammering. The sof
iron resists the shattering blows OF {
sledge or explosions of dynamite
which would otherwise crack the hare
steel, and the hard steel resists tht
drill. To draw the temper OF steel by
means of a blOwpipe, which is the
only way to make it possible to drill
chrome steel, would take weeks. Thi.
puts the possibility Of burglary alto
gether out of the question.
In each of these partitions there j.
a." weak spot" or manhole. the exact
location OF which is known only to the
makers. This is in case Of a time-lock
getting out of order ON one of the
doors. A passage could then be Gu,
through the partition adjoining
Though called u "weak spot" it is
only weak by comparison, for at least
two inches of steel have to be Gu,
through, but this can be done without
injuring the rest OF the partition.
The space within the vault is divided
into three rooms by means Of steel
partitions three inches in thickness.
Each room contains seventy steel
closets, which will each hold $500, 600
in gold coin. There are two doors for
each room, and between the two a mar
row vestibule. The rooms are thus
within the inner skin of the vault,
protected by doors which lead into the
vestibule between the inner and outer
skin. The outer skin is also provided
with three doors, one for each room.
Small amounts of gold, S5OO,OOO or
less, will be stored temporarily in the
/ vestibule closets protected by the outer
doors. The three rooms within the
inner doors will only be opened when
big Withdrawals or deposits are made.
The outer doors are 81 inches thick,
iani the inner ones 81 inches. They