The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-05-04
now TO RUN A BANK.
A Board Where the Directors Meet to
Direct, and DO It
Naw Yn-k

A Board Where the Directors Meet to
Direct, and DO It
New York sun.
There is one bank in this country that
will never get in trouble as long as il has
its present board of directors. said Welt
known Orange county lawyer to reporter.
and that is the Chester bank, in our
county. up among the onion farmers.
Every director of that bank is q farmer
and every Saturday the entire board is
present at the bank promptly at o'clock
TO examine the affairs of the institu-
ton. to see that nothing has gone
wrong. The cashier is a man that any
membenpf the board would mortgage his
farm to get money to loan to him on his
own security. if he wanted it, and the presi-
dent of the board would trust with all its
individual wealth and take his word for the
disposal OF it. But when they meet at
the bank of Saturday, these rural censors
of its management drop oil indi-
vidua,ity. They are bank directors
then. and they are there TO direct They
don't take the cashiers word or the presi-
dents word or statement for anything.
The cashier can't show them package and
tell them there is so much money and such
and such securities in it, and then put it in
the safe without being asked to show it up.
These model directors say:
Fetch out your books. Empty the
vault and safe, and undo all your pack
ages"
Every envelope is opened, and ITS con-
tents examined and noted. Every bill Is
counted and scrutinised. Every coin is
enumerated down to the last copper in the
till. Then the books are looked into and
gone over with the same care, and they
have to balance to a cent or the directors
will know the reason then and there.
The cashier OF the hank told me once
that at one Of these weekly exami-
nations OF the banks affairs. il was
discovered that the cash on hand did not
agree with the books. There was twenty
FIVE cents entered on the books which Was
not on hand, and il could not be accounted
for Every package was re-examined BY
each one of these farmer bankers,
and every dollar of cash re-counted but
still the twenty-five cent deficiency
was apparent. After an hours search
for the missing money without it
being found, the president of the bank.
who had grown tired of the business, said
to the board that as the discrepancy was
evidently the result OF some little error
that the clerks would discover and correct
on Monday, he would put the missing
twenty-five cents in the cash out of his
own pocket so that the books could be bal
anced and the board could adjourn. But.
no. Stree
at may he an error. and it may be
something else" said the watchdog of the
banks treasury. Whatever it is, il must
be cleared up before this meeting ad-
journs."
THE safe was emptied OF its contents six
different times, the counting gone over
every time. and the books examined as
many times more. The sixth time the
contents of the safe were dragged out the
missing quarter was found in Q big enyel-
ope. where it had caught in some way
under loose Zap. The coin was turned
out on the table and counted in with the
cash. This made everything all straight:
the directors passed on the acts of the
banks officers and approved them. and the
meeting adjourned. The Chester bank
isn't very big one. but no Ciaassen or
feil or any other 'ki;ers' or wreckers could
get their work in on il while that board OF
directors is looking after the affairs of the
concern. Not by q jugfull they couldn't