Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-01
GUARDING GOLD.
Bullion Is Not Watched BY Armed
Man an the iners

Men on the Liners.
One would naturally think that to
safeguard the treasure which the va
rious countries are constantly sending
each other by the big liners there
would be required the vigilance Of
many men. This, however, is not gen.
orally the case, for once the gold is
stored away in the rooms set apart for
that purpose on, the big ships and the
vessel is we'll out to sea no armed
guards are deemed necessary.
Taking the specific case Of one liner
sailing under the German flag, we find
that it has two strong rooms, the
smaller of the. two being in close
proximity to the captains office. This
one compartment has no doubt shell
tered gold enough to pay for the cost
Of the liner many times over The
walls, roof and ceiling are lined with
two inch steel plate and the room con-
tains nothing in the way Of fixtures
save shelving. The locks. Of the dou-
BILE variety, are rendered still more
secure by steel hasps covering the
keyholes and they are provided with
massive padlocks.
The strong rooms, being in the most
frequented portion Of the vessel where
persons are constantly passing them
at all hours Of the day and night,
thus receive the best protection after
all. There are two sets Of keys, one
of which is retained by the agent in
charge Of the consignment and the
other of which remains with the cap
tain.
In the case of the German vessel
mentioned there is another and larger
specie room, situated next to the pro-
vision department. This Is about
twelve feet in length by four in width.
1t frequently happens that both strong
rooms are filled to their utmost ca
pacity, and on one occasion this liner
carried some s50,O0O.OO0 in gold bull
lion, packed in small kegs bound with
steel hoops.
Gold is usually brought to vessel
whereon 1t Is to- be shipped the day
before the date of sailing and is care
fully stored away before passengers
embark. 1t arrives at the dock in or
dinary trucks, under the guard Of two
armed men.
The customary method Of getting
the gold on board is to haul the kegs
up an inclined chute to the deck by
means Of a hosting engine, but this
method is not invariably followed.
Sometimes each keg is placed in a
sling and carried on board by men de-
tailed for this service.
The receipt given by the steamship
company sets forth that so many kegs
have been received for shipment, not
for any stated amount Of gold to the
value Of so much. The kegs bear the
government seal in many instances,
and in such cases, when they have
been safely put in the strong rooms
the iron doors thereof are also seal
ed with government wax, the impress
sion being broken only when the Of
fetal on the other side comes to re-
ceive the gold. The kegs are checked
thrice-when they are taken from
the trucks, when they reach the gang
way, and when they are placed in the
strong rooms.
Although, as stated above, no arm
ed guard stands by the strong room,
two men are constantly watching the
rooms as long as the ship is in sight
of land. AS a matter of fact there is
little danger Of any one stealing gold
in transit on a ship. 1t would be ne
cessary that he should shoulder a keg
weighing some two hundred pounds
and vanish with it without being seen.
Masters of vessels declare that gold
is the safest cargo of any to handle.
The total weight of one consign-
ment Of gold shipped by the German
vessel in question amounted to some
thing like $4,000 pounds, or sixteen
tons, and the freight charges footed
up some $4,000, or, roughly speaking,
one-eighth Of per cent. Specie thus
shipped is insured at its full value
Harper's Weekly.