The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-21

what shape the metal has. nor what its
value Ten millions are received as cooily
as five hundred. But one must bring al
least 800 worth to tempt them.
The first process on the way from spoons
or rings 10 bars Is the weighing In ouik
as the material comes in. This Is done Dy
two different weighers. whose results must
tally. The receipt is then prepared, stat
ing that so much material. alleged TO be
gold alleged To be silver, has been
taken in the office.
After being weighed small part OF the
metal is put into crucibles and put through
a melting process Quarter-ounce bits of
the fused metal are cut from the bars. and
these. I'm turn. cut into half a dozen
bits that assayed independently by. diff
ferent workmen- One OF these tiny rag
ments has the following history:
Into a cupel made OF bone ash the tiny,
rolled-up fragment is placed. then put into
furnace where the heat is intense. The
bone ash absorbs the alloys-supposing gold
is treated-leaving bead of pure gold and
silver at the bottom OF the cupel This Is
then boiled in nitric acid. which dissolyes
the silver, and the gold Is precipitated 20
the bottom. This Is taken out and weighed,
on balance so delicately adjusted that
the lightest breath of air affects It, and
the result compared with the weight of the
original sample. In this way the proper
ton of gold and silver Is ascertained with
accuracy. Each of the half dozen assay
lists must get the same result. however, or
the whole process must be repeated.
English sovereigns are the purest metal
that the assay office has to treat and South
American ore contains, perhaps, the largest
amount of alloy. From the ordinary mine
ore averages from $l7 TO $40 an ounce.
THE REDUCTION PLANT.
After the sample assaying. the material
In bulk is sent to the reduction plant, in
the building back of the assay office. On
| the top floor of this building the melting
pots are placed. From the pots the melted
material is thrown into cold water, where
1t is broken into fragments the popcorn"
stage. A bath of dilute sulphuric acid
comes next, when the silver and copper are
dissolved and the gold precipitated to the
bottom.
| The solution is drawn off, the gold is SHOW
eed into lead-lined boxes and washed. In
| this process, as il is prodded and stirred
with wooden paddles, it resembles closely
| a great mud pie" The washing completed.
/ the metal goes to be cooled and pressed
/ into bars, the "cake' stage. And these are
stored in vaults to await a demand.
All of this most interesting process-by
| far the most interesting of all in the pro-
/ duction of gold-may be observed by any
one who takes the trouble to go down to
/ Wall street
| The owner of the metal that is put
/ through the reduction process may either
| take away the bars of gold and silver or
get an order for their equivalent in money
| on the subtreasury next door. The firms
| that ship gold abroad buy IL in bars, for it
| is easier handled, cannot be counterfeited
and lis of full weight. whereas coins are
more subject to abrasion and counterfeits
may slip in. About $15,000,000 in bars arc
| sold every year for use in the arts in
/ this city
street district two-horse truck driven by
! stout, square-shouldered man. with an
| other keen-eyed small man beside him, and
having two three clerks swinging their
feet from the rear end. Thrown carelessly
| on the truck are, perhaps, a score of small
| kegs, with some heavy bars of white metal
| loose on the bottom.
| There may be half million dollars in the
kegs, on the way TO a steamship pier, or
from one safe-deposit vault TO another, as
| the exigencies of business demand There
| may be a million in bullion going out of the
assay office vaults, but not much more
for million in gold will weigh $500
/ pounds.
But the government vaults do not hold
| all, or even a greater share. of the city's
| stored treasure. Safe-depOsit vaults and
| bank vaults, now built so securely that
the builders defy anything or anybody tC
| break into them, hold untold millions. Note
the matter of the national banks alone.
AT the close of business Sept Is of this
year the statements issued by fOrty-thret
OF these institutions showed that, in specie
| and currency, they had in their vaults over
$lol, 2ooOO0. OF this huge sum the American
Exchange National Bank had more thar
100000. the Bank of New York 1906 900
| the Central National $2.046,000. Chase Ma.
tional s9.oS3,Oo0 the Chemical National So
t66,WO, the First National $1i, 1871 542, the bis
Hanover. National $S.673.00O the Nationa
Bank of Commerce $13.39 900, the Western
National sl,6100OO. the National Park $40,
$4,000 and the great National City Banl
over s26.000.000 of gold and legal lender
Half dozen or more of these banks hav,
built vaults that are pointed to as models
by the treasury officials. Far below tn,
sidewalks. unsupported by the thousand.
who rush back and forth i'm the financial
district. the gold that these hurrying thou
nd C col lfnC fIw~ -
deliberate. slow-moving and speakin,
guardians who must be quite sure of vol
before they admit you to a sight of it.
SAFE DEPOSIT VAULTS.
In one of the great safe-deposit vaults
below the sidewalk level. and lighted bril-
liantly with electricity, with cheerily fur
nished offices, are more than 1900 safe
deposit boxes, three big separate vaults
sixteen private vaults big enough to hol
half dozen men and fourteeu vaults TO
storing silver, each capable of holding 81.
100000 But all of these are filled UP, tn
demand for them continues and ney
, vault, bigger than any of the others is be
ing built, with 5000 new boxes.
Here the man with money, bonds or val
liable papers to keep may rent space rang
ing i'm value from 81 to $500 a wear Fo
, the first sum he gets thin box, secured
locked, about an inh thick and nine inche
deep and five in width. For $500 a wear n
} gets a fair-sized safe For $1,000 a wear
huge vault, with sinister arching, CRATE
entrance is furnished
: In another safe-deposit company tn
vaults are closed with doors that are no
punctured being absolutely air.tight an
impervious to liquid explosives Of all kind,
; or course, in all of these time locks ar
used and electric burglar alarms are in
stalled Besides. there are watchmen O
, duty day and night with devices for regis
tering their presence at certain posts a
certain times, and insuring eternal Wig
; lance.
In the vaults that underlie the New Yor
: clearing house the huge balances that g
from bank TO bank through that institutio
lie as safely as If they were buried deep
an uncharted sea. The clearing hous
{ vaults are, perhaps, the most modern
r construction of any in the city, and the
rank among the most extensive