The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-03
COMPLETE COUNT
OF i. S. Cash
Total Was S3,500,000,000 or
Approximately That
Amount
ACCOUNTANTS FIND
JOB A BIG ONE
Delved Into Vaults and Handled Specie
and Securities Which Had Not Seen
Light of Day Since Taft Was In
augurateC.


WASHINGTON, Feb. ga com
plete count of the governments cash has
just been made for the first time in l.
years. The total approximatcd $4,000
100000 and includes all cash and secur-
tiles held as reserve against currency
outstanding.
The count was made by a special COM
mittee of three, assisted by eight ac-
countants and by - laborcrs who We're
used to move around the heavy sacks
of gold and silver. The men delved into
great vaults in the treasury building and
took stock of gold. silver and paper
money and securities many of which
had not seen the light of day since short
ly after William Howard Taft was in
augurated president and new treaSur-
er of the United States appointed in
1909.
The accountants in entering the
vaults passed grim-visaged guards who
day and night sit on the lid to pre-
vent any possible attempts at an unau-
thorized raid on the treasury. The
vaults themselves are supposed to be
burglar-prOOf and are of massive con-
crete and steel construction The StOr-
age sections are kept under seal and this
was the first time that some of them
had been opened in II years for when
John Burke became treasurer after
President Wilson was first inaugurated
he accepted the count of cash in the
storage sections which had not been
opened since the previous count in 1909
The accountants handled the money
of every possible denomination from the
lOwly copper to $4,000 bills. Many of
the bills, particularly those of the large
denominations, such as 81 900. were in
l. 4
against currency of smaller denOmina-
tions in circulation. Thousand dollar
bills in circulation are few and each
bank in the country is kept supplied by
the treasury with a list of them with
their numbers so that if perchance any
are extracted from the treasury illegal
ly the holder will have extreme difficulty
in realizing on them.
The count just finished was made nee
eSSary by the retirement of John Burke
as treasurer and was completed in the
remarkably short time of three weeks
through the use of electric counting ma
chimes. Loose coins passed through
these machines instead of being counted
by hand as was necessary in the Olden
days Paper currency was counted by
the piece. but stored coins and currency
were counted by the sack or package in
eases where the wrappings We're un-
broken and the seal on each intact.
The main supply of the government :
money is stored in two large vaults. but
there are a number of smaller ones in
the various divisions of the department
a. we'll as in the cash rooms where cash
payments are made by the government.
Gold coins stored in the vaults were
counted by weight. The gold is kept i'm
sacks, sealed with the treasurer's wax
seal and containing 5000 each, weigh
ing about Is pounds and seven ounces.
First one sack was weighed and then
the others were examined. If both the
seal and covering were found intact
they were weighed against the first OF
test sack and if the result was the same
were passed and counted. However. il
seal was broken or the sack torn OF
there was appreciable difference in
weight the contents were counted by the
piece.
Standard silver dollars were counted
IN the same way as the gold coin. They
are stored in sacks containing 900 and
weighing about 60 pounds Work on the
silver coin was lessened. officials said
by the governments melting 100000. OO0
silver dollars under the Pittman act for
sale to the British government to re.
ieve the silver famine in India during
the war.
Paper money is stored in paper pack.