The Portland daily press., 1878-12-24
The New York Clearing House.

On the first day the United States sub
Treasury was represented at the New York
Clearing House the amount of checks cleared
was $350,0O0. The plan, Assistant Treasur-
er Hillhouse says, works admirably. Under
the old plan sixty bank messengers visited
the sub Treasury daily each with one or two
hundred drafts to be examined and paid. A
great deal of time was consumed. The new
system saves the time aud services of these
men, the work being done by the regular
messengers and clerks at the Clearing House,
and the Sub-Treasury transac!ing its business
there exactly as the banks represented do.
In speaking of the representation of the
Sub-Treasury the Tribune gives an interest
ing account OF the workings of the Clearing
House. The system is modelled after that of
London, established in 1890, description of
which may be found in that admirable treat
ise of Professor Jevons, The Money and
Mechanism of Exchange. Notwithstanding
London is the finanaial centre of the world,
the New York Clearing House, which was
established in 1858, does quite as much busi-
adjusted by it in one day, have amounted TO
$206, ,034, ,920. .51-all settled within an hour.
Starting with fifty-two banks, it now has
fifty-nine members, the Sub Treasury being
the latest admitted. The system has been
adopted by other cities of this country, and
there are now twenty-five Clearing Houses in
the United States bat the entire transactions
of all the Clearing Houses outside of New
York, are only about one-fifth of that done
there. The total transactions of the New
York Clearing House for the year ending
October l, 1878, were $23, SIC, ,2S2, POS. 90, q
daily average of $77,s3O,9s7.9O. For the
twenty-five years the Clearing House has
been in existence the total transactions have
been $5O9, 9,572, 170,0 ,097.26, and during all this
time there has not been discovered a differ
ence of one cent in all these accounts. The
system was made necessary by the increas-
ing business of exchange. Each bank in its
daily dealings receives many bills of other
banks, and checks drawn on them, so that at
the close of the days business every bank has
in its drawers various sums thus due to itby
the banks. 1t is, in like manner, the debtor
of other banks which have received its bills
and checks. Before the Clearinghouse was
established it was necessary for each bank
every morning to make up its accounts with
every other bank and to send a messenger to
the debtor banks to present accounts and to
receive balances, which were adjusted in
gold. This finally became SO laborious, dan
gerous and complicated that balances were
arranged weekly every Friday. The Clear
ing-House does away with all that labor.
The method of doing business as described
by the Tribune is in this fashion: The
Clearing House is opened promptly at 10 A.
M. The banks are each represented by two
clerks, one messenger who brings with him
the checks, drafts and other evidences of in
debtedness that his bank has received upon
other banks during the previous day. These
are called the Exchanges" and are assorted
for each bank and placed in envelopes. On
the outside of each envelope is slip on which
it contains. These are arranged on the desks
where they belong. The messengers take
their places on a line outside the row Of
desks, each opposite the desk assigned to his
bank, which is occupied by the banks clerk,
who has printed list of all the banks in the
Clearing House and the amounts this messen-
ger has against every other Lank. At a sig
nal from large gong over the managers
platform each messenger moves forward to
the desks of the other banks, beginning with
the one next in line, and delivers the envel-
opes containing checks and drafts for the
bank represented by that desk. The clerk re.
ceives the list, returns it checked and signed,
and the messenger follows out the same
course until every bank clerk has been Wis.,
tied and the messenger has returned to his
original position in the line. This system oi
Exchanges" is accomplished in ten minutes.
Under the old system of exchanges it would
have required seven or eight hours.
Thus daily accounts are promptly settled,
the debit banks are required to pay to the
Manager of the Clearing House in legal-ten
der notes or coin the balances due before
1:3O p. M, and the credit banks receive the
money Immediately thereafter, Sc that by one
process the transactions of the previous day
are completed. A record is kept Of the daily
transactions of each bank in the Clearing
House, and weeks statement of its loans
specie, legal-tenders, deposits and circulation
must be made to the Manager, so that the
condition and business of every bank may bt
estimated. The system has been found Sc
great saving of time aud labor that it is be
ing generally adopted. As all our reader
know it is in use by the banks of this city.
BROOKLYN detectives are hunting ghosts
Our Maine detectives hunt spirits. too.