Wichita eagle., 1890-02-07

hgible. Saturday is wages day, and no sooner
has the teller fiHed his till and loaded up his
shelves with silver in E5 and e10 bags than
the days work sets in like food. Until u
O'Clock he is paying away with both hands:
after that hour, if he is receiving clerk a
well, he begins to receive heavily, 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 mahogany counter,
of which the portion controlled by his desk is
probably feet long by feet wide. Hehkes
to have 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 to
business while thus under the eyes of the pub
lic
The London teller is quick manipulatu
of coin. This is largely owing to the fact
that the smallest note issued In London Is OF
the value of 95, or $25. When asked for gold
in greater amount than his eye can count
at a glance, the teller, after counting it quick
ly with pianoforte action, throws it with
his copper scoop into his faithful scales, and
SO 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 will be tested. One hundred new
sovereigns are of full weight, rather more, ID
fact, but the same number taken at haphazard
will be found to be nearly half sovereign
Tor X per cent? short in weight, while e1OC
in ordinary half sovereigns are sometimes
twenty shiilings Tor per cent? short in value.
The teller can quickly satisfy himself as to
whether the deficiency is caused by shortage
In the weight or the count, by dividing the
amount and weighing one moiety against the
other. If they balance evenly the count is
correct and the difference Is due to under
weight If the latter exceeds the average
stated the coin will 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 The teller usually counts with
the first two fingers of both hands, simultane-
ously: sometimes he uses six fingers and o
teller has been known to count 45O sovereigns
In one minute, working against time. An ex-
pert teller will count e100 value of silver in
seven minutes. When it is remembered that
the coins are always mixed and consist of six
pences, shillings, forins, half crowns and
crowns, with never a decimal convenience
will h1v ha oonci6.
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 great
extent. The Scotch teller excels in counting
paper money In lingering bundle Of notes
he is king of men. Placing the packets up
right against his left palm, and seizing the
top corner between the finger and thumb OF
his right hand, he will turn over the notes SC
quickly that an ordinary observer will be as
entirely deceived as by the three card trick,
and will probably count only sixteen or seven
ueen to the teller's twenty. Then, to check
his count, he will either alternate his hands
or, placing the notes horizontally on his count
er, he win count them toward himself with
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
lish teller's dexterity with the coin. The
Scotch teller in Edinburgh is rallied in. His
domain is little island by itself, he takes
no responsibility, he carries no balances in
his head, and will not look at a check until
the ledger clerk, far off in the corner, has
countersigned it.
An advantage which the English teller
possesses over the American and the Scotch
teller lies in the fact that he issues clean
notes only. The Bank of England has the
exclusive privilege of note issues in London
and within a radius of sixty miles, right
conferred for a certain valuable considera-
tion granted to the government in years
gone by. All the notes received by the Lon
don teller are sent into the Bank of England
and they are not relssued. The average life
of e5 bank note is two or three weeks, that
of g100 bank note three dsys-that is, the
interval between its issue and return TO the
bank and final death.-Boston Commercial
Bulletin.