Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-11-15
Aliseellaneuus Readias.
NEW YORK HANDLING MILLIONS
Sub. Treasury Sees the Physical Side
of the Scare.

The man in the street who ISM
hard hit by the financial troubles has
read many figures in these last few
weeks. He has wondered IL the type.
setting machines hadn't suffered while
speaking ciphers and asked, Whats
(the bank clearings
for the week ending October 26), and
Is there really so much money in the
world and where it is all at?"
The money represented by those
twelve Arabic numerals isn't all in one
place, nor in thousand places, but
there's good big lot Of 1t In the SOM
bre sub-treasury that stands downtown
among a host Of slender, ornate struc-
lures which seem to penetrate the
skies. That squat and columned build
ing grew up in seven long years "a
neighbor five times as tall went UP in
as many months), but 1t has walls that
are eight feet thick at the base and
five at the caves, and 1t has dozens OF
rifles and revolvers and two Gatling
guns and scores of cases Of ammuni-
ton; also some holes in the roof Of the
portico just over the doors so the pro-
tectors may drop bombs on the heads
of any persons who can't be repulsed
In any other way. 80
In the little desk crowded Office
first floor to the right as you enter the
building from the Wall street steps
a rotund. gray haired man reached to
the fat top desk adjoining the one. at
which he sat, picked up a tall spindle
dropped his silver trimmed spectacles
into place and held the topmost paper
on the peg beneath the light. 1t bore
nine figures-no explanatory memo
randa, not even symbol.
1.-TWO hundred and seventy million
dollars" the rotund, gray haired man
interpreted That's exactly how much
money we had on hand this morning"
II one goes down into the depths of
the building and sees a little white
sack filled with double eagles and peers
oaSS
what looks like a dozen vanloads of
the same kind Of bags, and II he closes
his fingers on a package that would
easily slide into his overcoat pocket
and which, he learns. contains 500 $1O,-
900 gold certificates-$5, 900, ,OOo-and
then sees several safes filled to capac-
n, ha l.
ize-even If his mind can't compre-
hend the amounts-what the big fig
ures that appear in the sub treasury
statements mean.
This store has been more violently
disturbed Of late than in many years.
Nearly $50,Oo0,O00' in currency and an
enormous mass of gold and silver GER
tificates came in, and the fact that the
daily balance didn't fiuctuate much
(only few millions) indicates how
hard the office force has worked and
explains why they and w. g. Marlor,
the cashier, were "all in," as one OF
the money toters said. Yet another
view was expressed by one Of the
squad Of scrubwomen who entered the
building on the heels Of the last mes
senger hurrying out with his bag of
gold.
"Shure. this bank business Is about
as hard as me own," she said. "Th'
bankers you see around here lately do
more sweatin' than do on me knees
scrubbin up the dirt they leave be-
hind. And the poor men here in tn
bank (the sub-treasury she meant)
they work harder n my OF man. He's
q hod carrier"
So the physical aspect Of these mil
lions the public has read so much
about lately is a matter of muscle to
those who are in actual contact with
the cash. Take, for instance. the COM
ing Of s1O,O0O,000 in bullion on the
steamship Lusitania. 1t sounds good
to the workingman whose savings are
too securely locked up in perfectly
solvent bank, for he has read that all
that Is needed is more cash In circula-
ton. But a million millions In gold
bars aboard a hundred ships or the
same amount piled in City Hall Park
wouldn't relieve the situation II 1t
were not for the waving of Uncle
Sans wand over 1t in the sub-treas-
ury. There the bullion or coin is pre-
sented, after it is carted from the pier.
and in an hour, If there is call for such
swift exchange, John Jones may get
piece of ia piece Of the actual coin
Just come from Europe-when he pre-
sents his check at a bank window up
town. More likely, though. he would
get some of the certificates issued
against that value in gold.
AS to the gold bars, they are taken
at once to the assay office, the crowd
ed little building that adjoins the sub
treasury on the east. There their
weight and value are determined, and
when that Is done certificates are Is
sued against them up to 80 per cent
of their value. The bullion Is not
INTO lIle COlll VI lhS e'
til later-until Uncle Sam or his men
at the mints find it convenient to do
so. That stock which has been tested
and stored in the sub-treasury vault
is las good as gold" so there's no hur-
ry about converting it into eagles since
the certificates are flying around.
Now and then in the recent series
of runs on banks attention was called
to the actual physical transfer of the
cash which some depositors demand
ed. On one occasion an automobile
CARRYING several bags Of gold to
bank in Brownsville broke down near
an East River ferry entrance and a
crowd Of tenement dwellers that gath
cred about the treasure car had to be
held back by big squad of policemen
Again, a messenger boy skipped for
few hours with several thousand dol
lars In bills which he had drawn for
his employer. But the general public
even the close readers Of the newspa-
pers. did not know the circumstances
of the transfer Of an infinitesimal pro-