Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-09-27
WAYS OF BANK RUNNERS.
Daily Tasks of Mes sengers Who Han
die Thousands of Dollars.

A more Yariegated assortment of hui
mainly than the bank messengers,
or runners" of Wall street, it would
be hard to ind says the New York
Herald. There are old men, grown
gray in the service, who have been
running around the same streets and
in and out of the same offices for the
last 40 years. Then there are the
youngsters, boys just out Of school,
who feel very large to think they are
down town." And between these two
extremes of youth and old age are a
collection of men from every walk in
life, from the bankrupt broker and
ward, raw boned farmers boy, sent to
the city to win his way.
They are started out in the morning
about 10 o'clock with 90 or 60 papers
to collect. There are sight drafts,
notes, coupons and a miscellaneous lot
of other matter that must all be col
lected before o'clock in the afternoon.
These papers are arranged in proper
order before the messenger goes out,
and the head of the department knows
exactly what each man has in his pos
session, and can come pretty near
locating him at any hour of the day
Every runner, young or old, is supplied
with a large leather pocketbook, gen
orally strapped or chained to his waist,
in which he carries his papers and
the money and checks he receives.
1t is no uncommon thing for4a man
to collect three to six thousand dollars
in cash, while the amounts in checks
run way up in the hundreds of thou
sands. 1t can be readily understood
what temptations are put in the way
Of these underpaid, hard worked mes
sengers, and their honesty under the
circumstances is little short of surpris-
ing.
The salary Of these men ranges from
So to 500 a month. They have to re-
port early in the morning, and after
being on their feet all day are often
obliged to stay until 8 or 10 o'clock at
night. If they return a mot good"
check a minute late and payment is
refused they are mercilessly hauled
over the Goals, and a repetition of such
an offense is sometimes followed by
dismissal. Yet a great deal depends
on these same runners and frequently
their quickness and fOrethought save
the bank thousands Of dollars.
AS many people know, every bank
that belongs to the clearing house has
a number, and their respective runners
instead Of being called by-mame are
greeted with Hello, 21!' or Hurry
up, 33!'' 1t is an understood rule that
a messengers business must be at
tended to before anything else, and
long line at the paying tellers' window
will often he kept waiting when some
gray bearded man or rosy checked
boy rushes in and thrusts forward "a
bundle of eli. existent wrong to 23r'
One of the most interesting institu
tons in the city is the clearing house,
and few outside Of the business would
even know what that name implies.
It is one of the greatest labor saving
arrangements ever thought of, for it
is there that the banks return to
each other their respective checks.
The clearing house is situated on
the corner Of Pine street and Nassau,
just over the Chase National bank. In
a large room are four rows Of desks,
all facing the same way, like a school.
Each desk is numbered and belongs
to a certain bank, and is presided over
by a clerk sent from that bank. An
other clerk stands in front of the
desk with large bag containing the
checks to be returned. These are done
Up in bundles with the total amount
and name Of bank on the outside Of
each, and the clerk has also slip
with these totals in proper order.
Precisely at 10 o'clock gong rings
and the procession starts, all moving
in the same direction and stopping
long enough before each desk to drop
a package and get a signature Oppo-
site the amount on the slip. In eight
minutes it is all over and every bank
has received it's own checks. If
bank sends its checks even a second
late it is fined So, so, as a rule, every
body is on time.
Frequently checks will get into the
wrong bundle and, of course, 90 to the
wrong bank Here again is more work
for the runner, for these arepthe sent
wrongs" and must be returned to the
proper banks before 8 o'clock the same
day.
The first of January and first Of
July are, however, the times the mes
sengers dread. 1t is then that the in
terest on most Of the semi-annual
bonds is due and the runner is kept
racing from one Office to another as
hard as he can go.
Altogether the life of a Wall street