The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-01
WAYS OF BANK RUNNERS.

! WAYS OF BANK RUNNERS.
From The New York Herald.
A more variegated assortment of
! humanity than the bank messengers,
| or runners OF Wall street, it would
/ be hard to find. There are old men,
] grown gray in the service, who have
and in and out of the same Offices for
| the last forty 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 of
life. from the bankrupt broker and IN
, fortunate business man to the awk-
ward, raw-boned farmers boy, sent to
/ the city to win his way.
They are started out in the morning
about ten o'clock with fifty or sixty pa
pers to collect. There are sight drafts,
notes, coupons and miscellaneous
lot of other matter that must all be
collected before three o'clock in the
afternoon. These papers are arranged
In proper order before the messenger
goes out, and the head of the depart
ment knows exactly what each man
has in his possession, and can come
pretty near locating him at any hour
of the day. Every runner, young or
old, is supplied with large leather
pocketbook, generally strapped or
chained to his waist, in which he car
ries his papers and the money and
checks which he receives.
1t is no uncommon thing for man
TO collect three to six thousand dollars
in cash, while the amount in checks
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
twelve to a hundred dollars a month.
They have to report early in the morn
ing, and after being on their feet all
day are often obliged to stay until nine
or ten o'clock at night. If they return
a mot good check minute late and
payment is refused they are merciless-
ly hauled over the Goals, and a repeti.
ton of such an offense is sometimes
followed by dismissal Yet 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
q number, and their respective runners
instead of being called by name are
greeted with Hello, 81" or Hurry
up, 33n' 1t is an understood rule that
a messengers business must be attend
ed to before anything else, and long
line at the paying teller's window will
often be kept waiting when some gray
bearded man or rosy-cheeked boy rushes
in and thrusts forward a bundle OF
checks-"Sent wrong to 23"'
One of the most interesting institu.
tions in the city is the clearing house,
and few outside of the business would
even know what the name implies. It
is one of the greatest labor saving ar
engagements ever thought of, for it is
there that the banks return to each
The clearing house is situated on the
corner Of Pine street and Nassau, Just
over the Chase national bank. In q
large room are four rows of desks. all
facing the same way, like a school. !
Each desk is numbered and belongs to |
certain bank. and is presided over by !
q clerk sent from that bank. Another |
clerk stands in front of the desk with !
q large bag containing the checks to be 4
returned. These are done up in bun |
dies with the total amount and name |
of bank on the outside of each, and the |
clerk also has slip with these totals |
down in proper order.
Precisely at ten o'clock gong rings /
and the procession starts, all moving /
in the same direction and stopping long /
enough before each desk to drop 4
package and get a signature opposite
the amount on the slip. In eight min.
utes it is all over and every bank has
received its own checks. If a bank
sends its checks even second late it is
fined three dollars, so, as rule, every.
body is on time.
Frequently checks will get into the
wrong bundle and, of course, go to the
wrong bank. Here again is more work
for the runner. for these are the sent
wrong" and must be returned to the
proper banks before three o'clock the
same day.
The first of January and first of July
are, however, the times the messengers
dread 1t is then that the interest on
most semi-annual bonds is due and the
runner Is kept racing from one Office 20
another as hard as he can 60.
Altogether the life of Wall street
is not a pleasant one, and
the hours. ten to three, displayed sc
conspicuouslv in all the banks, have
little or no meaning for him
TIE FEMALE BACzELOR,