Sacramento Union, 7 February 1917
Million Dollars in Gold
Brought from Bay on Auto
George Wittenbrock and Arthur
Ryan Guard 3700 Pound Truck
Load on State Highway.
Trailing one million dollars in gold for 130 miles! That was the experience last Saturday of George F. Wlttenbrock, representing the Capital National bank of this city, and Arthur Ryan, detective of the local police force. The million dollars in gold, weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of 3700 pounds, was carried on a motor truck that was loaded in a very innocent appearing manner with what is probably the biggest amount of gold that was ever carried over the state highway between San Francisco and Sacramento.
But close behind that innocent looking truck drove Wittenbrock and Ryan in another machine prepared with sawed-off shotguns for any emergency that might arise. The money was safely delivered here, being from the Anglo-London Paris National bank as payment for some of the county highway bonds that have been marketed through the Capital National bank here.
Had the bank had the same amount of gold shipped by express, the charge for shipment including insurance covering guarantee of delivery would have been $650 according to figures quoted by local Wells-Fargo officials. The trip by auto took the best part of a day and thus the day’s work for Wittenbrock, Ryan, and each of the drivers was worth over $150 a piece according to the express company rating.