Milford chronicle., 1906-05-04
lie RANK oF ENGLAND.
why Its OmciaIs Are Worried by the
Underground Railway.

Underground Railway.
: Officials of the Bank Of England ar
? said to be worried for the safety of tn,
} boards Of wealth stored in their strons
) boxes. The bank station Of the new
underground railway in London is
close to the vaults of the worlds great
est institution Of finance. At a recent
meeting of the bank directors it was
suggested that some brave but wicked
person might set off quantity of ex-
Elosives in the bank station, wrecking
the foundations of the stately build
ings above and sending the bars Of
bullion and the streams of gold coin
leaking out on to the station platform.
The feasibility of this scheme has been
conceded by the bank governor. 1t is
| figured, however, that the tube" as
| the underground railway is called, is
little tod deep at this point. To
reach the bullion vaults of the bank
the conspirators would have to drive a
shaft nearly hundred feet, and then
they would face mass of concrete. |
thick masonry and steel. At one time
the Bank Of England was the object |
of conspiracy. From a church tower |
close by the bank was bOmbarded. Aft
erward the authorities had the church
and its threatening tower destroyed.
Officials Of the bank do not like the
tunnellng going on in the clay beneath
their foundations. The constant pump
ing of water has affected even the
solidity of the clay, and from this cause
one of the wells which is within the
three acres comprised within the
banks precincts has dried up.
Those three acres are valued at about
S5,000000 each, and the treasures
within them are guarded in fitting
fashion. On either side of the main
entrance to the bank are two small
glass houses. In one reposes a stately
leadle. In the other are two wide
wake detectives. Other detectives ara
II and out Of the rooms, but always
At night the police
Orce is heavy one. Every evening a =,
ompact body Of men commanded by a
lieutenant, including two sergeants, I'll
wo dEummers, a bugler and thirty
rivates, marches from Wellington r
arracks to the bank. They are in full
larching order, and before they enter r
le technical limits of "the city" exer- $.
se that privilege Of the guards of fix
lg bayonets They are on duty for 8
velve hours and but for the recur- q
mt spells Of sentry-go have an easy
me.
officials OF the bank provide moder-
e refreshments for these guards. In
e guardroom, which is of regulation
lttern, are the usual shelf and blan- sc
It, sufficient accommodation for Il sol n
ers intermittent doing when on du- ton
of this kind. The officer has a suit ing
rooms at his service-the dining
ON Of paneled oak, neat bedroom cot,
d bathroom. There is hidden away T
the center of the bank one of the TAN
ost' pleasant gardens in London, v
lere an after dinner cigar may be en-
red on a summer evening to the full,
lille the roar of the great metropolis
ound has died away to inarticulate
News.
\ gentleman was standing on the
vering deck of the Cedric last sum-
r when she came alongside the dock
Liverpool. By his side was a huge ROa
lifOrnian who was making his first
ropean trip and was full Of curiosi- Sc
He looked far down from the up end' I
deck to the little train of coaches Rlec
t was waiting to carry the passen- re Tgea
S up to London and asked what ricu
Y might be. He was told that it was ers. si.
special train to London. use
Do people travel in those things @ @Tecei
e?" the big Californian said. "Why, So
an I was a boy used to play with obi o6ta
ms like that" Sai
he comparison was not inapt. As whei
as the year 1900 the average Th
ght train load in England was but certi
z tons-that is to say, the average said
n load was only equal to the capaci- On
If one of our modern freight cars. 'uF RI h
re has been some improvement
e then, and there is now a marked
lency toward heavier equipment, .r.,,
it all seems like toy equipment =
n compared with our own heavy
ls.-Scribners Magazine.
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