The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-29
THE new TREASURY VAULT
1t Is Completed and Ready for the
Storage of Money.

The Receptacle BHiIt of Steel, Tween
ty Feet Square by Twelve Feet
High-ItS Construction Means Iuch
To the hanks of the Country-
The new TauIt for the storage of money
which has been under construction in the
Treasury Building for the PAST three
months was finished Saturday The last
steel plate and the last brick were pat in
place, completing the work The sauIt is
in the northern wing Of the Treasury
Building. and exactly over The site Of the
old State Department. Building It is
twenty feet square, ana its steel walls
rise twelve feet in height 1t viii be used
by the issue division Of the Department,
of which Watson Y. EIdridge has been
the chief for the past thirty years
The vault was placed where formerly
had been the office Of The clerks Of the
division, two windows having been closed
for the purpose. AND a large door enter
ing from the corridor having been bricked
up to make it as secure as possible
The only method q entering the new
vault VIII be through the old one just be
yond. The old vault has been in use for
more than thirty years. and IS now lit
/ orally gorged with money The old vault
recently contained Si35 9oG.000 in bank
notes They were piled on a rough stand
in the centre. and in cases rising to the
Steel covered ceiling, so that it was i'm
possible for two men 10 pass each other
! in moving about inside A gallery four
/ feet from the floor Of the vault has made
| it possible to reach the packages Of
money stored near the ceiling
! The old vault long ago became too small
/ for the needs Of the issue division, and
/ the chief has been Obliged to borrow
/ vault from the Treasurer OF the United
/ States, who complains that the capacity
J Of his vaults is sorely taxed by the de-
mands upon them
! II is difficult, if not well-nign impossi-
+ bic. to locate the vaults from outside
/ the building Although solid masonry
/ and sheets Of steel protect them on the
/ street side false windows have been al
| lowed to remain, and between the glass
on the inside and the walls of the vault
proper hang window curtains of the
! same shade as those IN other windows
/ These windows are ,s-irty feet from the
/ level of the street in front Of the Treas
/ ury Department Building The curtains
! IF the old vault Windows have sbeeen i'm
prisoned in this manner for the period
of ihirty-four years
In Ihe. new vauIE there is a perfect ar
rangement of steel pigeonholes, in
| which the packages OF bank notes or
| regulation size will easily fit The new
! vault will be turned over 10 Messrs-
!-Davenport and Briggs. sthe vault guards,
who for years have guarded the Govern
mont notes which the OLD vault contains
Neither of the men is permitted or able
to enter the vault without the other No
one else is allowed TO enter without both
I being present During the thirty years in
which Mr. EIdridge has been in charge
/ Of the issue division not a note has been
stolen OF mispiTCed. IN that period about
s.. go $4,000 has passed in and out Of the
/ doors Of the vault Before his igUUubency
/ q co!ored messenger named SchureTnann
/ secured a-.package containing $1,000,
/ which he had been ordered 10 carry 10
| another division, in 1859, and walked of
with 1T He was captured later and most
Of the money recovered.
About twice a year ali the money in the
vaults of the division is counted- FIT
teen xpert counters. all women, are en-
pIoyed at the work They are selected
for their EXPERIENCES from the different di-
visions CT the department. and they do
not know Of the duty to which they viii
/ be assigned ten minutes before being or
dered to 20 to work. II requires three
weeks for the fifteen Counters, making
seven hours a day, to count the money
in the vaults. There are approximately
400 national banks IN the country, and
a supply of money IS Kept On hand for
every one Of them
Tt is the intention Of the Government
after the new Vault has been entireIs
completed to greatly INCREASE the supply
Of bank notes on hand An order TO thl:
effect has been. sent TO the Bureau o.
Engraving and Printing which is nov
also charging its capacity In times whel
money IS scarce the demands on the ISSUE
= division Of the Treasury Department art
| great Under normal conditions the di
vision serds cut supplies Of .notas 10 20
banks each day. In 1875 during the panic
there was sudden demand on the di
vision for si00)J605 in notes, but as ther,
was not mere than $4,000 on hand tn,
banks had to wait from thirty 10 sixty
, | days This caused a great hardship upoI
| the banks interested. and the department
has tried TO obviate a reoccurrence Of
similar condition since. None Of the bank
can get the notes in lots Of less thar
| 500 and the shipments average from
, 5000 10 z5oe01 for each bank
3 The redemption division rece:Te5 tn
old notes Of banks. which must be re
deemed by the Government as soon a.
= / they show the wear and tear of muci
handling. The redemption division keep
these WORKOUT notes on hanc. sorting
them out until it has at least S509 70
: each of the banks, and then it orders tn
issue division to issue n,rv notes. Tn
old notes are destroyed by the ''destruc
tioa committee" which IS one of tn
; standing features of the department.
The. old notes are macerated- and the1
ID sold 10 souvenir companies. who shap
the pulp and fragments Of notes int
= designs showing the outlines OF the Capt.
= toll the Washington Monument, I'll
= Father of His Country. etc. and sci
them 10 visitors and tourists and souvent
lIcnds-
: AN AMERICAN GIRL HoNoRED