Evening journal., 1890-02-04
aoNkoN BANK TELlERs.


"a t'NuOu panh itlleT always experiences
feeling 81 relief when he finds his money cor !
rect at the close Of Fridays work, and this l
feeling is usually shared by the rest Of the
staff, who cannot leave the bank until he
either discovers his error or satisfies himself
as - the actual shortage The great bulk Of
the shortages made across bank counters in
England are believed 10 occur on that day.
Next IN order Of bad days for the teller, or
cashier, as lie Is designated in London, comes
Saturday, but there tho bad luck Is intel
ligibie. Saturday is wages day, and no sooner
has The teller flied bis till and loaded up his
shelves with silver ia 81 ans 4i0 bags than
the days work sets IN like a food Until ia
O'Clock lie is payinS away with both hands.
after that hour, II he is a rHeiving clerk as
well, he begins to receive hen Willy, for Satur
day is also the last day OF the week and every
one elects that the bank should receive his
deposits rather than that he should keep them
in his own less secure custody over Sunday.
In beginning work on Saturday the Lon.
don teller faces an open mahogaug counter,
Of which the portion controlled by his desk is
probably 9 feet long by 3 feet wide He likes
Go have a good square view Of his customer.
and it is one Of the canons Of British banking
that the eyes Of the staff shall command the
counter With such an open counter the
chief clerk is able to keep the whole field un
der his eye at one time, and to relieve the
overstrain at any particular desk The effect
OF the exposed condition is beneficial, too, on
the staff, the members Of which preserve a
steadier demeanor and attend more closely 10
business while thus under the eyes Of the pub
lie.
The London teller is a quick manipulation
Of coin. This is largely owing to the fact
that the smallest note issued in London is Of
the value of 95, or S25 When asked for gold
in greater amount than his eye can count
at glance, the teller, after counting itquick-
y with pianoforte action, throws it with
his copper scoop into his faithful scales, and
50 checks his count The weights OF these
scales are arranged in suitable numbers The
teller also checks the gold which he receives
by weight, and here his knowledge of his
business viii be tested. One hundred new
sovereigns are of full weight, rather more, in
fact, but the same number taken at haphazard
will be found to be nearly half sovereign
tor Il per cent? short in weight, while el00
in ordinary half sovereigns are sometimes
twenty shillings Tor per cent? short in value,
The teller can quickly satisfy himself TO
whether the deficiency is caused by shortage
in the weight or the count, by dividing the
| amount and weighing one moiety against the
correct and the difference is due to under
weight II the latter exceeds the average
| stated the coin viii need to be specially ex
amined; there is probably something wrong
The edge of the English bank counter is
provided with lip to prevent the coin from
rolling over and to aid the teller in scooping
| up the money Tie teller usually counts with
the first two fingers of both hands, simultane-
| ously; sometimes he uses six fingers, and n
teller has been known TO count $50 soyereigns
in one minute, working against time. An ex
pert teller will count el00 value Of silver in
seven minutes. When it is remembered that
the coins are always mixed and consist Of six
pences, shillings, forms, half crowns and
| crowns, with never a decimal convenience
| among them, this win reasonably be consd
cred as a remarkable feat
/ The annual loss from wear and tear Of gold
coin in England by reason Of the absence OF
small notes is almost Incredible In Scotland
the issue Of 81 notes displaces gold To a great
extent The Scotch teller exceis in counting
paper money In lingering bundle Of notes
he is king Of men. Placing the packets up
right against his left palm, and Selling the
top corner between the finger and thumb Of
his right hand, he win turn over the notes SC
quickly that an ordinary observer will be as
1
and will probably count only sixteen or seven
teen to the teller's twenty. Then to check
his count, he viii either alternate his hands
or, placing the notes horizontally on his count
er, he will count them toward himself witt
the same paralyzing speed.
The Scotch counter is twice as wide as the
London one: It is elevated in the center and
is minus the rim which facilitates the Eng
lsh tellers dexterity with the coin The
Scotch teller in Edinburgh is rallied in. Iii!
domain is little island by itself, he take
no responsibility, he carries no balances il
his head, and will not look at check unit
the ledger clerk, far OIL in the corner, hai
counteisigned it.
An advantage which the English teller
possesses over the American and the Scotch
teller lies in the fact that he issues clear
notes only. The Bank Of England has thl
exclusive privilege of note issues in London
and within a radius Of sixty miles, a RICH
conferred for certain valuable consdera
tion granted TO the government in year
gone by. All the notes received by the Lon
don teller are sent into the Bank of England
and they are not reissued. The average III
Of a 50 bank note is two or three weeks, tina
Of "a 500 bank note three days-that is, tn
interval between ITS issue and return to tn
bank and final death Boston Commercia
Rpllafft,