Evening star., 1928-08-05
BY r. S. FENDRICK.

PARIS, July 26
THE writer has just had glimpse
Of what bank buildings in the
United States may be like In
i 100 or 200 years. and 1t was so
fantastic that he almost be-
lieyes he was dreaming To protect its
81 900, ,000, 900 gold reserve, including
5000, 100000 in gold coin recently
shipped from New York, the Bank Of
France has built 200 feet down in the
earth, beneath solid rock and pool
Of water, gigantic subterranean for
tresS which covers two and half acres
under the very heart of Paris, and that
is without anything comparable in the
whole world
In case of an outbreak of civil war,
or an air or gas raid during war time, a
gong would sound through the bank
upstairs and / 500 male clerks would
rush down to this stronghold and re-
main there In perfect comfort and
security almost indefinitely,
THE fortress Is incredibly powerful
Imagine a solid rock foundation
under the Bank Of France Down 100
feet and you find the top OF big pool
formed by an underground river called
the Grange Bateliere. which flows under
Paris Nesting in this pool is an Inn
menSe chamber with 20-foot steel and
concrete top and walls. To reach this
chamber from above one must pass
through three thick steel walls, then
take an elevator down through rock
and water, and then at the bottom pass
through three more steel walls. All
this sounds like a Jules Verne adventure
at the bottom Of the sea, but 1t must
be true. for ] 500 men have been work
ing day and night for three years to
finish IL In time 10 receive the heavy
gold shipments from America. If an
enemy tries 70 tunnel in from outside
he must cut through many yards of
solid rock and then fight the water be-
fore he even touches the immense walls.
II the day ever comes when the bank
/ staff has 10 rush down t0 this fagtnegs
I In the bowels of the earth, they will be
I able to live there for weeks or even
months, entirely cut of from the city
above them There Is food and water
supply for / 500 men for three weeks
/ kept on hand all the time, although IL
may be maintained there for 80 or 100
years without being used, There are
/ dining rooms. bedrooms and bathrooms.
| There are motors run by fuel oil 10
pfoFtas tltElIAc1tJ ana pIDFiue lFtAI
air II all connections are cut off There
are secret telephone lines and secret
paseageways leading 10 the outside that
Oily two or three men know about.
There ID some sort OF armed defense
which Ii also deep secret. There are
means Of flooding the elevator shaft II
hn enemy ever tries To come down from
above, and innumerable other means
ot defense that the public only knows
vaguely about
This fortress is the fruit of our en-
perience during the World War" a
high ofiicial of the bank explained aa
We started down we lived in fear and
trembling while Paris was being bonn
baTded by German airpianes and the
Big Bertha, for the bank was the finan-
ciai nerve center Of France, and a sin~
gle shell might have knocked II 10 pieces
even penetrating 10 the vaults. There
|, was also the possibility Of the capital
! being gagsed by aerial bombs. IA single
one of which might have caused the
entire bank statf to fiee. leaving a large
: amount Of money more 0f less unpfo-
teeLed.