Evening star., 1953-04-08
Drinks Arored Trucks Pick Up Nearly ST Billion Month Here

cars. FOur guarQS leIC Cne GrucK
unguarded at the Wardman Park
Hotel, while a former employe,
who knew their lunch habits,
helped himself to the cash by
means of a duplicate key, fur
nished by one of the regular
employees. The four guards were
promptly discharged for violating
a rigid company order. Thanks
to clever police work, the money
was recovered. The two men
involved in the theft received
Jail sentences.
But here, as in Boston, the
losses were fully covered by in
surance and none Of Drinks
customers suffered.
That $65,00O loss is about the
only one that Mr.. GoodSpeed
recalls over the years. "Oh,
we've had one or two minor
troubles in the past. No matter
how carefully you screen a guard,
there's a chance of a rotten apple
getting into the barrel"
Office Under Guard.
Drinks Washington Office is
at GIT Indiana avenue NV, a
small building where the trucks
drive inside. It is a typical Of
flee from the outside, but difficult
to get inside. Like it's armored
cars. it is heavily guarded.
washington is the ideal city
for our operations" said Mr..
Goodspeed. "It offers less prob
lens than big industrial cities.
That's because, for one thing, it's
a Federal city and people don't
like to monkey with the Feds.
Then there are no political
bosses or ward bosses. The po-
lice force under Chief Robert
V. Murray now is the best and
most cooperative we've had in
years. So there isn't much to
trouble U.S."
There was a time when the
armored cars handled quite a
bit of Federal business in Wash
ington but the Government has
now eliminated practically all of
its money-hauling. It is still a
good private contact, however,
in the Federal Reserve Bank
centers and branches of Gov
ernment administrations.
Drinks dates to the simple
luggage transport founded in
1859 by Perry Brink, who had
left New England to go West.
In 1900 it changed to money
carrying, an idea sprouting from
occasional currency transactions
wrapped in newspapers in
trusted to drivers for delivery.
Reward Offered to Guards.
But protection soon became a
dead-earneSt problem, and a
continuous policy since 1917,
when Mr.. Aliens brother Barton
was killed in a Chicago holdup
as he was carrying a money
satchel. The death brought
about construction of the first
armored car. It also caused
Drinks to make a standing offer
to guards of $500 for wounding
bandit and $1,000 for killing
one. That offer is still an in
centive today and the amount
OF the rewards has doubled.
Franks death has been avenged
many times since his two assas-
sins were caught and executed.
Armored cars, like trucks, have
kept pace with the ingenuity of
automotive engineering and de-
sign The modern custom built
rolling bank vault costs Sc, 900.
The firms first one, built in
1918 from used Ford, cost 5000.
Today's modern armored car
is bullet-proof, every inch of
the body. It fairly bristles with
armament-two tear-gas guns
and two Tommy guns, in addi-
ton to each guards revolver.
In addition to the armed mes
sengers who transact the busi-.
ness, there is a radio operator
to take care of two radios. One
OF these is portable for ordinary
use; the other is a two-way set
for sending or receiving.
In effect. the inside of the car
is a safety deposit vault, as care
fully protected by instruments as
any banks.