Tombstone epitaph., 1890-04-05
LONDON BANK TELLERS.
Experts in Hand ing Money-Features of
 the English System.

days work, and this feeling is usually | shared in by the rest of the staff, who | can not leave the bank until he either
 discovers his error or satisfies himself
 as to the actual shortage. The great
 bulk of the shortages made across bank
 counters in England are believed to oc-
 cur on that day.
 Next in order of bad days for the tell
 CT, or cashier, as he is designated in
 London, comes Saturday, but there the bad luck is intelligible. Saturday is
 wages day, and no sooner has the teller filled his till and loaded up his shelves
 with silver in e5 and a10 bags than the
 days work sets in like 8 flood. Until
 twelve o'clock he is paying away with
 both hands; after that hour, if he is a
 receiving clerk as we'll, he begins to re-
 ceive heavily, for Saturday 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 custodyover
 Sunday.
 In beginning work on Saturday the
 London teller faces an open mahogany
 counter, of which the portion controlled
 by his desk is probably six feet long by
 three feet wide. He likes to have
 good, square view of his customer, and
 it is one of the canons of British bank
 ing that the eyes of the staff shall com
 mand the counter. With such an open
 counter the chief clerk is able to keep
 the whole field under 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 pre-
 serve a sUeadier demeanor and attend
 more closely to business while under the
 eyes of the public.
 The London teller is quick manipu-
 lator of coin. This is largely owing to
 the fact that the smallest note issued in
 London is of the value of e5 or S25.
 When asked for gold in a greater amount than his eye can count at glance, the teller, after counting it quickly with a pianoforte motion, 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, rath- CT more, in fact, but the same number taken at haphazard will be found to be nearly half sovereign tor # per cent.) short in weight, while 100 pounds ster- ling in ordinary half soverelgns are sometimes 20 shillings tor per cent.) short in value. The teller can quickly satisfy himself as to whether the de- ficiency 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 diff ference is due to underweight. If the latter exceeds the average stated the coin will need to be specially examined there is probably something wrong.
 The edge of the English bank counter is provided with a 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, simultaneously; | sometimes he uses six fingers, and teller has been known to count four | hundred and fifty sovereigns in one minute, working against time. An ex- pert teller will count one hundred pounds sterling value of silver in seven minutes. When it is remembered that the coins are always mixed, and consist of sixpences, shillings, forins. half crowns and crowns, with never deci- nal convenience among them, this will be considered as remark able feat.
 The annual loss from wear and tear of gold coin in England by reason of the absence of small notes is almost incred- ble. In Scotland the issue of one- pound sterling notes displaces gold to a great extent. The Scotch teller excels n counting paper money. In lingering ! bundle of notes he is king of men. Placing the packets upright against his eft palm, and seizing the top corner be- ween the finger and thumb of his right land, he will turn over thc notes so Iuickly that an ordinary observer will ,e as entirely deceived as by the three ard trick, and will probably count only ixteen or seventeen to the teller's wenty. Then, to check his count, he will either alternate his hands, or, plac- ng the notes horizontally on his coun- { CT, he will count them toward himself with the same paralyzing speed.
 The Scotch counter is twice as wide as T < 11& enter and is minus the rim, which fa- ilitates the English teller's dexterity , vith the coin. The Scotch teller in Ed ] nburgh is railed in. His domain is a title island by itself, he takes no re- possibility, he carries no balances in is head, and will not look at a check ntil the ledger clerk, far off in the cor q CT, has countersigned it.
 An advantage which the English tell r possesses over the American and the cotch teller lies in the fact that he is les clean notes only. The Bank of [ ngland has the exclusive privilege of ote issues in London and within radi- s of sixty miles, right conferred for re certain valuable consideration granted '' ) the Government in years gone by. .- Il the notes received by the London 'ller are sent into the Bank of England. Id they are not reissued. The average fe of tive-pound sterling bank note is il 70 or three weeks, that of one-hun- 'ed-pound sterling bank note three n, L,' lys-t-at is, the interval between it's ar sue and return to the bank for final dr ,ath.