The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-04-17
MINT ON COAST
NEARLY READY
Million Dollar Establish
ment To Be Occupied
in Few Months
i. By HENRY WOOD ~
United Press Staff Correspondent

SAN FRANCISCO, April IT.
UJP). - Within the next few
months, the federal government
expects to occupy its new 81, 000,-
600 mint here. guaranteed by its
designers and constructors to be
the most burglar-pfoof and fool
proof construction of its kind
ever erected. -,
II will replace the famous old
mint that has been one of the
cmiositics of San Francisco for
half a century. 1t will take the
center Of minting interests out of
the downtown section of the city
to the top of a rocky summit,
where ratural surroundings have
contributed with the latest archi-
tcctural genius in making the mint
safe.
The new mint will be virtually
automatically defensive against a
burglar or a raiding party. 1t is
so equipped that defenders Will
be able to call out not only the
San Francisco fire and police dc,
partmentS but the army stationed
at the Preside. g..
Besides being burglar proof 1t
is declared to he virtually mac
cessible even to a fly.
WINDOWS BULLET PROOF
Among a few of the safety
CADETS that are being installed
are bullet proof windows, thick
rs q mans thumb but with open
ings Just large enough to let ma
chine guns protrude. Then there
is the automatic tear gas machin-
cry for flooding the entire estap-
lishmcnt. ,,
Tunneling into such building
is believed to have been circum-
vented not only by the architec-
tural precautions taken III us
foundations but by the fact that
it is located on top of a hll!ocK OF
solid rock that could hardly be
"tunneled" short of constant dy-
namiting.
The vast burglar alarm system
is declared to be the most extern
sive protective measure OF Its Nhd
ever installed in mint.
There will be only two en-
frances to the building-one IN
the front and one in the roar
and each will be protected by Il
barred guard room. The bronze
doors will be operated electrlcally:
According to mint officials, II
any untoward incident should &C.
cur, the mint equipment will act
in the following manner:
Alarms will be flashed autcmat-
ically throughout the building. -,
a short-wave radio station Will
call the San Francisco police de-,
partment and mobilize the United
States troops stationed at the Pre-
sidio. t.. ~ IN
Tear gas automatically will
spout from q dozen sources.
If the attack is at night, HOOD
lights will illuminate not only the
interior but the exterior as well.
SOUND DETECTOR
INSTALLED Ill
All nine of the huge vaults VIII
be equipped with sound detectorS
so delicate that they can dlstin-
puish the difference between the
ring of a genuine coin and a couh-
terfeit. 49,,
Precautions even have been
taken to keep the air from steal
ing any of Uncle Sans gold from
the new sanctuary.
On the top floor is beng m
stalled a giant lung-or ventilatcc
ing system-which will suck all OF
the air of the entire mint into one
room. Experience in the old mint
has demonstrated that air has the
bad habit of tapping up particieS
of gold dust and carrying them
away - particles that in the long
run amount to large sums.
So, in the new mint, even the
air won't be allowed to escape
with gold. 1t will be gently con-
Quoted by the mint's lung into a
single room where the dust will
be allowed to settle. Then the
dust will be put through sitting
operation and the gold recovered
All in all. the designers and con-
tractors of the mint believe that
for a burglar to get in, or for a
particle of gold dust to get out
will be impossible.