San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-11-01
COUNTING THE COIN.
the Contents OF Uncle
Sans Strong Box.
Four Men Have Been ut Work for
Two Months a Task That
Would Take an Expert
Fifty Years.

4
the treasury building four of the secre-
tary's subordinates are counting the
contents of Uncle Sans treasure vaults,
amounting to $767, rs, 216. This is al
ways done when a change occurs in the
office of treasurer of the United States.
The gentlemen now having the matter
in charge are Messrs. E. b. Daskam,
chairman; A. T. Huntington, NJ. r.
Vance and Howard Elliot. The latter
represents the new treasurer, Ellis III.
| Roberts, while the others act on the
part of the government, especially the
retiring treasurer, d. N. Morgan, who on
the completion of the count takes re-
ceipt for the funds. So correctly kept
are the books of this immense financial
institution that the least shortage is
readily discovered and must be traced.
Notwithstanding the absolute certain
ty of discovery, the temptation to steal
is too great to be resisted by some of
the employees, and only a few days ago
one of the negro lalborers assisting the
committee helped himself to a few
deprecated silver dollars, was found
out, confessed, and is now in the dis
trict Jail awaiting trial. An occasional
theft like this is the exception that
proves the rule of honesty.
The committee began it's labors on
July 1, and will probably complete the
count the latter part of this month or
early in October. The following are the
present contents of the vaults in the
United States treasurer's office:
Vault Amount, SOB, 900; de-
scription, standard silver dollars;
halves, $345, 900. Vault Amount, $4S,-
017,00O; description, standard silver
dollars. Vault Amount, $3,300,000;
description, gold coin. Vault g
Amount, S6O9,O0O; description, frac-
tional silver, $500 900; minor coin, $751;
900. Vault 3-Amount, $3,500,00O; de-
scription, national bank notes received
for redemption. Vault Amount, ST.
100000; description, mixed moneys re-
ceived daily for redemption. Vault
Amount, $27,OOO,O0O; description,
mixed moneys for daily use. Vault 7
Amount, $27O, 623, 216; description, bonds
held as security for national bank cir
culation, etc. Vault s-Amount, $780,
100000; description, held as reserve to
replace worn and mutilated notes unfit
for circulation. Total, S767, PIG.
The silver vault is the largest in the
world, being SO feet long, 81 wide and II
feet high.
The latter section of the treasury
chambers is the most interesting and is
open to the general public, who view its
interior from a dungeon-like corridor
when accompanied by a messenger of
the department, and then only through
the bars of securely locked steel door,
where a Cerebus-like conservator eyes
with seeming suspicion all visitors.
The silver is packed in small sacks,
holding $1,000 each, and weighs SO
pounds 4 ounces. 1t is counted by
weight and the least deficiency or de-
feet in the bag is sufficient cause for
rejection. Such a sack goes to the issue
division, where it is counted numeri-
cally by an expert, placed on the scales,
returned to the vault and again
weighed.
In the vaults iron latticework parti-
tons divide the space into several COM
partments. Around the outer edge and
against the iron frame the silver coin
is placed in boxes, and the central part
of each chamber is then filled with the
silver in sacks. Each of these apart
ments is secured 10y key locks, only
opened by two different keys kept by
the cashier and the vault clerk, while
the burglar-proof metal doors protect
the entrance to each vault. On these
combination time locks are used.
Some interesting figures were fur
nished by one of the employees who is
| somewhat inclined to make computa-
tons. A cubic foot contains 1854 stand
ard silver dollars; packed in sacks of
1000 each, $4,000 are required to fill
the same space. At the department
100000 of these dollars are estimated
at 30 tons, and the contents of all the
vaults, if represented by silver dollars,
putting the amount at 767 ,O0O,O 900, would
weigh 23,O1O tons. This, loaded into
| ordinary freight cars with a carrying
| capacity of 20 tons, would require for
transportation a train of 1850 cars,
that would stretch along for u dis
lance of little more than seven miles.
The experts in the issue division are
ladies, whose daily task in handling
notes means the actual counting of
eight packages of 1000 bills each, the
close scrutiny of the seal, the careful
watch of the serial numbers and in
the case of old money, the instant de-
lection of counterfeit notes. Their
hours of labor are from nine o'clock
until three, with an intermission of
half an hour for luncheon. When hur-
ried some of these experts can count