The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1915-10-07
MONEY IN TRANSIT
How Millions Are Moved In Safety
From City to City.
STRONG ROOMS IN BIG BANKS


With Its Electric Skin, Can Defy the
Most Daring and Clever Burglar
Equipped With the Finest Tools.
Millions and billions in real cash,
sold and bills. are vague things to
most Of us. and few people have any
idea where this immensely wealthy ma
t1on keeps its real money or how 1t Is
guarded on its travels.
1t Is with the greatest reluctance that
It's owners or trustees ever move 1t:
they prefer to exchange the checks.
notes, drafts or securities that repre-
sent II. But there are times when the
real money must go, and then its jour
ney IS a very interesting thing.
Every bank and trust company is re-
CURED by the banking laws to keep a
certain amount Of money on hand. the
amount being in proportion to the size
Of the institution, and in addition the
current business Of the house requires
that so many millions more be availa-
Bile for use at the paying teller's win
dow. To safeguard these large sums
n the business of safe and vault build
ing experts, and SO far advanced Is
this science that it is practically i'm
possible for the best equipped crooks
70 extract 81 from any big bank vault.
Bank robbing these days is practiced
on small country banks or is achieved
by dishonest bankers.
The manganese steel vault, with its
electric skin, is the last word in pro-
lection. The vault designer selects a
spot in the institution. in any place
from the cellar to the roof. where the
vault can be isolated and cannot be
reached easily by tunnelers. and there
the big steel house is built. Its walls
are so thick that they will resist fire.
earthquake and heavy explosives. and
the whole is protected by an electric
skin. This is usually Of soft foil of
alloy, and If even pin is thrust
through it at any point short circuit
b made and alarm bells set ringing in
the building. in police headquarters, in
the offices of private protective agen-
cies and in the homes Of certain Off
GERS of the bank The burglar, with a
torch that would burn a hole through
the steel In few minutes or tools that
would cut out a door in an hour. has
DOT q chance, even after he has tun-
neled to the vault and overcome the
watchmen.
/ Messengers are never employed in
carrying very large amounts Of money.
1t is a familiar sight in the financial
district in New York city to see two
sturdy young men, each holding to the
handle Of heavy leather bag, with
one or more guards walking behind.
But the chances are ninety-nine in a
hundred that the bag contains not
more than a few thousands at most,
though there may be millions in bonds
or other securities
When millions in cash are taken from
the vaults picked corps of guarded
clerks check it out in steel casks OF
the kind known as express strong
boxes, and these are placed in wagons
In which the carrying compartments
are wholly Of steel screens. Each wag
on has its set of guards, usually two
on the front seat, one driving, one lock
ed in with the money and one riding
on the rear.
For transit from city to city the big
banks follow the system Of the Ma
tional City Bank of New York. which
Is the largest handler Of real money iI
this country. not even excepting the
United States mint. They utilize the
express companies. Each big company
has spent large amounts Of money IL
picking its employees. and in elaborat
ing systems for tracing stolen parcels
Every professional thief would rather
steal from police captain than stea
from an express company. as all o.
them are allied together to form {
perfect network through which thieve!
and plumber can scarcely hope to es
cape.
The money Is checked out of tn
vaults into the hands Of express com
pany employees, who cart it to thei
express cars in the railroad yards. ant
it travels to its destination in as sim
pie and transformations a manner Al
If it were SO many crates Of eggs. Tn
express company employees : neve
know what is in the strong boxes
they merely know that they have g
many Of them in given numbers to re
ceive and to deliver. and that Is al
there is to It.
An additional safeguard is the yer,
weight of any given quantity of golt
and the serial numbering of large bills
These latter are kept in the same pack
cts in which they leave the banks 1
possible, and the groups Of number
make them as individual and as easil,
identifable as one man from another
II thief extracted a million in SO,
600 bills he could not cash single on
Of Washington Star.
Magnifying Powers.
Father" said the small boy. "wha
Is a demagogueT
IA demagogue, my son, Is barke
uyhn cpv noSSfnn cpnu1 no