The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-05-26
WASTE OF TIME
FOR THE BURGLAR
Vaults OF Banks in the Large
Cities Are Safe From
Their Attacks.
HEY WEIGH MANY TONS
Charge of Dynimate Needed to Effect
Entrance Would Wreck the
suildins-Heavy Water
proof Doors.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Merchants
are robbed. the safes of country banks
that carry a surplus of perhaps $40, 900
or , o,G00 are often riddied by burglars.
How is it that the millions quietly re-
posing within the doors OF scores of
banks in the larger cities are never
attempted? For it is a fact that during
the last twenty-five years no attack.
successful or otherwise. has been
made on any bank vault in the United
States in cities of over 50. 1000 inhabit-
ants. Most OF the IN robberies occur
ing today take place in towns of $500
TO 1900 Inhabitants. In the larger cities.
where the reasure really is. no one
even attempts to rob a bank. Why is
this?
Money can protect money. That is
the whole secret. The country banks
depend on safes costing perhaps a few
hundred dollars; a great city bank
spends perhaps s150,00O for its burglar
and hreproof vaults. And these vaults
are proof. They are absolutely unas-
sailable. h guarding of a banks
science that a banker. having once
taken the proper precautions. lever
gives the matter a further thought.
though he has millions of dollars with
in his doors.
The ~tireproofing for a large vault
can be constructed for from $40. 900 to
SIS, 900. 1t is the burglar proof steel
lining that brings the cost of vault
construction up to the six figure mark.
Heavy Waterproof Doors.
Think of a steel door Weighing twelve
tons or a hinge alone weighing one ton.
When the door consists of ten inches of
drillproof steel plate. plate Tapped on
plate, do you wonder that even the
most daring burglar has eve attempted
it? Such a great door usually has some
four and twenty-five or three inch steel
in four directions rs soon as the door is
closed. The entire closing of the door
is absolutely water tight. The closing
has actually been tested one whole
night under water. The closing is one
of the tongue n groove" variety.
ing.
This formidable door is furnished
with a time lock that can be set for
any number of hours and hat cannot
be opened until the hour for which it is
set arrives. The door is furnished with
perhaps three duplicate timers, so that
if two should fail to work there would
still be one to open the door.
Inside the great door a massive graf
ing. called the day CRATE, gives access
to the vault. To this chamber, which.
with its four-inch walls OF drillproof
steel, is worthy of Vulcan himself, only
the active officials of the bank have en-
trance. Here are the %tellers' safes,
where they keep the money for the
days business.
Piles Of Gold and Notes.
Here are bags of gold. s., 900 In each,
piled up like so many bags of buttons,
each bag being securely tied and sealed.
Here are packages of bills stacked up
like bricks. The ones and two in $1,000
packages and the tens and twenties in
500 packages. The bills in each of
these packages have been counted, tied
up and sealed by two persons in the
presence of each other. so that the bank
can guarantee the amounts as given on
the labels without recounting. Here,
inside the tellers' safes. are compart-
ments where the collaterial received for
loans to depositors is kept.
But this is only the outer division of
the vault chamber; beyond it is another
massive grating dividing the vault into
two rooms No single official can pene-
trate to the inner shrine, and one of
the two officials necessarily present
must be a director of the bank. Here
is the holy of holes, where repose the
reserve funds of the bank-millions of
gold and paper money. The reserve
funds are kept in safes on which locks
are timed to open every morning, so
that If necessary the bank tellers could
have the money at a moments notice.