MILLIONAIRE FOR ONE FLEETING MINUTE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 137, 11 June 1937, Page 5

MILLIONAIRE FOR ONE FLEETING MINUTE

HOW IT FEELS TO WALK THROUGH BANK VAULT For a minutes yesterday I was a millionaire, writes "G.F.G.” in the Sydney Sun. I had £1,000,0C8 in my hands. Not cheques or scrip, but a thousand £lOOO notes! The setting for my sudden transference to immense wealth was the strong room of the head office of the Commonwealth Bank. I was surrounded not only by a bevy of officials, but a series of steel grilles. Not that 1 intended to get away with any of the hank's money (far too difficult, of course), but I suppose a few million pounds in currency would be a temptation to some people. "Ever had £1,000,000?” said one of my companion*.

' Not for a leng time,” f said. ‘‘Well, hold this,” he added, handing me a package from a shelf of one of the 36 safes. It weighed three or four pounds and contained a thousand £lOOO notes. It is all in the day’s work for a bank official to juggle with millions, but my blood pressure rose then went below normal when I sadly handed the package back. Mere Chicken Feed “These are £5 notes,” said a voice. “There's £300,000 there.” “Ho,” I responded. "A mere £300,00. Chicken feed! Millions, please!" With bulging eyes and empty pockets I was shown safes filled with £1 notes and others with 10s. notes. And while strolling round, trying to look the Croesus, from another room came a continual noise like the mixing of concrete with a shovel—merely silver though, being handled and packed for distribution to the ba. x's branches. while we are still thinking in millions—if anybody should happen to hand you a £lOOO note, ring for the police. Apparently the £1 note is the highest in circulation in Australia. The £lOOO denomination is used only between banks. One of my companions received 57 of them from stock while I was there. A Gilded Crown And here's a true financial story. One of my companions received 57 Queen Victoria crown, comparing it with the new King George VI Coronation piece. A man had paid £4 for it in a Sydney suburb and had brought it to the bank as £5 gold coin to collect his profit. It had been cleverly gilded by a trickster. But to return to millions! As soon as I had been passed through the grilles, no richer than when I had entered, I found myself

doing mental arithmetic. If I earned i £lOOO a year for 50 years I should I receive an aggregate sum of £50,000 ,1 If I had £1,000,000 and invested it at ! 5 per cent., I should obtain £50,000 1 interest in the first year. |. There you are! A million certainly !' is a lot of money. But then, of course, j - there would be the difficulty of spend- ; ing it. If you didn't keep expenditure i' up to the millionaire level, the money !• would be getting ahead of you all the ' time. Still, would you really mind that? ! I: