Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-05
w O M EN- AND BANKS
Trouble That They Cause to Cashiers and
Presidents.
Carrying Their Accounts Involves Adj
ditfonal Labor and Some
times Much Annoyance.

ness TWO women sat in his private Office
in earnest conversation with him. 1 waited
hVe, ten, twenty minutes. Then they left
him-slowly and with many brief returns.
as is the way of woman-and got into a
handsome carriage which stood in front Of
the bank. The cashier had a weary express
sion as he turned to me-
That is one of our depositors" he said
THE woman with her is her bookkeeper. or
her private secretary, or something They
have come down town in response 10 a no.
tice telling madame that her account is
overdrawn. She is quite sure that it is not
Women are always right, you know, and
the bank is always wrong. She had her
check book with her. and she showed me
that she. ought to have several hundred
dollars to her credit. according to the bal
ance there. ] know that she has not but L
have not been able to prove it to her. She
has probably carried an old balance over
from one stub to another without deducting
the amount of the checks on one stub 1
ought to tell her to hunt up the mistake
for herself, but that would not do. She
would be offended. So L have told her to
come back later, and will spend my even
ing at the office going over the account with
her. You cannot treat women as You would
men,"
Does the business of carrying women's
accounts pay for all the worry and annoy
ance that the women give you?" 1 asked.
"Oh, yes; it pays very WELL" said the
cashier, but it must be a special branch of
the business and treated separately. You
cannot deal with women as you would with
men. 1t takes very little to offend them"
The business of women with the banks Of
New York pays very well, indeed. There Is
one bank in the shopping district which has
on its books accounts with 1000 women
enough to run the bank by themselves if
there were no men depositors 1t is not a
'.woman's bank" there are no banks ex-
clusively for women in New York. The
fraudulent ''women's banks" which have
been opened from time to time in Boston
and New York, have given bad name to
organized for women exclusively is UNI
der the suspicion of being organized 10 i'm
pose on women's credulity.
A Woman BoOkkeeper.
But some of the banks of New York make
a speciality of catering to women's busir ess
and more than one of them has a woman
bookkeeper to attend to women's accounts.
bank which was organized not long ago
employed Mrs. Cyrus w. Field, after her
melancholy experience in the millinery
business, to go among her acquaintance
and solicit business, and she now draws a
salary and commission for her work.
There are ladies' waiting rooms in some
banks. with cheval glasses and Persian
rugs and furniture in carved birch and
brocade. And the competition among these
banks for women's accounts Is very lively.
All OF these are uptown banks located in
the shopping or residence districts. The
downtown banks and many of the up-
town banks as well do not want women's
accounts. They do not decline to take
them. but they treat a woman depositor
with ordinary business brusQueness ard,
accustomed to special consideration from
the other sex. she is quickly affronted and
soon withdraws her account
Women do not deposit money for the pur-
pose Of saving 1t; they never increase their
accounts by small deposits. This Of course
excludes from consideration the dime saw
tngs banks and the penny funds which are
established to encourage the habit OF saw
ing. With few exceptions, the bank &C
counts of women are maintained by their
husbands for the purpose of proviiing for
household expenses. The man does lot
want to be worried with household affairs
SO he lets his wife worry away her life over
a bank account while he keeps his business
balance down town." is the way one hank
official explained il. Usually the husoand
gives his wife certain sum each nioh IN,
which she deposits in her bank and draws
upon. This custom has become very COM
mon of late years.
THE usual deposit is about 81 900 or per-
haps $1,000 a month";, said the cashier of
one bank which handles a great deal of
woman's business. Some accounts run up
to $500 a month. This is intended simply
for household expenses and spending
money. Nearly all of II is drawn out before
the the month Is up: Does il pay to handle
these transient sums? Oh, YES III the
woman starts in with 81 500 and draws The
money out in small amounts her balance
VIII average very well for the month And
women are no worse than men in this
N hxax h.la
bank '
Great Source of Aunoynnce.
is not the wcman's business a great
source OF annoyance?" asked
VERY great" he answered. with a sigh
women want the most impossible and nm
businesslike things done fer them. Nine
women in ten have not the faintest idea OF
what they have right to ask of a hank
oHlciai There is case that 1 have in
mana. woman whom 1 have known for
many years. the wife of a prom,nant -;
tect-you would know him If 1 mentinna5
ms nane-came TO me in great distress
She had bought some goods of a trades
taking his receipt When his bin for the
next month came in, he had Included ,he
goods which she had paid for the month
before. She Old not Ike TO bother her hus-
pand with the matter, she said. woul1n.t
L attend to 1t for herr
Now. the settlement of that matter WAS
JUST as lar OUTSIDE my business as IL would
De for me TO help her select a new dress
But what could L do? L said: Very we'll.
VIII write TO the man. Leave the papers
win me-and she went away contented
nave the papers on my desk now / have
written TO the tradesman stating the case
ana teiilng him to call me If he has
any claim to make. i have not heard from
him and probably I will not But that is
sample OF what women ash. US to do
And to refuse-?''
lis impclitic. IL it is not impossible
nave learned from n long experience win
women that you cannot tell them that tha,
are imposing on you. 1 make IL a rule al
ways TO do what a woman asks of me az
possible, and then to tell her that she b.d
no right to ask it. i know that the wo,nsn
mas no idea that she is asking what IS moi
riSht. When you tell her that what she
mas asked was not a part Of your duties
she Is always very sorry-sometimes yor,,
unhappy about IL. Women are usuallv onan
TO reason II You approach them in the ripb,
way. Ihey are no more unreasonable Than
many men. Nine women in ten ask extro
ordinary Things Of us. The proportion ~
men may not be so great, but there is moi
a DAY that some man does not make -
reasonable requests. But you can Civ, tho
man very prompt answer and a very
ciear one, while you must approach the
woman automatically" ''ie
Never Know Their Balance.
The usual first deposit required Of "a
woman is 800. Most OF the big New
York banks in accepting mems accounts
supuiate that certain balance shall he
arrieI a