The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-15
BUSINESS or MOVING GOLD.
Capt. Kidd's Men i'm Their PaImiest
Days Never Saw It's Equal.
From the Saturday Evening Post.

From the Saturday Evening Post.
Bigger heaps Of gold than ever were
buried by Capt. Kidd, or carried by rak-
ish craft in the palmy days of the Span
ish Main, are week In and week out haul
ed around New York city, to and from
banks and steamship wharves, in COM
monplace truck. The business OF moving
the gold used in the settlement of COM
mercial balances Is always active in New
York, for the credits and debts between
the local banks, and, In wider sense be-
tween the United States and foreign coun-
tries, are daily shifting and must con-
stanty be met. OF course, a growing
share of the exchanges between banks is
made by the check system and the clear
ing house, so that after the associated
banks, by their representatives, have met
together in the morning OF each business
day and exchanged the checks on each
other taken In the previous days trans
actions, only the differences have 10 be
paid in actual money.
Thus il happens that the actual exchange
of cash Is generally less than 10 per cent.
of the total clearings, or exchanges OF
checks. For example: One day recently,
when the New York banks had the largest
clearings ever recorded-more than $685.
O00,000-all that immense sum was paid
and received by the use of only $4,000 900
of actual money. Ordinarily, this money
would have been In the form OF green
been very scarce, and clearing houses bal
ances have uniformly been paid In gold,
as are foreign balances.
When the balance of trade demands ac-
tual shipments, New York bankers OF for
eign exchange houses call in The services
of Mr.. Barley, rotund trackman well
known to everybody in Wall street He
has a monopoly of the trucking of gold
there; all the bankers know and trust
him, as they did his father for more than
forty years. Barley has a slate hanging
in a doorway near the Stock Exchange
and his trucks stand by when not busy
The bankers send clerk or messenger
for Barley when they want any carting
done. The last time 1 passed that door
the slate said: call at j. p. Morgan &
Co. S see Mr.. King" Another day IL NAV
contain one or half dozen orders from
the big houses, and thither Barley or one
or two of his men go to do their bidding
Gold in transit Is packed into small rou-
leaux, wrapped carefully in little canvas
bags. The small bags are incased In big
ger and heavier ones. The whole thing is
then put into a small keg and the inter
stices are flied with sawdust This IS TO
prevent abrasion. for gold that Is much
worn by rolling around loses considerably
in value.
Some gold stays In its wrappings for
months and years together. 1t may In that
time have iravelsd a dozen or twenty
times across the ocean, or II may have laid
untouched in bank vault or clearing house
When moved about on the trucks, IL might
be supposed that big guard of men would
be necessary 10 watch lest some agile thief
get away with one Of the litt5e kegs. But
the little kegs are their own protection; the
$4,000 they contain makes troublesome
lifting for two men, and only Sandow of
thief would have any chance TO get away
in safety.
When Barley or his European confreres
bring a consignment aboard, II is carefully
stored in the ships vault, and the purser
takes sole charge of the keys The first
officer of the vessel sees that the vault is
covered fathoms deep with the soldest
kind OF freight. II any robberies have oc-
CURED, they have never been recorded.