The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-07-18
STORY OF A BANK CHECK.


The Sad Result of Paying Teller's Mis-
take-Driven to Lunacy by an Overpaid
Check-How Portion of the Money was
Recovered.
What have to tell is absolutely true.
1t did happen exactly as l shall try to
write it. The only things Twill omit are
the names of the persons and the place
where it happened. might by length
ening out the story show the play of
those fell passions, greed and ooVetous-
ness, but trust what have to say will
not lose its point from brevity. The
moral is the same old trite one, that
honesty is the best policy. When man
is tempted to commit a wicked action
it often happens that the injury done
another becomes irreparable. There is
a sequence in all dishonest transactions
which escapes the evil-doer. Effect
follows cause. This may come instant
1y, as quickly as an explosion when the
hammer of the gun-lock strikes the cap
containing the illuminate, or the fire
may hang back, but it will come some
day or other. This is a longer pream-
bile than thought would be drawn from
my pen, but as | am not young man
may indulge in such comments, because
i'm the life of any one who has passed
the half century the force of the newt
able constantly occurs to him. A man
of my age has been long enough in the
world to have seen passing before him
many q sad drama; he has been present
at the very first scene, and has been an
unwilling witness of the terrible con-
clusion.
l suppose few people who have had
direct transactions with banks are not
aware that errors sometimes happen.
The heads of firms rarely are acquaint-
ed with such mistakes. 1t is the bust
ness of clerks who have the checks
cashed to- see that the amounts paid
them are correct. Paying tellers, if they
do err, are rather likely to pay too
much than too little. Should they give
more money than the face of the check
calls for, if the receiver of the money is
dishonest, then the payer does not al
ways hear about it. If he underpays,
the demand for the difference is invari-
ably made at once. am rather in
Clined to repeat the assertion that in
such mistakes as are made in the rush
OF business it is the commoner error to
pay too much. Sometimes a very tired
man, whose brain has been too long on
the stretch, or who is i'll or nervous,
mistakes the number of the check for
the amount, and pays away some thou
sands instead of hundreds. have
known this to happen in q New York
bank to q young friend of mine. He
had sufficient good Judgment not to en-
bSrrasS the paying teller by making
any noise about it. He resumed his
place in the line, handed back his bank
book, politely requested the teller to
look at the check he had presented, the
amount he had received, and it was all
so quietly done that he made for life q
fast friend of careful and expert bank
teller | have two or three times been
overpaid by bank teller. People who
shop have very often mistakes made in
their change to their advantage. Need
1T be said that without waiting an in
slant restitution should be made?
| was clerk in house when the in
cident | am about telling happened.
We did q large business in the city of
---, and our check-book was in con-
slant demand. / made out the checks
and kept the bank account, but did not
have the signature of the firm. Gener-
ally for greater security, when the
amounts were large, / drew out the
money myself. A great many of the
transactions we were engaged in re-
CURED us TO pay at once to the indiyid-
ual the hard cash.
The paying-teller of our bank in the
business season had all he could attend
to, The money to be paid for an agri-
cultural product very much in demand
would on some days make the cash dis
bursemeuts of this bank amount to
$4,000. remembered that on one
occasion, looking at the teller, he
seemed tired and depressed. Present.
ing my check for something less than
81, OOO-wanted by me in five and ten
dollar bills-yhe overpaid me $50. He
had counted the money over twice be-
fore passing it to me. ITecouuted the
money, found the error, and, being
pressed for time, could not return the
$40 until after three o'clock. The
teller was obliged to me, but noticed
he bore a worried look. A month after
this we had some balance to pay a Gus
toner living out of the city, amounting
to S456. A check was drawn by me,
handed to the creditor, and his account
balanced. The business entirely dropped
out of my mind.
Some three months afterward the firm
received letter from this man, which
was rather ambiguous af its kind. There
was an error so he saia, in his account.
WoU'd we look over it? At once ex-
amined the books, checked off every
item, went through all the debts and
credits of his business, and ended by
inspe ting the final check paid him.
NY employers, who we're very honest
rnd careful gentlemen, were satisfied
W til the accuracy of the account, and l
was instructed to write him letter to