The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-06-11
MILLIONS MOVED
BY BANK RUNNERS
Police on Guard While First
National Transfers Fortune
to Its New Home.
CARRIED 100000 IN GOLD
Twenty Million in Securities Sent
to Big Vault While Officers
Watched.
CARRIED 100000 IN GOLD

Under the guarding eyes of half n
dozen uniformed policemen. two head
quarters detectives and several watch
men. s7Oo.O00 in gold and bank notes and
approximately $4,000. 900 In securities
were transferred across Main Street.
at Ninth. on the shoulders of bank
messengers last night about Z o'clock,
from the old home of the First Ma
tional Bank into the fireproof. burglar
rroof vaults in the First National Bank
Building. The moving Of the vast for
tune was accomplished without a hint
of trouble. although ample precautions
had been taken to guard against the
most daring bandits.
While II was no secret that the con-
tents Of the vaults We're to be trans
ferred yesterday, the bank officials
were at great pains TO conceal the hour
of removal, AS n result. there was no
crowd of curious loungers to watch
the procedure and hamper the opera
ton of the officials.
Money CloSeIy t:unrtled.
The sight OF so many police uniforms
around the corner was enough to tell
paSsersby that the money was about
to be moved. and many remained to
sec the strange procession make one
trip. Detective -Sergeants Atkinson and
Smith were located at the door of the
stationed on the four corners OF the
street and in the doorway OF the new
building, while the banks watchmcn
guarded the line bearing the gold
The transfer was accomplished with
in thirty minutes 1t required six
trips of the squad of twenty bank run
ners to shift the entire consignment
Tellers IN the vaults of the old building
placed the bags of gold coin and boxes
of bank notes in the hands OF the mes
sengers as they filed by In line. keep
ing strict tab on each package and
the amount of currency within: then
the runners were lined up under the
eye OF other bank officials and escorted
across the street into the now vaults,
where they were relieved of their pre-
cious burdens and the bags carefully
checked up
The s2O,o0O,OO0 Of securities moved
yesterday represents only the collate-
raj held by the bank itself and does
not include the contents Of the hun
dreds of private safe deposit boxes In
the old vaults. There is no way OF
estimating the wealth stored in these,
as the bank officials themselves are
ignorant of the contents. The riches
in the safe deposit boxes will be moved
at the convenience of tho owners.
Formally opens To-day.
The First National Bank will form
morning in Its magnificent new bank
ing rooms. For several days all the
furniture has been IN place. and yester-
day the clerks began the job OF moving
the records and equipment OF the
counting house Immediately upon the
closing OF the doors at o'clock. BY
O'Clock everything except the adding
machines, weighty apparatus and
money had been shifted across the
street. Before the force left last night
the bank was ready 10 do business in
the skyscraper.
Since Monday morning. when the new
banking rooms OF this financial instit-
tuition were first opened for inspection
by the public, there has been n con-
tinuai' stream of visitors trooping
through the palatial building. nosing
into odd corners. feeling the marble
and mahogany and gasping at the mas
siveness of the steel vaults. Bank
officials have been present to explain
the operation OF modern equipment and
CONTINUED on Ninth Page.)