Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-08-07
AFTER BANK HOURS.
MOST IMPORTANT WORK DONE AFT
Err CLOSING THE FRONT DOOR.

Care Exercised to Avoid Mistaltes-Bills |
That Arc Worn and SoiIed Are Sent to
Washington or the subtrensury.
On stepping into any Of the large bank
ing houses down town one is almost wick
eddy tempted to lillen the functionaries be-
hind the bars to so many Gagged animals.
But the sharp, quick, intelligent faces Of
these men forbid the thought. Once in
side these iron bars and permitted the
privilege to pierce the inner Nepths an or
binary individual finds much to awaken
wonder. This is particularly true of both
the paying teller's and receiving teller's
departments, whose workings indeed are
peculiarly in unison. Here the fragments
of silkcn tissue, TINT pass daily through
our hands as dollar bills. arc undergoing
n strictly systematic discipline, each bill
being vigorously scrutiuizcd and carefully
handled and dealt with according to its
just deserts, good or bad. The position of
the paying tellors assistant is one which
requires the strictcst lrccaution and I'M
failing attention of him who holds it-a
quick, alert mind and active brain capable
Of doing at least half d zen things at tie
same time. This clerks hours are irregu-
lar and unccrtain-some days long, some
short, much depending upon the deposits
made through the day.
The banking hours are usually from $50
in the morning to . O'Clock in the after
nOon and the majority Of coplc are under
the impression that there is nothing more
to do at the latter hour but for the book
keepers to close their great volumes and the
teller to lock up the safe and all retire
simultaneously. But if those who hold
this notion of bank clerks hours should
happen into the bank two or three hours
later they would still find these men as
busy as bees and sleeper in work if posi-
Bile than Mt high noon.
Among most of the important banks of
the city the deposits made daily average
from 300 to 400, some of which are
amazingly large. 1t is IA little startling to
see the deposits made by some of the well
known firms f this city at holiday time,
as well as by the railroad companies after
the many legal holidays but more strik-
ingly is it so with the deposits of some of
the large dry goods stores after one of their
celebrated "n9rk down sales or bargain
days. Many of these latter deposits, if
piled up separately, would form a series of
little pillars that would put man of feet
completely in the shade, each valuing from
$4,000 to $50, 0C0 and composed chiefly
of 81 and 81 bills
smaller or sundry deposits passes them over
to his assistant, while quick eyes scan their
contents examining and proving each one
separately as u" does so. These in turn fall
into the hands of the paying tcller's assist
ant, from whence they spring to either a
glorious resurrection to make once more
the circuit of the globe or forever sink in
oblivion. But before reaching its final
destination in the bank-the safe-each
individual deposit has gone through the
supervision of at least three people. Thus
are avoided, as far as possible, all errors or
mistakes and traced if there be any such to
their original source, Thus the bank off
GERS, ever shrcwd, ever cautious, suffer
themselves to run no risks.
Having received orders from the paying
teller as to how he wishes the drawers and
safe stocked for the day, his assistant be
gins at once to unbind the fcttcrs of the
dense piles, ard soon the desks are strewn
with this big display of wealth. 1t presents
patchwork appearance of singular char
actor He takes the large deposits scpa-
rately and with wonderful skill and ener-
gy and with still more wonderful patience
wadcs through the mazcs of the mass, a
seemingly never ending task, and, to say
the least, a most tedious one. He starts
off to make IN $500 paok agcs of 50 and $40
bills, throwing out in systematic order the
ragged and time worn bills Of all denomi-
nations. Each bill Is carefully examined
and snoOthed out, and when each package
is complete it is slipped into Il ncat little
! white paper band, with the amount ii con-
tains clearly stamped upon it as well as the
signature of him who is responsible for 1t.
The bills of the larger denominations-tha
is TO say, the $50, 500 and 500 blls-are
usually made up into packages of thou
sands, and the 5000 and $1,000 bills are
laid away Independently of any stated
amount.
Having finished with the fives and tens,
tho counter takes ones and tWOs in hand.
These are likewise dealt and strapped into
bands of twenty-llycs. 1iitics and hundred
dollars. He good bills being thus sorted
out, the ragged are gone through ant
counted up separately These latter bills
after II respectful performance of the last
rites are ultimately committed 10 the
flames at the national capital.
Good and bad are for the time placed to-
gether aud footed up according to the
straps in order to prove whether or not the
figures agree with those given with tn
deposit. The good bills are then stores.
away, and the ragged ones of each deposit
are taken apart and amassed together
through the day. When in due season the
business of sorting has ended and not
good bill is anywhere to be seen, they are
then taken and put up in still more CON
venient order. The legal tenders or green
backs, the silver dollar bills, coins and ma
tional bank notes, all, ranging from the
lowest denominations to the highest are
carefully separated from each other and
taken in series and put into straps respec-
lively OF hundreds, five hundreds and
thousands. Thus all the legals" are kept
together in tves, tens, twentcs, and so on,
with the silver" and nationals. " These
are sent to Washington to he destroyed,
and occasionally to the subtreasury, and
for them in return there are sent back
good bills
1t would seem that most of the members
of the large business concerns of our proud
city understand to degree the term bank
etiQuett en as thnuuh thpv had baSkcd in