The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-12-20
FIFTY MILLIONS IN
GOLD BEING MOVED
Curious Throng Crowds Wall
Street Watching Removal
Of Bank Funds.
SIGHT MOST UNUSUAL ONE
NEW HEADQUARTERS OF MA
TIoNAL CITY BANK BEAUTIFUL
NEW YORK NOTES BY PALLA-
oIUMs CORRESPONDENT.
SIGHT MOST UNUSUAL ONE
(By Fred L. Thorpe.)

(By Fred L. Thorpe.)
New York, Dec 19.--Thers was an
unusual sight this afternoon and it
will be continued tomorrow in Wall
street Fifty millions of dollars in
gold. silver ad paper currency are be-
ing carried across the street from the
old quarters of the National City bank
TO it's new home in the former United
States customs house. Wall street is
filled by a curious jam, but there is
always on hand an ample force OF blue
coats to Illustrate any attempt at a
hold up
In the remodeled customs house the
National City bank has what is per-
haps the most imposing home of any
of the financial institutions in Amer
lea. The old customs house was one
of the land marks of the financial dis
trict and when it was turned over to
the builders a year ago to be remod-
cled and four stories added the gen.
eral verdict was thta only a monstros-
ity could result. The architects were
McKim, Mead and White, Of which
firm the late Stanford White was a
member and they solved the problem
of adding four stories without chang
ing the buildings architectural char
acter and traditions. A Corinthian
colonnade was added and the utmost
simplicity was preserved, and as a
result the structure has lost nothing
of its former monumental character
Interior Wonderful.
1t is the interior of the new bank
however, which excites wonder. The
entire lower section is given over to
the purposes of banking. The ceiling
is sixty feet high and it is eighty
three feet to the top of the central
dome. The two solid bronze doors on
the Wall street portal are said to be
the largest in the world. There is
nothing in the way OF balconies or
passageways to mar the open effect
of the huge domed chamber. The
character of this interior is that of ex-
treme simplicity, and the whole color
scheme is monotone. The columns,
panels and balustrades are of very
light gray Italian stone, and the floor
is of smoothed stone slabs from
France Very little color enters into
the scheme of the room and the dome
is of dull, uncolored glass and bronze.
Vault is Massive.
The thing of greatest interest in
the bank, however, is the vault. 1t
is a massive structure of armor plate,
weighing 300 tons. The safe has ev-
cry known effective safety device fea-
ture. One of the schemes to guard
against burglary is system of steam
coils encircling the great steel box
designed to parboil any person bent
ON unlawfully getting at the banks
funds. The steam can be shot into
cral buttons scattered about the build
eral buttons scatteder about the build
ing. Should an attempt at robbery be
made during banking hours and should
every clerk be looking into the muzzle
of a six-shooter. yet an Office boy up in
the floor above could touch a button
and no human being could enter the
vault and live.
Black Sheep Weeded Out.
Announcement of the fact that Dis
,rict Attorney Jerome and his staff of
detectives have been keeping an eye
en- the curb market caused more or
less of CONSERVATION in certain shady
financial circles, but as a whole curb
brokers expressed satisfaction over the
knowledge In fact, a committee of
The most responsible of the curb deal
yrs has been trying for some months
TO more closely scrutinize securities
offered there and finally secured an
agreement among brokers that they
would buy or sell no shares in a COM
pany which had not filed information
concerning itself in the form of affi-
davits
This committee has already succeed
ed in wedding out a large number of
black sheep" securities, but it has
not been able to afford complete pro-
lection to the public. 1t is understood
it was at the request of this commit
tee that Jerome took a hand in the
game. If the reforms planned can be
carried out a good deal of the finan-
cial shennannigan which characterizes
operations on the curb will be abol-
ished
Bingham Restrained.
For future while. at least Police
Commissioner Bingham will not be so
obstreperous as he has been in the
past Even so great an autocrat is he
has made himself is not in position
10 defy with impunity a restraining or
der of the supreme court: and by a
court restraining order he is forbidden
to interfere with the affairs of the
Lieutenants' Benevolent Association.
Bingham issued set of regulations
which forbade any member or mem
bers of the force from levying an as
sessment on other members of the
force or soliciting funds from them
for any purpose without his permits
sion. This you'd have prevented the
benevolent association from carrying
on its operations without first secur-
ing the commissioners permission for
each particular assessment. The COM
missioner had assumed that he a right