The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-10-12
A VAST TRANSACTION
Over a Billion Dollar Trans.
feG atuthe National
Treasury.

u half had been spent in counting Il.
Charles H. Treat Of New York, treas
urer Of the United states, RECENTLY be.
came the central HEure in the biggest
financial transaction in the history OF
The world, says a Washington CORE
spondent 81 the New York Trihune.
No sum apprOximnting this amount
has ever before changed hands IN a
single transaction. It II fourth lar
ger than The entire amount or the
Franco PrussiaD war indemnity, and
that was paid in number Of Install
Dents extending over considerable
period. u Is nearly ten times as large
ss the indemnity China paid 10 japan
after the Chlno-Japanese war and
twelve times as large as the combined
price paid for the Philippine Islands
and the Panama canal.
In fact, all other financial trausae-
tions in the history Of the world are
dwarfcd into insigniflcance by com.
parison with the stupendous sum
whic', Treasurer Roberts turned over
to Treasurer Treat. The other after
noon, when Treasurer Treat affixed his
signature to the slip Of paper which
recorded the transfer Of Uncle Sans
resources. it meant that the whole sum
In cash. bills, coin or available securi.
ties came into his immediate posses.
sion and control
The money is all stored in the big
vaults of the treasury building in
Washington. There are fourteen heavi-
ly barred safes, In which bags of gold
and silver and packages of greenbacks
are piled Besides this there is large
quantity Of convertible bOuds aud Sc
curities In the words OF one 81 the
treasury officials. the whole represents
Uncle Sans pin money. Il Is the
amount he keeps on hand against a
r.inv day.
The law iequires that count OF all
the money IN the vaults Of the United
States treasury shall take place when
a new treasurer comes into office. Mr..
Treat who nomlnally succeeded Ellis
II. Roberts IN office on July /. was not
authoritatively the keeper OF the cash
in these vaults until Il had been shown
officially TO the satisfaction Of the sec
retary Of the treasury that all the mon
ey which Mr. Roberts reported to be
on hand on the day Of his resignation
was actually there. On July / force
of men and women was put To work
counting the store OF money, piece by
piece First the supply Of greeubacks.
$685., ,3j2 500, was counted over This
was done by expert women counters.
The same was done with the securi-
ties and bonds. Then men were put
at work in the underground vaults
weighing the sacks Of gold and silver
coins. 1t took sixty y-scven aud one
quarter days 10 complete the opera
tiun. Not cents variation in the
amount reported on hnnd by ex-Treas-
urer Roberts was discovered.
The bond which Mr.. Treat is Obliged
TO give for the privilege OF looking
after this vast sum is S1J0,O00 Be
cause of the satisfactory count ex-
Treasurer Roberts is now relieved OF
responsibility for the money OF which
he had charge. aud the bond OF Treas
urer Treat has been accepted by Sc1e-
retary Shaw
Eight years ago when cxTreasurer
Roberts gave TO d. n Morgan. his pre-
decessor, % receipt for the money taken
over by him, the total amount as
shown 10y the receipt, The original OF
which has been framed ANA adons the
outer wall Of the treasurcr's office, was
S70G025. 1917 -. That the wealth OF
the UnHcd States has grown enormous
~ since then is strikingly Illustrated
by the Gg1rcs given IN the new receipt
There IS an increase OF more than ST.
2500c0000 This incrcasc IS duo al.
most entirely to the larger amount Of
securities and bonds for national banks
now held Ia trust and 20 the larger re-
serve fund Of paper currency. When
Mr. Roberts took charge on July /.
1897, the amount Of bonds and secuii-
ties held IN trust was $500 800,
4j1.S9 2-l3 This has climbed up 10
S593 474 ,920 90 %. Two thousand more
national banks are now in existence
than al tlat time, The currency fund
has grown correspondingly It Is now
S3S3.352. 500 as against S30l 052oo0
eight years ago
Some OF t8e biggest financial trans.
actions of ,he world are summarized
as follows
Franco prusi1n War Indemnity
France paid to Germany i've millard7 OF
francs Ei,0000n.nO as Indemnity. atipu-
lated in the treaty of Frankfort on May
10. 1871. Three years were given ir which
10 cancel tho debt. The largest single