The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-10-07

Treasury. It was a good many years
ago when Gilfiliian had charge of the
vaults. The trouble was as TO tho
ash room, where the vault in which
the ready none is kept refused TO
| open. The vault was set with a time
lock and the usual houf-Xas $50 a
m. On this occasion something SEEM
| I'd to be wrong with the mechanism.
The steel doors remained closed.
| Nin O'Clock arrived and still the
money was locked up. Men came 10
h ~tellerS' windows and there WAS
no money to pay them. Then experts
were hurriedlv sent for. They got
out their tools and prepared to open
the vault, but before they could do
SO the door opened of its own &C
cord. BY accident the lock had been
set for $50 instead of $50 as usual
But am getting away from Uncle
Sans catacombs. l want to tell You
Iabout this five hundred million dol
lars in bank notes which Uncle Sam
has ready in case of a panic. II is
now several years since they were
stored away and when they were made
a brand-new vault was made for
them. This is nothing like the big
silver vault, which / have described.
1t is more like a safety deposit es-
tabiishment. 1t is a two-story struc-
ture furnished with steel racks. The
interior walls are of Harvey-iZed
the mare walls Of masonry and
cement more than two feet in thick
ness. Between the and the
she'll of steel is a mat Of closely woven
steel wires. each of which is charged
with electricity, 50 that if one of
them should be touched with an awl
or a bit or a dynamite pump an alarm
would 90 off in q ma RI Of the hnjl1-
ing nearby where the Watchmen are
always en- guard. Connected with
tliiS electrical apparatus is a blzGer
Which goes off every quarter Of an
hrur inside the vault. If the buyer
does not work it is known outside and
the Waterman Wou be notified.
The door to his vault weights 3
; ton more than the one which opens
5 the silver vault and IT has four com
binatiOns instead Of two. Their are
. two men who know two of the COM
0 binatiOns and two others WIN know
4 the either two, SO to open the vaui IT
1 any time at least two persons must
be present. The door mas also .
. tic,u lock. and according % schedule
it must not be opened before S45
every morning and must be closed =.
r 5 every night.
: But how about the money in the
vault. It is all there-I car tell you
and the whole $500, GOO, 900 can b4
issued upon a moments notice. Wher
= h bill making it was passed
think it was in 1998-it was require,
" that the notes be ready for circula.
9 ton within thirty days. 1t was there
= fore a rush job. The printing had t,
: be carefully done, but they started
; by turning out something like 81, 900.
900 a day. A week later they wer,
- turning out 81, 600, 600 a day and tn,
speed increased up to the time tina
the job vas completed. The COS O
:, making the five hundred million
was $3.50 600, and it required SIS.
0O0,0 o0 sheets. four notes to tn
sheet, to print the whole issue. Sever
% million sheets contained three note
- of $40 n one note of $40 each, am
st there were 100000 sheets devote
IS to 50 notes. There were 400, 60
"a sheets. which contained notes of IS
n and 500, and altogether they hav
N made up the $500. 00O, 900.
~ have shown you how our Sill,
IN 100000 in silver in the big vaul
SIS weighs less h a 5000 tons. l al
{ told that h whole amount of tn
SooO,O0O 900 in paper weighs jus
fe about 100 tons, a thousand sheets o
which the four bills are printe
We Weighing exactly twelve pounds. Tt
s. value Of the weights is, of course.
M matter Of the denomination. a $40
d. 700 bill weigh no more thar a 81 bill
to ana the receipts which Treasure
a burke gave for almost a billion an
r a half is no heavier.
nd FRANK G.. CARPENTER.
n