Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-07-08
Neg Yors Graphic.

tavern a few miles ont of the city, and did
A brisk business. He was Q YORKSHIRE
Euglishman, stoutly built and over sir
feet high, with q rudy face and keen,
~twinkling eyes.
slim used to come in every Saturday
and deposit his receipts Of the week, often
$500 or $500. Well, he invariably wen,
through the same performance. Standing
by q desk near the teller's window, be
would take ont his big pocketbook, draw
out his roll of bills and begin counting
them over, laying the ones, twos, fves and
tens each in q separate pile. Then be
would pick up the fives, lay them cross.
| wise of the tens, count them again, put
the twos across, and go throw the sang
process until he satisfied himself that his
count wa correct. II often took him Is
10 20 minutes to get his money arranged
in shape for depositing.
Zone day, when we had an unusually
large amount of money spread ont before
him, a stranger entered the bank, walked
up to Jim without saying q word, nudged
the old man with his elbow and pointed to
| the floor under the desk. The old fellow
supposed, Of course, that he had dropped a
bill, and stopped down to look for it. Quick
rs q fash the other man swept the pile Of
bills off the desk, crammed them into his
pocket and was ont in the street before
Jim had time to straighten mp. He look.
| ed around, saw the retreaipg stranger,
then looked at the place where his money
bad been, and broke into a loud and hearty
laugh. "Well, I'll be -w said he,
then, laughed more noisily than ever.
"None of Us in the bank had noticed
what was going on, and we had no idea
| what the old man was laughing at
never saw n person more amused than he
appeared to be. Repeating over and over
that he was willing to g. he haw-
hawed until the walls fairly echoed. II
was some time before he recovered his
gravity sufficiently to explain what had
occurred. He was so greatly struck with
the ridiculous nature Of the trick that had
been played upon him hat he seemed ~
regard il as more than an equivalent for
the money he had lost.
"Auother man who used to have an nc.
count here, whenever he drew any money.
always asked for small bills, twos and
threes,' and he kept up the practice years
aud years after So bills ceased to be issued.
He kept some government bonds here and
came around ut regular intervals to re-
quest us to cut off them there cowpens'
for him.
"You have read, perhaps, of the coun-
tryman who bought q draft 10 pay q note
which was about due at some bank in a
distant city, put the paper in his pocket,
imagined il TO be q receipt, aud only
dreamed of his mistake when he received
o notice that his nots was about to be pro-
tested. / have known just such cases
myself. But people may joke rs they like
about the country folks; I had much rather
do business with them than with som OF
the smart city men who imagine that they
know everything and seem 10 think that q
cashier is wofully ignorant If he says be
doesn't know them.
"0ften in answer to q request for iden'
LITIGATION, / have been greeted with the sci
phrase, Young man, ! did business with
this bank before You were b0rn.' 1t IL
amusing to see what q ridiculous passion
such a man will sometimes get into wher
he ia told the fact may be exactly az b,
states it, but the bank does not know him
now. 1t is TO be expected that people
who are unfamiliar with banking rule,
AMI methods will give q good deal Of an
~noyance, but there are others like the mar
l have described, who do the same thinl
in order to impress us with the sense o
their Importance.
San amusing thing took place in on
bank o few days ago. A laboring ma
had been given o check by O we'll know
contractor, and came in to get his money
l told him he must be identified. The MAJ
started, not having the fsintest idea wha,
the word meant.
"rDo you mean ~vaccinated?' he asked
"'No, no, / replied, after turning sway
to laugh. Bring somebody here tina
knows you are the person named in tn
check. We can't pay money to people ",
don't know
"The man departed and returned IL
about Is minutes accompanied by his wife
He seemed to be surprised when ! toll
him that her Identification of him woult
not be sufficient, and that he must brin,
somebody who was known to the bank
After / had wasted o half hour making ex
plantations the maker of the check hap
psned TO drop in and I got rid of m,
Troublesome visitor.
II have seen men get 30 angry over
polite request that they may be identifies
that they would actually tear I'D thei
checks, meanwhile d~enouncipg loudly tn,
man who paid his debts with worthlet
pieces Of paper instead of cash.
There are any number of people, some
times, l think, q many as nine out O
ten, who seem to think it no crime 3
cheat a bank. II there is q streak of mean
ness anywhere in o mans nature 1t will
crop out when he Is put to the test Of
question Of money. Sometimes I hay
amused myself by experimenting wit
men to lind ont whether they are homes,
There Ia an easy way Of ascertaining. Fo
instance q deposition hands in his ban
book, together with q number of bills an,
checks, the amount of. which is to b
placed TO his credit.
He has made out q deposit Tickle,
which he holds in his hand while I cour
the money. How muchp' ask. 'Whs
do you make itY he inquiries. I name
sum is or $10 larger than I have ascel
tanned it to be. If q man Il honest b
will say that he thinks / am mistaken
but often he will turn around and max
out another deposit ticket, fixing th
amount to correspond with the figures
have given. Then, of course, I count th
cash again and announce that I have mad
mistake, and to prove it hand back Il
money and let him recount It. Ne
whom nobody would ever suspect Of crool
edness are often very quick to take az
vantage ofa little mistake in their favo
] Know several wealthy gentlemen who
truly believe would lever think of psyin
any sum, large or small, that got INF
their hands through q bank clerks mi
take"