New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-27
FoRG ERYES IN SAYINGS BANKS
PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE pAYISGyrELLER WARY
INNOCENT AND CRIMINAL FoRGERs.

INNOCENT AND CRIMINAL FoRGERs.
Few people from the outside get closer To The
bnsIness secrets OF savings banks than In the lines
that file continually before the little windows behind
which sits the teller. II there close-nouthed
people In the world they are the men who Conduct
the business OF these repositories Of the earnings Of
the poor From the president, back In some csrpeted
recess TO the watcher mt the front doors infor.
nation Is ever volunteered by them, and answers 10
questions OF bewlldered inquirers are given right To
the point and rs short as provcrbal pecrust There
fore when savings bank official talks OF his business
he generally says something the public knows nothing
about.
@I will tell you something that viii surprise you
said Treasurer Quinsn, Of the Greenwich Savings Bank
10 a Tribune reporter recently In burst Of cor
fdcnce "You wouldn't think that scarcely day
passes without attempts at forgery in big city savings
hank like this. 1t Is snecure 10 be paying teller
In this or any other savings bank In this city,
with that Mr.. Quinlan tapped bell aDd . bog
responded.
Ask the women's teller TO bring in some Of thoss
attempted forgeres" said the treasurer The boy de.
parted and pretty soon the womens teller brought In
a lot OF receipts and put them before Mr.. Qulnlan
They we're stuck on file and the lot was nearly Q
foot high
An these were filed ont within few month";
said DIR. Quinlan, and this Il only the showing n
the women's department. The difference In tbs us-
natures on these receipts from tile genuine signatures
kept by the bank Is all that enables the teller 10
spot them as forgeres. Sometimes the signatures
are close enough 10 raise doubt as TO their genuine
ness. In most cases the applicants answer all the
test questions, you see paying teller has got 10
exercise considerable Judgment
"Do you prosecute all these casesf'
"Oh my, no. Some OF them arc innocent attempts
at forgery, and some are criminal
The reporter confessed his ignorance OF what
"innocent" attempt at forgery,
Gan innocent attempt said Mr.. Quinan IA
where person signs a receipt for, say, Mary jones'
inhocently sHow Is this y the teller says. This Is
not tie signature of Mary Jones'. 'Oh, Mary Jones
is my sister, Is the reply. she sent me here TO draw
the money for her. Then the teller tells tue sister TO
20 back and get order to tell Mary Jones 10 come
and draw the money herself. II 1t Is an innocent
the sister goes away and does as she Is directed II
there is any crooked work the alleged sister storms
and fumes and insists and the teller quietly hands her
over to the police and prosecutes. Sometimes the
guilty ones 90 away without making any fuss. In
every case, however guilty or innocent, We make
note of the circumstances in book and look out
sharply that the proper person gets the money that
account thereafter. OF course we Keep the receips
with forged Signature
"Do you ever pay ont to the wrong personi'
"seldom, indeed. Sometimes, however the shrewA.
est teller will get caught. One young man went ~
tn Sing Sing yesterday for five years for extracting
small sum from this bank forged signature. An
other young is just about 10 be let out OF Elma
Reforatory after serving sentence for the same Of
fence"
Nor Is that the only dodge they try to work. con-
tlnued Mr.. Quinlan. :" remember when was teller
good many years AGO, q woman came TO have the IN
terest entered in her book she handed up her pass
book and it struck that had entered interest IN
a pass book for the woman not long before.
Madam I said, didn't enter up interest for yoa
last weekp'
I" no, SIR she said.'
Il am certain. madame must have done So
Weren't you here a week agO7' -
NO. sir, wasn't. Look at the book. There
no interest entered there
"That was true, but was sure had seen the won;
and found that il was the same woman. but another
account found she had thirteen different accounts
with the banks. At that time one OF tho banks re:
was to paw per cent interest on sums under $500
over that per cent was paid on the whole sum. 10
get that additional interest the woman had opened op
fweye trust accounts all under $500 In addition 10 her
own. I made her close up all those trust accounts
before she left the bank"