Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/44

 Where New York's Bond Money Went

The huge safes of the Federal Reserve banks are proving most convenient in con erving all the Liberty Loan funds

earlier. Hence if the time lock is set for eight o'clock in the morning no one could open the door during the night. The longest time for which the time- locks can be set is seventy-two hours. This allows the door to be locked from Saturday noon, over Sunday and any holiday which might fall on Monday. Each of the bolts set round

���Photos 'Qi B

��It takes both officers and clerks of a Federal Reserve Bank in New York city to get this door open. Each knows part of the combina- tion. The safe also has a time lock

The fifty-ton weight of the door does not prove difficult to manage — one man can easily swing it open. But when the combination is "off" not even the Kaiser could get in

���THE door in the picture weighs fifty tons. It guards the treasure of a Federal Reserve Bank — this par- ticular one being in New York city. Liberty Bond money accumulates in Federal Reserve banks temporarily. The outer rim of the safe — up to the place where the bolts are placed — is constructed of manganese steel, which is particularly difficult to drill and which will not rust readily. When closed, the door fits so snugly that it is absolutely watertight.

There are two combinations to the door. One is known by the officers of the bank and the other by the chief clerks. It is impossible to open the vault unless a man from each group is present. Four time locks control the mechanism. Once the time is set at which the door can be opened, it is impSHil)le, even for anyone knowing the combination, to open it

��the door weighs ninety-five pounds. They slide into place when the door is shut, securely fastening it at every point. The door is hung on its hinges in such a man- ner that despite its great weight it can be swung open or shut as easily as any ordinary wooden door. It is not only designed to thwart the skill of the experi- enced cracksman but to withstand the terrific heat and blows which accompany fires and earthquakes. After San Fran- cisco lay in ruins, an early investigation of the big safety vaults brought out the re- assuring fact that the contents were safe and intact.

The Federal Reserve banks have proven an almost indispensable aid to the floating of the liberty Loans. They act as great central "warehouses" for the storage of funds, and also exert a stabilizing effect on banking and financial operations.

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