The Florence tribune., 1898-07-02
COUNTING THE COIN.
Examining the Contents of Uncle
 Sam's Strong Box.
Four Men Have Deen at Work for Two Months A Task That Would Take an Expert
 Fifty Years.

taryS SubordinateS are counting the contents of Uncle Sam's treasure vaults, amounting to S7G7, ,7s2,216. This is al- ways done when a change occurs in the office of treasurer of the United States. 1 The gentlemen now having the matter ! h charge are Messrs. F.. E. Daskagn, chairman; 4. T. Huntington. NJ. R Vance and Howard Elliot The latter represents the new treasurer. Ellis II 1 Roberts, while the others act on the part of the government, especially tae 1 retiring treasurer, D. Y. Morgan, who on the completion of the count takes al re oeipt for the funds. So correctly kept are the books of this immense financial institution that the least shortage is readily discovered and must be trac/l. 1 Notwithstanding the absolute certain ty of discovery, the temptation to steal is too great to be resisted by some of the employees, and only few days ago one of the negro laIborers assisting the committee helped himself to a few depreciated silver dollars, was found out, confessed, and is now in the dis .rict jail awaiting trial. An occasional | theft like this is the exception that l proves the rule.of honesty.
 The committee began its 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 1--Amount. s103, ,O0O; de- scription, standard silver dollars; halves, s345,ooO Vault 2-Amount, s4s,- o17,oo0; description, standard silver dollars. Vault 2-Amount, s3,3OO, 900; | description, gold coin- Vault 2- Amount, S609,0O0; description, frac- tional silver, S522, 900; minor coin, ss7,- 90o. Vault 3-Amount, S3,5o0,O 900; de- | scription, national bank notes received | for redemption. Vault 4-Amount, $1,- eo0,C0O; description, mixed moneys re- eeived daily for redemption. Vault 6 Amount, s2700o,000; description, mixed moneys for daily use. Vault 7- Amount. .s270, ,s23 PIG; description, bonds | held as security for national bank cir | culatioa, etc Vault 8-Anount, s710, l e00,00g; description, held as reserve 10 replage worn and Inu0iated notes unfit l for circulation. Total, S767 BIC.
 The silver vault is the largest in the world being 50 feet long. 51 widen F feet high.
 The latter section of the treasury chambers is the most interesting and is open to the general public, who view it's | ;r4a,,or fr0ro o dupOoon-lslya nov--;dor when accompanied by messenger of 1 inc department, and then only through the bars of Q securely locked steel door, 1 where a Cerebus-like eonservator eyes with seeming suspicion all visitors.
 The silver is packed in small sacks, holding s1,000 each, and weighs 50 | pounds ounces. It is counted by weight and the least deficiency or de feet in the bag is sufficient cause for rejection. Such sack goes to the issue division, where it is counted numeri- eally by an expert, placed on the scales. returned to the vault and again weighed.
 In the vaults inon latticework parti- tions divide the space into several com partments. Around the outer edge and aguinst 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 ioy 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- lions. A cubic footcontains 4,6s4 stand ard silver dollars; packed in sacks of 1000 each, s4,1O0 are required to fill the same space. At the department 1,00o,000 Of these dollars are estimated at 30 tons, and the contents of all the vaults, if represented by silver dollars, l pnttingthe amount at 787, ,o00, 900, would weigh 23,0t0 tons This, loaded into ordinary freight cars with carrying capacity of % tons, would require for tr,.l.sISor tation tram of l,l50 cars, that would stretch along for a dis tance 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 4,00O 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 10000 notes in a day.
 An expert counting at the rate of 40,' GOO every working day would be en- gagged for more than 52 years and ( months counting the above sum in dol. lar bills.
 Notes in the issue division, after pass ing through the hands of the counters are packed in bundles of 1 1000 each and weigh Il pounds. When enveloped 1T !. a manilla paper wrapper they measure 71s inches by inches by 6Ha inches. The 767,ooo,oOO if in one dollar notes lwould weigh 4,2181s tons.