The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-26
RAISING A CLERKS SALARY.
How en- Audacious Bank Employee
Accepted the Presidents ADVICE.

John Brown. At directors meeting one
day, after the discounts had been passed
upon and the portly directors were labori-
ously getting up to go, the pres dent, who
had the abless and most expansive vest of
any OF them, stopped them.
by the way" he remarked, 81 have a
note from John Brown, one of our young
me ,, you knows me of you know him
but guess l must have lost 1t. Anyhow.
he wants his salary raised. Says the bust
/ ness OF the bank is four times what it used
| to be and his work has increased according
ly. Says with increase in the amount Of
money handled comes increase in the strain
on his integrity. Seems to think he ought
TO be paid for not robbing Us. Besides, ne
says he can scarcely keep his family on his
| salary. l suppose | can sw it without
calling another board meeting" he con-
Guide I, faceJiously.
Tell him he oughtn't to have such big
family" suggested one.
Quote the law against embezzement to
him. said am Their, and so on as they but
toned their overcoats aid went out about
| thei business.
By and by John Brown got a nots like
l this, signed by the president. and written on
the note paper of tne bank, bearing the i'm
posing array Of directors names in neat en-
craving at the head Of it.
Mr.. John BrolCn:
| DEAR SIR: In answer to yours of even
date, | am instructed by the b ard Of
directors to say that they canno agree
with your views of the case. It is true
that your work has largely increased with
the growth of the bank under Its present
| management. But it Is no more than you
are able to do, aud no more than we can
find others to do for the salary we now pay
you. The other phase of the matter you
presenU-that we should pay you for the
moral wear and tear Incident to the temp
| tation to steal, as well as for the physical
and mental work you do-has no weight.
| Our relations, however, pleasant person
| ally, are purely business affair on both
| sides. We pay you so much money for so
much work. Your honesty Is pres umed. If
you should prove dishonest we would dis
charge you and the law would send you to
| prison.
With your family affairs we have moth
ing to do, but may suggest to you that
careful economy in small household expe =
dItures will result in an annual saving
which will perhaps surprise you. Without
referring especially to you-for / never
endeavor to pry into your private affairs
nor inquire how you livsd-I may say that
in my opinion the prevailing tendency of
young pc pie nowadays is to live too nigh
| llloOcdu VI O6l 4 CdI6lul W lay SOu16-
thing for rainy day. Yours truly, etc.
THEN 1T WAS JOHNS TURN.
The directors hadn't been in session long
the next day when John B own opened tn
door, handed in a slip of paper and walked
back to bis desk. There was some silence
for minute, then mUrmur, and then the
| clerks heard a clatter of moving chairs in
the boar room, and then the door opened
and two or three voices called "BrownP
I'm a moment" answered Brown, cheer
fully, laying blotter bet ~een the leaves of
the book he had been writing in, aud care
fully tucking the pen behind his ear, as
though he were mixing his toilet"
"What do you mean by this" they de-
manded, when he appeared in the directors
room. Telling US there s only $9,647 50
of available cash and suggesting that we
get some for the counter"
'It's So" responded Brown, land /
thought you ought to know it before the
money is all checked out. The bank
middle of the day"
but according to your statement Of yes
terday aud your showing of .to-days bust
ness, there ought 20 be $3.50, 648. Where is
the other s25OO002 We we're just discuss
ing an inves .menu for it.
"rve invested it my SELF" replied Brown,
coolly, "in a safe place-$250, 900 Of it. The
".
| took quarter of million away with me
last evening"
"You whatP'
81 stole it, in plain English. When got
this response to my note to the President,
but, really, | must renew my sugges-
zion about the ACCESSIBILITY of getting some
cash on the counter. Your are very short,
and you ought to attend to it at once"
Two of the directors drew their che cks
| on ofhaT banks and sa1t rhRnl out altbOI1 OH
The signatures were very shaky, and then,
quite at his ease, Mr.. Brown leaned up
against the carved mantelpiece, read the
presidents note refusing his request for an
increase, and went on:
JOHNS CALCULATION
"When got this noe it sat ms to think
ing whether, as our relations were purely
business affair, couldn't do better than 20
on as had been doing. There was $250,-
600 in convenient shape that could get my
hands on. | might have skipped to Canada
with it, but don't like the climate took
the money away with me and concealed
it" pausing for moment aad smiling
down i'll their eager faces, "in place
known only to myself. / shall give myself
up, and as our relations, in the language Of
the president, have been personally pleas
ant will save you the expense of tria
by pleading guilty. The maximum sen
W
state is ten years in the peAitentiary. Will
the Communication off for good behavior thai
will be about eight and Il half years. Ii
will be dull, but I will not be idle | have
never had leisure to cultivate the graces Of
the mind. l have a taste for music. / vii
cultivate it. L will book myself up in th,
polite sciences. / will learn "a moderr
language or two. l am 81 years old now
When l have served my term aid am clea
of the law l will come out of prison 3!
years old, with a cultivated mind and
comfortable fortune of $3.50, 900 awaiting
me. | can afford to 60 away, to travel In
foreign countries and enjoy life. OF course
| will lose the interest on my $4,000 while
| | am in prise }, bu il | were to live on air
and 60 naked and save all my salary
wouldn't have one-fifteth as much at tbs
age of 49, On the whole, | think, | have
made good speculation. Don't your
The op NOUS Of the directors were moi
very coherent just at that moment. They
made various appeals to him, on the conf
de CO they had i'll him, on the good name
he bore, on the dishonor he would incur
etc., but he responded that all these had not
help I'd him to an increase in salary, and re-
lentlessly quoted the language of the presi-
den S note to him, tina their relations
were purely business affair on both Sides
Finally he said:
"Our relations have been 'pers 1nally
pleasant and l have no unconquerable de-
sire to spend the next eight and a half years
/ i I ~ n