The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-14
ROMANCE OF TIE
 BANK OF ENGLAND Nearly Ruined Many Times But Still Perfectly Safe ONE MAN STOLE HEAVILY Only One Man Ever Broke Into the Bank and He Was Well Rewarded.
 Bank Is Carefully Guarded
 at All Times.
ONE MAN STOLE HEAVILY

It has ben nearly ruined on several oc- casions; it has been heset with thieves one gang robbed it of over f1OO.0oo 30 years ago-forgery and frauds have been practced upon 1t by the most ae- complished criminals in history, and yet
 safe as the Bank of England is a saying which. in spite of the institutions $ many ups and downs, is true to the let- ter
 Had 1t not been for a very smart ruse | on the part of one of the directors tho bank would have been smashed over a century ago. This is how it happened A l panic sprang up among bank note hold CTS panic that spread and spread be- fore any one was aware of what was hap pening.
 One morning, just after the bank opened, an angry and excited crowd thronged the street demanding cash for notes. There was actually double the money in notes in the hands of that mob to what there was gold in the bank, and the outlook was a bad one Gold had to be got in to pay off every claimant but that took time. So the directors sent men with notes into the crowd, whose claims they attended to first, mad paid each claim in sixpences and shillings Some men walked away with sacks of shillings over their backs, but the time gained by this method of payment saved the bank and every claim was paid
 After this the bank decided to reassure It's depositors by displaying in the bank windows and near the cashiers desks sacks overfiowing with sovereigns, but the public did not know that the sacks were full of coal with only a layer of sovereigns on top
 The man who gave the bank the most trouble was one named Charles Price. and he was given the nickname of "Old Patch' because he often wore a black patch over his right eye for no reason save as disguise. He was one of the finest engravers in the world beating even the bank engravers. He put forged notes into circulation with surprising skill and battle royal began between him and the bank
 Had he not been a master of disguises. he would have been caught long before he was, but he managed to swindle the bank out of more than e60,0O0 before he slipped Into the hands of the law in a curious manner. He used to dress in a long black cloak, which generally cov- cred the lower part of his face, and, all though he employed more than a dozen agents none had ever seen him out of his disguise
 It was one of these agents who turned upon him. Realizing that the man was ha lox i, i+ l,i and slunk into the corner of a doorway when the muffled figure drew near Then leaping upon him he tore away his dis guse and threatened to betray him to the police unless he acceded to certain preposterous terms Price refused. so his agent carried out his word, and two months later the arch criminal was con- victed and hanged.
 Only one man has succeeded in reak- ing into the bank and this happened about 30 years ago. One day the direc- tors received a letter from an anony- nous person saying he would meet any person the bank liked to appoint in the bullion rooms at midnight on a date fixed, but that the person keeping the appointment must not be armed At first 1t was thought to be a hoax, but as a precaution detectives searched the bullion vaults thoroughly and were quite satisfied that under no circum- stances could a man enter those rooms; but they waited all through the night, and beyond hearing a peculiar scraping noise which they attributed to rats, they heard and saw nothing.
 week later the bank directors were staggered at receiving a box in which lay several securities from the bank vaults, and inclosed was a note say ing that if the directors would send a man to the vaults at midnight on the same day, the writer would meet him there after having broken in from the outside.
 into the vaults with lanterns at mid night and waited Presently they heard a scraping noise and a light appeared at one end of the vaults, which van ished however, on their approach. Then mans voice, coming. 1t seemed, from right under their feet, told them to put out their own lanterns and he would appear. They did so with some trepi- dation and carrying a dark lantern a man came on the scene. He explained that he was a sewer cleaner, and had discovered disused drain which he found ran right into the bank vaults He had stolen nothing, so the bank gave him a reward, which 1t was whispered ran into thousands for his honesty.
 The most successful thief the bank ever had to deal with was Bidwell an Amer ican who arrived here with his gang in 1871. He distributed his agents all over the country, buying up genuine bills that could be manipulated, and then paid into the bank bona fide bill of Rothschild's for f45O0, saying that he was going to start making Pullman cars in England. Following this he paid in forged bills to the value of over 9102,000 and paid the amounts to himself under the name of Warren at the Continental bank. This great fraud might have gone on longer than it did had the delinquents not for gotten to put the dates on two of the bills. whereupon they were returned to Messrs. Rothschild for rectification. Then the fraud was discovered and the thieves caught just as they were starting for the continent with their spoil.
 When you enter the bank by any door four pairs of eyes watch you, though you are unaware of this fact. Situated close to the doors are hiding places in which are four guardians of the bank. You cannot see them. but they can watch you with the aid of rehecting mirrors in which they can see your entrance and exit, and every movement from the time you enter the portals of wealth to the 1--~ 4I-