The Wilmingtonian., 1888-07-07
HINcKLEY DID IT.

that, the gentleman says that the chang.
ing conditions in the country are conduc.
ing to greater security in this matter.
when we started in business some ten
years ago." said he, 1--WE made careful
comparison of the defalcations in this
country and others. We found that the
conditions in European countries favored
security. Defalcations were less COM
mon. This was partly due to the more
settled condition of affairs. Men do not
change their positions so rapidly as here.
They remain longer in the employment of
o single concern, and their lives and
records are better known. Business
methods, too, are safer over there. 1t is
not SO common for the same man to
handle both books aud money. This is
the great opportunity for dishonesty, for
man may steal with one hand and falsify
accounts with the other. There is also
better system of checks. The same COM
parison can be made between the older
and newer parts of this country-in favor
of the newer. / am speaking of the minor
positions rather than the big ones. 1t is
inevitable that trust shall be imposed in
certain men, and bonds are very little
good in such cases. Take bank cashiers.
They are bonded in this city in sums rum
ming up to S25,00o Presidents are not
bonded at all. 1t is safe to say that in
such cases it all depends upon the mans
honesty. He can steal if he wants to in
almost every case In contrast to the sus-
picious attitude of the public, you would
be surprised to know the trust reposed in
men by their employers ! remember the
case of one of the largest insurance COM
panies in the city. Several of their en-
ployes who had charge Of considerable
money had never given bonds. Finally
the directors met and decided that the
bonds of $4,000 should be required, but
they all had delicacy about speaking to
the men about it, Various suggestions
were offered, and finally, as way out of
the difficulty, the directors voted that the
vice president, one or two
others of the head men, should be asked
to give bond by the same vote, rightly
conjecturing that the lesser men would
not be offended if they were bonded in
such good company.
1--WE succeed in getting together some
interesting statistics in our business We
keep record of percentages of loss to
premiums, which shows the average OF
defalcations in various classes of business,
When the percentage is under 40 we re-
gard the risk as fair. In banks the per.
centage is 81; employees of telegraph com
panies have averaged 3S5 with us SO far,
but there Is an improvement due, as be-
lieve, to the bonding of whole companies,
and the consequent wedding out through
our Investigations of the employees with
bad records and loose habits. Cashiers
and bookkeepers have usually been con
sidered bad risk, but with us they have
shown loss of only IA per cent, which
makes them very good risk. With state
and municipal officers, Notwithstanding
the cry of corruption, we have not yet met
with a single loss. Officers of corpora
tions are perhaps the best risk on the
whole, because they are best py j and car
afford to be honest. After ALL that is q
great thing. We find that collectors and
drivers are not an acceptable risk, for the
reason that they are so miserably paid II
proportion to the amount of money which
they handle. Our loss with them was IL.
per cent. 1t isn't fair to put $4,000 oi
$4,000 day into the hands of man will
n wife and four childran who is drawing
a salary of $500 a year. We consider that
question very carefully, and where 6
mans income seems manifestly smaller
than his needs, we decline to bond. II
many cases our refusal on these grounds
has shamed en- ployers into paying fairel
wages.
"Some of the banks carry bonding to NJ
absurdity. ! have known boys to be sem
here for s., 900 bond who didn't have {
chance to steal $40 year. The bank ha:
had the nerve to ask these little fellows
to give the bond and pay $50 a year for il
out of a salary of $3.50, If there is any
thing that can make boy dishonest it il
such treatment. He will steal to ge
even. have several times gone to thu
president of bank and persuaded him t.
nave the bank pay for the pcEes4