The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-10
large HOLDINGS OF GOLD.
IDLY $500 100000 WORTH NOW IN
NEW YORK.

nR H0uhN > FNAN
m.,rrv-The Great Treasure Chest Of
80 Clearing House and Its Contents.
a.. coined gold Ia packed away for safe
1I In New York this summer thnn has
hsegphnon gathered here before, probably moro
ew y Al This time stored In any other city on
p Ls excepting st. Petersburg and Paris;
s :" as much as tho total output Of oil the
e,'., in rho world last year. This may seem
p"~.rcorated statement, In Wow OF the fact
ls.ho cold output Of 1897 was the largest
Ss,orv heinR equal to at least S203,000.00
p .1 "a well within the truth, since the gold
~ holdInes here now amount to between
nn0oO 900 and ~S210,000.0O0. and are proba-
nNO..rsr the larger than the smaller figure.
IISovsr-and this statement Ia still more sur-
II.inr-the worlds visible supply OF gold. es-
paE.,sd nv the officials Of the New York Assay
w., Enough now larger than ever before.
sunrrts only to a little moro than $5,00O.00
so 10Th coined and uncoined, so that, accept
ES~soOO 100000 as the measure OF New York's
pS'ont gold coin storage. IL is quite equal to
"stventy-nfth part OF all the precious yellow
metal In existence.
a.. ,scts heing gathered from the manage Of
,SO New York Clearing House. the Assistant
T...surer of the United States, In charge OF
.hs Sub. Treasury here. and the Superintendent
- ,ho Assay Oface. It would be impossible to
AZ. exact figures as to the total amount Of
.,orsd gold coin here for two reasons. First,
mare ia no way Of securing accurate reports OF
h,nk and private holdings. and. second. the
sodlnes OF the United States Sub-Treasury
and The New York Clearing House ~iuctuate
tom day TO day. The functions OF the Clear
Inc House include the storage OF surplus gold
ar all the banks belonging to the association.
nance It's vaults contain the bulk OF all
N. gold coin In the city save that
ovned by the Government. A few days
so It's storage footed up to S167,OOO.-
m with a few millions moro in pros
rect, On that same day the Sub-Treasury had
se0oO0OOO. II the amounts Of gold locked up
IN hank vaults and held by private individuals
oonld no determined and the sum added to the
,normous total, the estimate here made would
undoubtedly be found below and not above the
actual holdings.
In addition TO the vast sums represented by
Che figures quoted there was stored In the As
,ay ONCE on this day about $55. 100000 worth
Mhar gold and this added to the coin holdings
1921 900. 900 In the Clearing House and the
Hub. Treasury swells the ~gross-aside from
hank and private holdings-to $282,000.000
unouestionably there Is enough more gold in
New York ut this time to raise the total to $500
100000, or one-third more than the worlds
eutput In the year OF greatest production.
The presence at the nations commercial
centre Of so vast an accumulation OF the worlds
standard money metal. due to nc governments
efforts at concentration. Is unprecedented. and
tho situation Is not without its embarrassing
features.
Perhaps the greatest embarrassment arises
nom the lack Of adequate storage facilities at
tho Clearing House Its great strong box. or
treasure chest. was built to hold S105. 100000.
and when 1t was erected. three years ago, there
vas little thought that It's capacity would ever
be tested. But though the estimated storage
limit has long been overrun. no surplus mil
Hons are kicking around loose on the floor of
the institution. On the contrary. by crowding
the treasure chest, its capacity can be increased
are to-day stored quite as safely and guarded
as carefully as any Of the stock on hnndS
The great strong box Of the New York Clear,
In the world, and competent Judges say It is
also by all odds the best. exceeding In security
the vaults Of the SovsrnImsn at M~ashflngffo on
as much as a modern burglar-pro9i safe ex-
ceeds the iron key safes OF our grapdfathers.
n Situated II sSeat so Ss TarGe Lover Ss 3 t tas1 the SSid STiyats
e s!Bsps f q % feet eet'' fts c fiiIliHssf Is p feet e high.
StS inches thick. and composed OF layers
S,S CHROME re ar steel ipeb RIh13l t t &C each famL plate being 1g
DO Of almost diamond hardness. and all .bolted
together In such q manner as to : break Joints
The material used and the methods Of construc-
against loss by theft. for it would take the most
expert burglar. using perfect tools. more than
tWenty-fOur hours to make n hole through
either floor. top. or side. AS a matter of fact
the additional safeguards are so elaborate that
oitho treasure chest made Of Woo instead OF
ANIMATED chrome steel,
In the first place, and here is, the point in
which the Clearing House strong box eXcels all
others, it is entirely Enclosed In a large under
ground apartment 40 by 30 feet in size, and 20
% ;sf' BY SiS e%le Saich b Us g. al TR m tR Re''v WsIls o 5fS thc
treasure chest are entirely free from contact on
the top and sides, while on the bottom there is
no contact save at four points only.
These are furnished by solid masonry piers.
oct on the bedrock which forms Manhattan
Islands foundation, These piers raise the
g the level Of a narrow platform reaching quite
round the apartment. but separated by quite q
SPHcS od from The b31 Itself; BY this S1rangepeEn t
Treasure night and day actually. &c, walk undeI
Mat Will indeed II is a part Of their duty to dc
liz i u ris ! an 1nt ABSOLUTE T %eafeTaaed ssains'
robbers working from the bottom by means Of
e,tunnel, and it would. of course. be impossl.
PIE In the, circumstance for any one to break
INTO the box at any other place; In ordinary
{Ihe chest at oil, excepting at the bottom. since
II rs separated from the surrounding platform
exactly as a fcudal castle Is separated from the
Immediate territory by its moat. while the roo
S is9 SDd 1e &c Lower than the ceiling OF the in IS e,
treasure chest Is surrounded by a grating Of
erill, OF finely tempered pinch steel bars. which
Eeeach from floor to ceiling. making 1t impossi
pc Tor any one to get nearer than four or i've
ieet without unlocking the grill doors.
Entering the strong box Is a matter OF somt
Time. IL not ceremony, even TO those who arr
authorized to pass through it's doors anC
Eaze upon its yellow treasure. The doors car
Se opened only. when representatives o
Two sets Of oficials-one from the Clearing
bouse Itself and ono from the Associated
Banks, which own the Rold-are present. II
setual, practice these officials are personatec
n~owadays by Mr.. william Sherer. manager o
me Clearing House. and Mr.. Frederick ID. Tap
pan. President OF the Gallatin National Bank
who Is also Chairman Of the BANKERS ComRit
zee On Gold Storage. When II is desired eithe
WWlthdraW or put away gold. both go TO tn
spartmen In which the. strong box stands. hu
Is everything Is. guarded by time locks, the,
must Of course, do this at a certain predeter
Before the box itself can be opened they mus
unlock the sliding doors OF the grill, each ON
Slal working n separate combination. AS thes'
Doors move aside. a little drawbridRe swing