The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-08

and dining room for the use OF the seventy
i've employees of the bank. Ha0 have their
luncheon served them every day. II cost
last year TO feed their clerks at monday.
but they consider II a good investment
o,h me new eankins Offices are ntted with
gested by experience and taste. The gem
eraI effect gives an impression Of soliaity.
The Clearinghouse Association reserves
the rest OF the building for it, own pur-
poses. on the second story are the adj
ministration offices. reception rooms COM
mittee rooms and large hall for the meet
lngs or the association. which is PERHAPS
IN the most snnptuous IN the United States.
ihere Is also library In which the men,
oers OF the association can find every work
or value that relates to banking and
devoted 70 the cash department and the
clerks Of the Manager The third floor
contains the exchange or clearing room.
slghty feet square. with the great dome
Tor its roof. Here viii be the desks OF the
sixty-six banks belonging TO the associa-
ton, all OF them under the eye OF the man
ager. who occupies a gallery IN an alcove
ar one end. In the rear Of the clearing
room is dining hall and kitchen. a bath
room, storage room and Accommodations
Tor the Janltors- Although but sixty-six
banks belong to the Clearing house Asso-
citation. the business OF cighty-four other
outside banks is transacted through men,
bers every day. Last Friday the ciearings
amounted to S59000.00. in which 10000
of actual money passed from hand TO hand.
York Clearinghouse Association is not
Incorporated body. IL is simply a mutual
benefit concern, which rests upon an agree
.ment signed by its members and kept in
its vaults. That agreement is the only
lawful evidence Of it's existence. and was
originally drawn and signed on the llth
effecting at one place the daily exchanges
between the several associated banks. and
the payment at the same place OF the bal
ances resulting from such exchanges.
1t may be interesting TO some readers TO
know how the business is conducted. For
merly banks used 10 send messenger boys
around TO the other banks OF the city 10 col
lect the cash upon a bundle OF checks
which had been deposited 10y its customers.
Each bank did the same, and the cOnse-
quence was great deal OF trouble. time and
risk. Now all this is done at a clearing
house. Every morning at 10 O'Clock there
assemble al the clearing house two clerks
from each of the banks belonging to the
association. One, the settling clerk, enters
and occupies a desk that has been assigned
10 the institution he represents. The other.
or delivery clerk takes his position before
one of these desks with a large pocketbOok
in his hand. Promptly at the hour the
manager strikes a gong. when each OF the
sixty-six delivery clerks takes from his
pocketbook a package of checks upon the
bank whose representative sits at the desk
beside him. and gets in exchange a receipt
for the amount they represent. He then
advances TO the next desk. where the same
transaction takes place. and so on until the
circuit is completed. and every one OF the
sixty-six desks has been been visited by
every one of the delivery clerks. This takes
about ten minutes. The settling clerk then
runs over the accounts and makes up a
statement, which he hands TO the delivery
clerk, who takes il 10 his bank. This state
ment shows how much money is due from
and how much is owing 10 the other banks
OF the association. This statement il proved
and checked of by the clerks I'm the banks,
and at 1890 O'Clock the delivery clerk r.
turns to the clearing house with packages
of cash to settle the balances OF his bank.
These are paid in order To the settling
clerks. During the year 1885 the transac-
tions Of the New York clearing house have
amounted 10 so, loo, 1884, 40, OF which Sl,Ss6-
574 s49 was cash. The average daily trans
actions for the year were SS.SSS.372. The
total transactions since its organization
forty-two years ago amount 10 the enOr-
NOUS sum of 81 122 976 "a. 53l. and Sf9 45. COS
$50 in cash has been handled over its coun-
FOR