NATION'S
TREASURE
Mammoth
Steel Vault
That Holds
"HEN cougrcHS passed tho
tho omorgoticy currency
net last Mny authorizing
the controller of currency
to litiYc printed emergency
currency to tlio vnluo of
one-half of tho amount of
government bonds owned by the na
tional banks throughout tho country,
n condition was created and a very
serious condition which nobody real
ized bo fully as Watson W. Eldrldgo,
chief of tho division of Issues under
the currency bureau. For this vast
sum, about $400,000,000, was to be
placed In. his hands for sate keeping,
nB is all tho national bank currency.
At the time of tho passage of this
act thero was on hand In tho vaults
on tho second lloor of tho Treasury
building In Washington nbout $200,
000,000 of national banknotes, as a
"working stock." This qunntity of pa
per nionoy was nbout nil that theso
two vaults would -hold. So when tho
bureau of printing and engraving,
after sending out n C. Q. D. summons
for nil tho expert engravers in the
country to como to Washington und
aid in altering tho steol plntes, to
comply with tho new law, began to
send tho emergency currency In dray
loads to Mr. Eldrldge, that trustod
gunrdlan of tho natlon'a wealth be
gan to spend tho most uneasy nights
in all his 40 yenrs' sorvico in tho
treasury department and 20 years in
his present position.
Tho money continued to pour in,
not In thousands and hundreds ol
thousands, but In millions. It was the
most unwelcome money over unload
ed upon a man working for a salary.
New Vault Made Necessary.
When things reached a crisis an
order was given for a vault to hold
this emergency currency,- a vault
which would make- all proVIously
manufactured safes look like pocket
savings banks, for tho now structure
of steel was to bo thin shells be
tween inconceivable wealth and
thieves who were ready to break in
and steal, and the corruption of fire,
earthquakes, nnd devastation of any
other character. It must bo n, vault,
bo tho treasury - officials specified)
capable of holding 'the vnstcstsum of
money over stored In one place, five
hundred millions.
Tho order wbb given and tho safe
makers set to work. To-day tho vault
stands completed, as vitnessed by
tho accompanying illustration, tho
first which tho government has al
lowed to bo taken of this vault. There
nre stored In tho steel pigeonholes a
little more than 300,000,000 of bank
notes nnd the remaining millions aro
being Btorcd away as fast as they can
bo counted in tho big ofllces nbovo
tho level of tho street
Tho now vault, which, was built at
a cost of $45,000, is n two-story struc-
The Door to the Vault
ture, furnished with steel racks, which
closely resemble safety deposit box
racks. Tho Interior walls are of Har
voyized Bteol, half an Inch thick, and
tho-Tvholo vault Is incased in masonry
nnd cement more thnn two feet thick.
Dut beneath tho masonry and tho
shell of steel lies tho chlof protec
tion of tho vault against burglars n
mat of closely woven steel wires.
Now, each of theso wires is charged
with electricity, bo that when ond of
them is touched with an nwl or a bit
or a dynamite pump an alarm la in-
HOUSE AT
WASHINGTON
the Surplus
Wealth of
Uncle Sam
stnutly Bet off in an adjoining build
ing, where watchmen aro constantly
on guard. And to make sure that this
olcctrlcal nppnrtus Is working proper
ly there Is a "buzzer" which goes off
every 15 minutes inside tho vault. If
tho warning apparatus Is not working
properly this buzzer will bo thrown
out of commission and the watchmen
will be Immcdlntefy notified.
Cannot Tamper with Cables.
"Uut what If tho cableB connecting
tho vault with tho watchmen's room
should bo cut?" Mr. Eldrldgo was
asked. The reply was that any tam
pering with tho cable would have tho
samo effect upon tho nlnmr-wystcm as
If the vnult Itself had been nttneked.
This onormouB vnult, whose roof Is
on n level with the pavement, hns n
perfect system of ventilation by gtent
driving and suction fnns, which nro
turned on when the vault is opened,
so that the nlr is fresh nnd cool nt all
times. It Is lighted by electricity, tho
lighting plug being put In plnco only
after tho vault door is opened.
One of tho mnrvels of tho vault is
tho vnult door, n complicated mass of
gray steel weighing seven tons, but so
wonderfully balanced on ball-bearing
hinges that it can bo opened without
effort. It lias four combinations, and
no one man in tho employ of tho gov
ernment knows them. Two mon know
two of them, nnd two others tho re
maining two, so that In ordor to un
lock the money chamber at least two
persons must bo, present. Tho door
1b, of course, equipped with tho time
lock device, which Is now in uso on
nil first-class safes. Dut even cntranco
through tho. vault door sets off tho
alarm In tho watchmen's room. It Is
nocessnry, therefore, to Bupply tho
watchmen's department with a sched
ule showing at what hour the vault
will bo opened and nt what hour it
will be closed. Tho vault, according
to tho schedule, must not bo opened
beforo 8:45 In the morning, and it
must bo closed beforo five every night.
Old-Fashioned Elevator.'
The only way to reach tho vault la
by way Tif n tiny hydraulic olovntor,
which Is protected by an iron door,
opening almost nt tho elbow of the
chief of tho division of issues, who
keeps tho key In his desk. This ele
vntor c"ar"vas barely large enough to
carry Mr. Eldrldgo, tho newspaper
man, and n photographer down to tho
vault. It Is operated by tho old-fashioned
rope-pulling device nnd la tho
most prosaic road to millions Imagin
able. On Juno 18, the morning on which
tho photograph from which wo got
tho Illustration was taken, tho vnult
contnlned $309,199,910, In the follow
ing denominations: $77,51G.6G0 in
flves, $210,011,300 In tens nnd twen
ties, $0,250,200 in tens, nnd $15,415,750
In fifties nnd one hundreds. Tho
Its Weight Is Seven Tons.
money is printed In shoots, four bills
to the sheet and 1,000 sheets to tho
package. There were nearly 9,000,000
sheets, or 8,797 packages to store
away. Tho nctunl value roprosonted
in thlB amount of printed paper Is
only $439,850. in estimating this vnluo
of tho printed paper tho government
figures that ench package weighs 14
pounds, nnd tho paper is purchased at
43 contB por pound. Tho balance Is
for the printing and tho handling of
tho bills, which are counted 53 times
before being stored away,
Twenty years ago this vast amount
of printed bills would hnvo been ul
torly worthless until each bill had
been signed by tho president and tho
cashier of the bnnk In whose nnmo it
was Issued, but in the nineties con
gress passed ajaw making the notes
legal ns soon ns placed In circulation,
thus nddlng materially to Mr. El
dridgo'o cares, whoso duty It then bo
enmo to handlo money, not In tho
making, but tho perfected cash. Now,
as soon tB tho bills aro entored upon
the ledgers of tho treasury na being
shipped to a bank, they nre considered
money, Tho express compatilos hand
ling those shipments nre bonded for
$600,000, nnd in case of loss or rob
bery tho company is held Yesponslblo
for the loss. It was only n short tlmo
ngo thnt a shipment of $40,000 to tho
Pacific const wna stolen In transit,
and tho express company wna forced
to give n check for tho full amount.
Tho treasury Is to-dny redeeming
6omo of theso stolen banknotes with
out question, although some of them
benr no signature at all, whllo othors
bear the forged signatures of tho
president of thnt bank nnd of tho
cashier. Tho express company was
never able to rocovcr more thnn $15,
000 of. tho stolen bills. It had to loso
the rest.
Deserves Thanks of Nation.
Tho crlspness nnd durability of our
present day banknotes nro duo large
ly to tho efforts of Mr. Eldrldgo, tho
guardian of tho Jumbo among vaults.
Many years ngo congress passed n
law authorizing tho" Issue of treasury
notes, and tho bill requited that theso
notes bo put In circulation within 30
dnys, It wna a rush Job, Tho paper
Watson W. Eldrldge, Custodian of Seven Hundred Millions of Dollars.
on which money Is printed hns to be
dampened before It takes tho Impres
sion of the hand press, so thnt whon
it comes out it is not sized (covered
with glossy surface as tho result of a
bath In a glutinous substance). These
treasury notes wore Issued Jiut nB
they camo from the press. As n result
tho fibers soon began to break through
the surface of tho paper, and aa each
bit of fiber dropped from tho bill tho
Ink began to fade, so that within two
weeks after tho first bill was Issued
tho treasury had to bogjn to redeem
tho tattered notes and issue now ones.
It was then that a committee appoint
ed to examlno Into methods of the
treasury department suggested that
all paper on which banknotes wore
printed should bo resized after print
ing. Mr. Eldrldgo was tho aggressive
factor in this particular reform, and
it is to him thnt tho present pleasing
appearance of our paper money Is
duo.
Prior to the completion of tho now
vnult tho emergency currency wns
stored In tho basemout of tho Union
TruBt Company, at tho corner of Fif
teenth nnd H streets, N. W, Tho first
few millions thnt wero received wore
plnced in n lnrgo Iron vnult, but whon
carloads of monoy began to arrive
this vault with n capacity of a mere
fortymllllonasoon overtlowod, nnd then
this enormous wealth was stacked on
tho floor In drdlnnry wooden boxes,
which any hatchet could have knocked
to Bmlthereons. This seemed nn
awful risk for tho govornmont to take,
but thero was nothing oIbo to bo done.
A tiny dynnmito cartrldgo discharged
In a little aroaway in the roar of tho
bank building would hove blown a
nolo In tho cellar wnllr that would
have bared to vlow wealth of which
Solomon "In all his glory" could not
have dreamed, nnd which would hnvo
mnde haughty Croesus green with
envy. In ordor to meet this dnngor
the government employed ton oxtrn
wntchinan, who patrolled tho streets
and nlloya In tho neighborhood of tho
Union Truat building for nlno months,
day and night. Theso watchmen wore
only dropped from tho pay roll of tho
treasury on May 10, whon tho now
vault wns turned ovor to tho govern
ment by tho contractors.
Forced Change In Steel Plates.
Dut the division of issue woh not
tho only branch of tho government
which found Itself oxtromely busy
after th passage of the emergency
curroncy net. Tho steel plntca fo
every national bank in tho countr
nnd to bo altered. To tho legend c
the face of the banknotes nnd nt th
top, "Secured by bonds of tho Unite
States," there hnd to be added
third line, "Or other securities." I
order to add these thrco words over
Plato had to be softened, tho extr.
words engraved, nnd then tho whol
plate rctemporcd. Each of theso
banknote plates, which costs $75, will
print 30,000 bills, thou tho impressions
begin to get dull, arid tho plate hns to
bo softened, tho dies rccut, nnd tho
pinto tempered again, after which
about 10,000 moro impressions can be
taken. Tho plntes nro then destroyed
and now ones made.
Today Mr. Eldrldge sleeps easy.
"Lot your notes como in ns fast as
you can make them," Is IiIh mossago
to the head of tho bureau of engraving
and printing. "Rush tho notes" over
until wo hnvo n stock of 700.000.000,
200,000,000 to remain in tho upper
vaults for current Needs o( tho banks
and 500,000,000 to rest secure In tho
vnult beneath tho treasury, guarded
by Its walla of steel nnd stono nnd by
Ita notwork of wires which never
sleep."
DANDELION AS A BAROMETER
Absolutely Reliable When One Can
Read Its Signs Also Is Weather
Prophet.
The dandelion is n dnndy bnromctor,
ono of tho commonest nnd most reli
able. It Is when tho blooms have
seeded nnd nro In tho flurry, feathery
condition that tffc weather prophet fa-
cHltles como to tho fore. In flno
weather tho ball expands to tho full,
but whon rain approaches It shuts like
an umbrclln. If -the, weathor la In
clined to bd showery, It keeps ahut nil
tho time, only opening when the dan
gor from tho Vet Ib past.
Tho ordinary clover nnd nil Its vnrl
etles, Including tho trofoll nnd tho
shamrock, nre also barometers, When
rain Is coming tho lenves shut togoth
or liko tho bIioIIb of nn oyster nnd do
not open again until lino weather is
assured. For n dny or two beforo rain
comes their stems swell to nn appre
ciable extent nnd stiffen bo thnt tho
lenves nre homo moro upright than
usual. This stom swelling when rain
Is expected Is a fenturo of many flow
ering grasses.
Tho lingers of which the lenves of
tho horso chestnut aro made up keep
flat and fanllko so long ns flno
weather Is Ukoly to continue. With
tho coming of rain, however, they
droop as If to offer less resistance to
tho weather. Tho scarlet plmpornol is
nlcknumed tho "poor man's weathor
glass" or wind cope, nnd opens Ita
flowors only In flno wenthor Ah. soon
ns rnln Is In tho air It shuts up and
remains closed until tho showor or
storm 1b over,
Tho common garden convolvulus
crumples up Its dedicate blossoms
within tho space of half nn hour If
rnln drops nre on tho wny, und it
keeps thorn thus until tho bad weath
er hns pnssed.
Bread from Finn Roe.
Pensnnts In tho eastern regions of
Russia mnko bread from flsh roo. At
tho present tlmo, owing to tho hnrd
season, thero la what they term In
thnt country a "little fnmlne;" conse
quently tho peasants nro making broad
from tho roo of fresh water flsh, with
which tho rivers abound. The procoss
of making "flsh Hour" dlffora llttlo
from tho ordlnnry ono. Tho roo Ib
dried and ground, and cooked In tho
usual fashion.
Telephones and Street Railroads.
Tho cost of tho central stntlon
plants existing In 1907 In tho United
States was Just $1,000,000,000; the
capitalization of telophony wns $1,100,
000,000 nnd tho capitalization of
railroads wnB close upon tho $4,000,
000,000, making a grnnd nggrogato ol
$0,100,000,000, or for 1908 about $7.
000, 000,000.
The Methods of Josephine
By Ella Middleton Tybout
(Copyright, by J.
I think I enn truthfully any thnt tho
first tlmo Josophlno nwnkoncd nny
ronl Interest in my henrt wns whon I
discovered sho wns In lovo.
Ono afternoon sho returned with tho
usual bunch of violets and n most un
usunl expression. Tho Instant I saw
her I know a crisis was at hand, and
roso to tho occasion ns n cork rises
to tho surfneo of tho water lightly,
buoyantly, yot dotcrmlncdly.
Josophlno went nt onco to her room
and closed Uto door with decision. I
hovered on tho atnlrwny, pnlpltntlng
with uncertainty, nnd the nffectlonnto
solicitude which Is - so fnr removed
from mere vulgar curiosity. Finally,
mustering all my resolution, I turned
tho knob of the door nnd entered with
lulto a Jaunty nlr, carelessly hum
ming n tune.
Josephine lay face downward on tho
bed, tho vlnlots crushed nnd broken,
and tho hccln of hor patent leather
hoca sticking pathetically outward.
Ahoklng, gasping sound revealed
time she was crying Into tho counter
pane. Gontly murmuring nn endear
ing epithet, I laid my hnnd upon her
head.
"Oh, Aunt Gertrude!" sobbed Jose
phine, "Aunt Gortrudo!"
"Poor child," I returned, responsive
ly, "I undorBtnnd I understand."
"O, no, you don't," Bho' Interrupted,
ungratefully. "You you can't."
"Josephine," 1 anld, kindly hut Arm
ly, "you nro engaged to bo mnrrled
and to a man."
It wns evident she wna astonished
at my perspicuity, for Bho rnlsod hor
head na though listening nnd nodded
nsscnt.
"Furthermore," I continued, follow
"You Go and Explain Things."
Ing up my ndvnntpgu nnd speaking
with conviction, "you nre unhappy."
Down went hor bond ngnln,- nnd tho
snlflllng Into tho counterpane recom
menced. "Dear," I whispered with unalloyed
sweotnoss, "Ib ho worthy of thooo
tears?"
No reply.
"Do you lovo him," I continued,
"dooply, truly; ovorlnutlngly?"
Josophlno sat upright and pushed
tho hair out of her oyes.
"Oh, Aunt Gortrudo," oho gasped,
"It Isn't him It's thorn."
"Them?" I hazarded, faintly.
"Yes," said my nloco with tho cnlm
ness of deapnlr, "that's tho trouble
I'm engaged all right hut thero'n two
of him."
"Tell me nbout It," I auggestod,
chiefly becauso I felt something wna
oxpectod of me.
"Yes," sho agreed quickly, " might
Just na woll. I've got to tell Home
body." "I Ignored tho lnnt clnuso and com
posed mysolt to listen, llor story was
briefly thus:
Doing unablo to withstand tho fas
cination to two callow youthH, and
finding It Impossible to presorvo tho
penco between thorn, Josophlno hnd
formulntod tho schema of taking them
on altornnta days, llko two varieties
of pills, an It wero. Sho romarkod
casually that Bho had stoppod their
visits to the hoiiHo, ns she disliked to
soo them glaro nt each other, and,
moreovor, her evenings wero thus loft
free for others. Sho did not oxplnln
this, howovor, but Insinuated pnrentnl
opposition and dally persecution of
horsolf, homo with nngollo sweotnoss.
Gently, but decidedly, I laid tho
facts of tho cnBO before my nloco. I
told hor thnt, ns sho could marry but
ono man, It was manifestly Improper
to bo engaged to two,
"You must now," 1 continued Ig
noring hor remark, becniiKo I could
not help comprehending that such a
situation might bo ngrcoablo, nlbelt
sinful "you must now, dear child,
mnko your selection, "Which of your
suitors do you lovo tho bettor?"
"Yes," said Josophlno miserably,
"It's up to mo to choose, nnd I'vo
dono It."
"Lot your henrt guide you," I ndt
vised gently.
"That's Just what I tried to do," re
turned Josophlno, Confusedly, "but tho
old thing wouldn't work. So I tossed
tip n ponny heads for Nod and tallB
for Harry. It camo down tnlls."
"And," Bho contlnuod, qulotly, "I'm
going to elopo with him tonight."
"To-night!" 1 ejaculated, aghast.
"Yob, to-night. And, oh, Aunt Ger
trude, I don't want to ono bit. It's
not Harry, aftor nil It's "Nnd. Just
ns soon na tho ponny came down tails
up I know it was Ned I wanted, but 1
1
U. Llpplncott Co.)
wan nfrnid to toss ngnln, becnuso then
If I got Ned I inlght want Harry
don't you soo?"
I did hot sec. in fact, such vacilla
tion wna quito Incomprehensible to
my woll-bnlnnccd mjnd, but I wns
obliged to devote . my energies tr.
soothing Josophlno, who ngnln turned
hor fnco to tho countcrpnno und wept
copiously.
"And bo's waiting on tho corner by,
Trinity church," sho sobbed; "ho snld
ho'd wnlt till I came. And It's rain
ing. And ho has n cold. And I aim
ply onn't go marry him. And ho's
bought tho ring. And I think Hurry's
Btich n hideous nnmo. And he'll wnlt
till I como, and nnd "
Josuphlnu suddohly sat upright and
grasped my hnnd,
"You go," sho said, "yoir go, and
oxplnln things."
It la needless to recount tho nrgu
mont that followed. Enough to atty
thnt I finally agreed to go nnd tell
tho man wnltlng to marry my nloco
thnt, after all, alio preferred some ono
else.
Josophlno produced n long, light
clonk nnd wrapped mo In It; alio nlso'
ndorncd me with n lnrge lint londcd
with plumes, because, she explained,
Harry would ho looking for Juat thnt
costume. Ovor tho hnt4und fnco sho
tied a thick veil, remarking thnt no
ono could possibly tell who wns In
sldo It, nnd perhaps Harry would
marry mo In splto of myself, us ho
wns very Impatient, Then alio gig
gled hysterically,
Roouro In tho consciousness of my,
roctltudo, I compressed my lips nnd
drew on my rubbora.
It wna not n pleasant evening. A
fine, aleoty rnln fell steadily, turning
tho pavomonts Into shining sheets of
glass, over which I shuffled carefully.
Trinity church Is situated on n side
atreot pntlrcly off tho main thorough
fare, where It la very qulot and so-
eluded- I paused as I reached tho
cornor nnd laid my hnnd on my bosom,
n llttlo to tho left of tho brenst bone,
ns described In phyalologon when lo
cating tho henrt. Its throbbing wan
very evident.
Summoning nil my fortitude, f
looked In tho direction -of tho church
Thero, besldo tho lamppost, stood a.
manly form, nnd drawn convonlontly
gloso to tho curbing wns n herdlc cab
Suddenly an nrm appeared about my
wnlst, a fnco was pressed c!obo tr?
mine, nnd I distinctly felt tho pricking
of a mustacho. I blushed beneath
tho veil nnd wna glad the street hap
poned to bo dnrk nnd quiet.
I found myaolf gontly but forcibly
propollnd townrda tho cab, the door
of which atood Invitingly open. Twice
I strove to nrtlculnto, but both times
my volco failed mo,
"I'm going on tho box with the
cabby," ho continued, cheerfully, "to
mako Biiro ho gets tho right" plnco. Ir
won't do to havo any mlstnko, you
know. Now, then, in you go."
And I found myself picked up bodllj
nnd deposited In tho cab. Tho doot
slammed and wp wero off.
I wns oloplng.
My first Impulse wna to, scream, but
this I resisted firmly; my second, tc
draw tho Inprobo closer about mo, and
to this 1 yielded nnd resigned mysoll
to tho Inovltnblo.
The cnb stoppod abruptly and th
cab door was flung ongorly flpon.
Strange undulations trnvoled up nnd
down my spine.
Wo wero in tho chnpel by thla tlmo,
and tho clergyman In his roboa win
wnltlng for us with two witnesses
everything very proper and legal. At
I could not truat my volco 1 began
to fumblo with my vellf nt lcnst i
could uncovor my faco.
"Let mo help you," ho snld, gently
nnd untied tho knot.
I turned und faced him, nnd for i
moment wo atnred nt ench othor ai
though potrlfled.
"Tho devil!" ho exclaimed, very
rudely, I thought.
I mado a gigantic effort to spenk.
"My dear young frlond," I said In n
volco which sounded wonk und au
tomatic to my own cms, "I fonr mj
prosonco may bo Bomowhnt of n dls
appointment na well as a sur
prise "
Hut I got no further, for ho turned
hoIploHsly to tho clorgymun as though
terrified.
"Tako her away," ho gaspod, "there tr
some mistake. Lot mo out of this!"
Dut tho minister lifted his hnnd
solemnly.
"Thoro seems to bo some strnngo
misapprehension," ho said, stornly;
"lot us got to tho bottom of this mat
ter nt onco. Did you oxpoct to marry
thla gentleman, madam? Pray ex
plain." And I explained us woll ns I could.
When 1 reached homo a long tlmo
after, for tho dlstnnco was groat and
the utreot cars Blow I found my
wrnpper and slippers laid out In my
room and Josophlno hovering anxious
ly about the window watching for mo,
1 told hor tho wholo story, nnd sho
laughed In a way I thought ungrateful
nnd unappreclatlvo.
"JoBophlno," I anld solomnly, "I
ahnll never recovor from thlB night's
experience: I hopo you will ulwaya
remomber nil 1 havo dono for you."
"Oh, well," returned Josophlno euro-,
lOHsly, "of courso It wns awfully good
of you, but do you know, Aurfl Ger
trude, I think you bungled the thing
most awfully," "j