The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-12-04
BANKERS AT LUNCH.
zach Ono Relates an Alleged True In
cident-Showin. How Persons Who Han
die Other Peoples Money are Tempted
and How Some Remain Honest.

"a AVN EAOt
and How Some Remain Honest,
From the New York Times.
Three downtown bankers sat at a
lunch table in one OF the coy eating.
rooms on the top floor of the Mills
building. 1t vas after banking hours
on a pleasant autumn afternoon
The mild sunlight peered through q
bull's-eye window facing the Bay and
danced merrily e the glittering sill.
Yer u glass paraphernalia of the ia.
BILE. 1t also caused a blaze of light tc
hash from the jeweled scarf OF one Of
the bankers. Thethree gentlemen had
met by accident, and they tarried over
their coffee and cigars to enjoy a half
hours social chat. One of the nun,
Der had suggested the desirability OF
throwing greater safeguards around
the cash vaults OF banks. "Addition-
al checks should be placed upon the
cashiers and t%ellers, "hesaid. Banks
must either put a stop to these fire.
quent defalcations or they will suffer
through the speedy loss Of public con-
fidence.
The youngest and smallest member
OF the trio. who is a brisk, nattv gem
tleman, with grayish side whiskers, a
dearth OF hair on his head, and keen,
observing eye, exclaimed: "Pshawl
what can you do? 1t is impossible to
keep a man honest by watching him.
You must trust your cashier and you
hAay trust your teller to Il certain ex-
tent, no matter how strictyour meth
DDS are. Ii MAJ has a grain of dis
honesty IN him the realization that
he Is being watched will excite his bas-
er qualities, and in nine cases out OF
ten Will make a thief of him. There is
That III human natare that makes a
man-especlaiiy a ~clerk-proud of be
ing trusted. Some men. however, are
boun to be thieves, and whether you
watch them or trust them makes no
difference. ] have in mind a notable
case OF what | call instructive dishCn-
esty."
Let us hear it," exclaimed the 9th
er two gentlemen. settling back com
iortably on theirchairs.
"Ali right, you can have it. When
my banking house was in Wall street.
L lost $4,000 in United States Treas
ury notes oflarge denominations. One
OF my customers had left the notes at
my office with a request that they be
sent tothe Bank Of, which was then,
as you know, Il of the soundest
financial institutions ip the city. My
customer wanted his notes exchanged
for a certified check drawn by that
particular bank. OF course. aftertak-
Ing the order l turned the matter over
to one OF my clerks, and thought no
more about tor time being. A few
days afterward the owner of the
Treasury notes came for his certified
check, and | called upon nv book
keeper for it. Why, l seen no such
check, said the book-keeper.
"'But you must have it, | insisted.
i remember distinctly telling you to
send thenotes to the Bank of-and lex
change them for a certified check
al recall the circumstances now,'
said the book keeper, but no check
was ever brought to me-
A dlllgent search was then made
through the Office, and it did not take
long to find the clerk who had dis
patched thepackage ofTreasury notes
to the bank. He speedily picked out
the messenger whomhehad sent to de-
llverthenotes. The boy was young,an M
as thought, very honest andfaithful.
lie remembered having taken the
package to the bank, but he said that
he did not remember any instructions
concerning a certified check. He was
positive that he took the notes where's
he was told to take them, buthecould
not recollect to whom he gave them.
lie came directly back to my office
and nothing was said to him about a
certified check. Well, | sent my con
fideptial clerk to the Bank of-,and
he saw the President, Cashier and Re
celving Teller, and was assured in the
most positive an by each one of
them that no such package of Treasu-
ry notes as described had been re-
ceived at their bank. Next Isubjected
my messenger boy to asearching cross
examination. He stoutly insisted
that he had delivered the package as
directed, but being u mere lad he nat
urally became nervous and began to
cry. told him that if he had lostthe
package and would tell me all aboutit
| would forgive him. He, however,
persisted in his first statement, and
believing that he had either stolen or
lost the notes l discharged him. At
the same time | sent the numbers of
the missing notes to the Treasury De
partnent at Washington with the in
formation that the notes had either
been lost or stolen" ,
"Well?" Intercepted the listeners.
as the speaker paused.
Almost q year passed before |
heard anything of those notes. One
day received a letter from the
Treasury Department stating that
the mlsslng notes had been presented,
together with some other currency, i'll
payment for some registered bonds.
wrote forthename of the person who
presented them, and by return mail
lrecelved information that staggered
me. The $1,000 OF Treasury notes
had been sent to Washington to COM
plete a private purchase OF bonds by
the President of the very bank to
winch my messenger had been sent
with the package. That man is no
Il bank President, but he is a
rich man, and you doubtless both
remember him. had Il personal in
terview with him, and showed him the
that | had received from the
treasury Department. He turned us
pale as a sheet and tremblingly invit-
me to accompany him into n pri-
Vate room. There he broke down
completely, confessed that he had
the notes. and begged me to ac-
eept back the amount with interest,
and not to expose him. My first i'm.
pulse was to denouncehin. | remind
ed HIM OF the disgrace aud suffering
chat his crime had brought upon
IN innocent boy. He offered to
ind the boy and give him u bet
Ter situation than he had before, and
hen he began pleading for the good
laMG OF bis own fanily- aSkeu him