Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 February 1901 — A FAMOUS STRONG BOX. [ARTICLE]

A FAMOUS STRONG BOX.

That of the Clearing lions? the Strongest in the World. At the clearing house hi New York, where more than $1,000,000 in gold coin is always on hand, they take no chances with such primitive treasure chests as the government uses in the Philadelphia mint, says a correspondent of the Philadelphia Press. The clearing house strong Imix is the only one of its kind in tin* world, ami experts say it is the best. Even the Bank of England cannot show anything like it. Situated somewhat lower than the sidewalk, the vault is about as large as a good-sized diningroom, having a frontage of 25 feet and a depth of 20 feet. It is 12 feet high. The floor rests on a platform of steel rails. Like the sides and the top, it is six and a quarter inches thick, of chrome steel plates tempered to almost diamond hardness. The compartment is brilliantly lighted at all times, and the treasure chest is free from contact with the top and sides. With the floor there is contact at four points only. This is furnished by solid masonry piers built on bedrock. These piers raise the great chest six feet six itichex from the floor to the level of a narrow platform reaching all around the apartment, but separated by quite a space from the box itself, l lie watchmen who guard the treasure chest day and night may walk under it at will. This makes robbery by tunneling quite out of the question. An additional safeguard is furnished by a grating, or grill, of two-inch steel bars, which reach from floor to ceiling, makj ing it impossible for anybody to get 1 within four or five feet of the chest 1 without unlocking the doors of tiie ■ grill. The strong box can be oponeiLonly in the presence of two sets of officials, one from tli<‘ clearing house and one from the associated banks which own the gold. Each official uses a separate < oinbination both on lhe grating doors and the chest. After the folding doors, weighing ten tons, have been mnnlpulated there are several small steel chests to be unlocked before the gold is accessible. The machinery of this treasure chest is ns delicate as a watch, and is one of the finest pieces of mechanism of its kind in the world.