The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-10-07
UNCLE SAM S Big VAULT is.
Where Money Is Kept In the
Treasury Department.
REPAIRING THE STRONG BOXES.


Cola of the Government-safes Are
Not UP TO Date, but weight of Coin
Protect. 1t From Being stolen In
Large Amounts.
ieUncle Sans treasure boxes are un-
sdefgoing some important alterations.
lsays the Washington Post. They are
mot at all up to date in the mode OF
their construction nor burglar proof by
lany means, and 1t might be good
thing il they were torn out altogether
land replaced with vaults of the proper
kind, such as safe deposit companies
have nowadays. But that would cost
great deal of money-perhaps as
imuch as 1.O0O,O00-and the govern
Iment would prefer to avoid such an
Expenditure.
Away back in 1892 this question was
'agitated, and congress went so far as
ito appoint a special committee, with an
appropriation of $1,000, TO make an ex-
animation of the vaults in the treasury
and report on their condition. The re-
port was decidedly unfayorable, con-
'demning the arrangements as practi-
.cally obsolete, but nothing was at
tempted in the way of substantial i'm
provements. 1t was in the same year
that an expert came on from New
York and, at the request of the treas
urer, with only a few ordinary tools
of the kind used in safe repairing, open
ed one of the big strong rooms in few
minutes.
Seventy-five thousand dollars have
been appropriated for the present alter
ations, which consist in part of new
vestibule and strong doors for the
great silver storage vault. This vault
cost $4,000 originally and extends un-
der the terrace at the south end of the
treasury building. 1t contains mighty
;box of steel latticework 50 feet long,
81 feet wide and II feet high. filled
ehock full of silver dollars. Visitors
are permitted to walk around the mass
of treasure, following a narrow pas
sage which runs between the sides OF
the box and the steel walls Of the
vault.
This latticework receptacle holds
l$101 100000 in silver. which is packed
in wooden boxes, two bags of standard
dollars to a box and each box weigh
ing 120 pounds. Formerly the coin
was simply stacked up in bags, but
Notwithstanding the walls of steel
dampness rotted the bags and the mon
ey ran out of them. This made extra
trouble, requiring fresh counts, and it
is no small job to reckon over such q
gigantic sum In metal. Hence it was
decided to pack the stuff in boxes.
Each sack contains 81 900, and so long
as the treasurer's seal on it is intact
its contents do not have to be verified
on occasions when recounts are made.
The bond vault is to be enlarged
greatly, doubling its capacity, change
made necessary by the increasing num-
Der of national banks which deposit
bonds in the treasury. Many private
and state banks, taking advantage Of
the recent act of congress. are coming
in as national banks. A new and thor
,Oughly modern strong room Is to be
built for the registers Office. to hold
Cancelled paper money that is awaiting
destruction in the macerator. Mean
while the subtreasury in New York
is putting in two additional vaults, one
for gold and the other for silver, the
latter measuring Al feet in length by
% feet in width and II feet in height
Gold and silver are pouring in there
by tons daily. and there is no place to
put all of it. At the present time the
subtreasury has on hand $170OO0.O0
in gold coin and $5S.OO0.O00 in silver.
There are now 152 .OOO,O 900 silver dol
lars in the treasury at Washington.
but only $6.OS00OO in gold coin. The
E treasury never keeps much gold on
hand here, the great stock Of the yel-
low metal being held in New York and
at the mint in Philadelphia. If one
wants to see crude gold in masses. he
should visit the mint in the Quaker
City. where he will find it stacked up
in heaps Of bricks-tons on tons of it
all ready for conversion into coin. At
the present moment there is $50. 900. 900
worth of gold bullion at this mint,
with S37.000000 in gold coin, not to
mention $15O.OOO,OOO in silver bullion
and coin.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
treasury vaults compare so poorly
with the impregnable steel clad struc-
lures now used by great private con-
cerns that have valuables to protect
the government feels fairly secure AS
to the safety of it's stored wealth. The
best safeguard for coin is its weight.
Just to illustrate this point it may be
mentioned that the $152 100000 in sill
yer now held in the strong rooms of
the treasury weighs nearly 5000 tons.
A million dollars in gold coin weighs
about two tons, and it would take a
very strong man to carry off $4,000
worth of the yelllw stuff. Though a
gold brick the shape and size Of an or
dinary building brick represents $1,000,
its theft" is something astonishing.
Suggestions have been made that 1t
might be. practicable to burrow be-
meath the treasury by tunnel and thus
pillage Uncle Sans Golfers by sort of
rathole method. but even If this were
accomplished it Is difficult to imagine
how it would be practicable to remove
much of the coin.