Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1906-03-16
ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY.
Inc GrallIylng History Of a Successful
Greai Bend Business Institution.

The Citizens National Bank OF
Great Bend has just celebrated its
fifth anniversary. During that
time this bank has. steadily forg
ed forward and is today among
the strongest banks in western
Kansas. Recently the directors
have decided to make extensive
improvements, the bank having
outgrown its present quarters. 1t
is their intention to equip a
thoroughly modern bank and
afford every convenience and i'm
provement, consistent with the
soundest banking. In making
these improvements, the one mat
ter most sought after by the direc-
tors has been the safety of the de-
positors.
To this end the bank has order
ed their vaults equipped with a de-
vice that merits the most careful
attention, and one which enables
them to offer to their patrons
equal safety with any bank in the
U. s., not even excepting the
larger city banks. In fact the
more modern of these city banks
such as the new First National
at Kansas City-are protected in
the same way. To the credit of
the Citizens Bank it can be said
that they were the first bank in
central Kansas to consider thii
matter. Electricity is working
many marvels in this day and age
and this device is a utilization of
the marvellous power of electricity
to render impreguable the vaults
of this bank. If this bank should be
surrounded with a steel fence and
an armed guard should be stationed
every ten feet, it could not be
made safer against attack, than by
the system they have ordered in
stalled.
This consists of lining the vault
throughout with a flexible steel
lining, covering every square inch
of the walls of the vault-foor,
doors, vestibule and side walls.
Around the bank building are
placed system of powerful town
fire alarm gongs. Two of these are
inside the building-over the
door; and one is on the outer wall
of the bank building. The latter
bell weighs Sc pounds. All the
goDgs are covered with double
housings of indestructbIe steel.
All wires leading to them
are steel covered. The system
operates from batteries located
within the vault and is controlled
from a switchboard, also within
the vault. The machinery ope-
rates with remorseless certainty.
Clock-work turns the currents on
at a certain hour of the night and
Oft in the morning-so the cashier
can open the vault for the days
business. Accidents are impossi-
BILE with such a system, At a given
hour of the night the vaults must
be closed and locked. If by any
accident this closing should be
neglected, the whole tremendous
alarm would be thrown into action.
Once started it would run for Is
hours unless the cashier at once
came and closed the door. And
woe to the burglar bold enough to
attempt entrance into the vault
from any direction, after once the
currents have been turned on.
Disaster would await him before
he even Scared the paint on the
vault door. Should he attempt to
prick the steel lining with a drill
as fine as your eyelash, the night
would be made hideous by the
heavy alarms; all the town of
Great Bend would know of the
matter at once. Imagine, if you
can, that every person in this city
had his eyes rigidly fixed on the
safe in this vault at all time..-
and you can have some idea of
what a thief must face, before he
nrrnA