The herald., 1897-04-13
OFFICE OF THE HERALD.

and commerce, and nowhere is the
change more apparent than In banking.
Today the banks in all our large cities
have q number OF woman customers,
ana very often furnish special accom-
modations for the convenience of such
patrons. The wealthy father now
rightly supposes that the best way to
reach his daughter to understand the
value Of money Is to let her handle 1t
herself; therefore he gives her sum
Of money and has her deposit 1t with
. bank and make out her own checks
The husband nowadays no longer has
his wife come to him for every dollar sdhe
requires. but instead gives her check
book and the delight of handling bank
account.
But 1t must be candidly confessed that
these modern methods are not as yet
fully grasped by the fair sex. and that
very often ludicrous mistakes are made
by the feminine financier before she
grasps the knowledge of how to draw
q check and how to indorse it.; how to
make out deposit slip and what to DO
with her bank book. 1T is not unusual
for woman to leave her signature as
Mary Smith," says one bank cashier
who has suffered many things at the
hands of the fair sex, land then sign her
first check Mrs. John Smith. When the
check comes back to her marked no
account she usually rushes very in
dignantly to the bank and tells the Of
ficials that they should have known
the check was all right"
Among other errors made is the fall
ure to write checks with pen and ink,
and to omit to write the amount OF the
check In figures in the place set apart
for that purpose. "Overdrafts," says
another bank Official, "give us the most
trouble. The women overdraw their
accounts because they keep no record Of
their checks. The story OF the woman
who came to the bank to demonstrate
because her check had been branded
mo funds and who said there must
be money to her credit because she had
not half used up her check book, was no
exaggeration."
A New York bank has published q
neat little volume for the benefit Of its
customers. and gives them some valua-
BILE advice. Among other things 1t says:
"The passbook, while kept by the Gus
toner, Is really the property of the
bank. and nothing should be written in
It by the depositor. The custom of some
persons using their bank passbooks as
personal memorandum books causes
endless annoyance and labor to the
bookkeeper. who has to handle large
numbers Of these books in a short space
Of time"
A series of valuable don'ts have been
formulated by one bank which out Of
the kindness Of its corporation heart
wishes to save women from the embar-
rassment Of Ignorance, and, incidentally,
keep itself from a good deal Of extra
work and annoyance. So 1t says:
Don't draw q check unless you have
the money in the bank or in your pos
session to deposit.
Don't test the courage and generosity
of your bank by presenting or allowing
to be presented your check for a larger
sum than your balances.
Don't draw q check and send It to a
person out Of the city. expecting to make
It good before 1t can possibly get back;
sometimes telegraphic advice is asked
about such checks.
Don't exchange checks with anybody
This is called ''kiting," and is soon dis
covered by your bank. 1t does your
friend no good. and discredits you,
Don't quarre, with the teller because
he does not pay you in money exactly as
you wish; as rule he does the best he
can. In all your intercourse with the
bank officers treat them with the same
courtesy and candor that you would ex-
pect and desire II the situations were
reversed.
Don't give your check to q stranger.
This Is an open door to fraud, and II the
bank loses through you it will not feel
kindly toward you. When you send
your checks out of the city to pay bills
write the name and residence of your
payee, thus: PAY to John Jones & Co. or
Boston" This will put your bank on
guard IL presented at the counter.
Don't commit the folly of supposing
that because you trust the bank with
money the bank ought to trust you by
paying your overdrafts.
Don't suppose you can behave badly
In one bank and stand well with the
others. Remember there is q clearing
house.
Don't think 1t Is unreasonable If youc
bank declines to discount an accommo-
dation note. If you want an accommo-
dalton note discounted, tell your bank
frankly that 1t is not. In their definition,
= business note.
The monthly statement of the comp
troller Of the currency shows total cir
culation Of national bank notes on March
81. 1897 OF $233, ,70s, ,894. being q net in
crease since March 81, 1896, of 81, ,481, ,0So.
This circulation to the amount of $780,
7.702 was based on United States bonds
deposited and on lawful money on de-
posit amounting to $2S.941. 1872.
According to the New York Bond Buy
er, the bond sales for the month Of March
have exceeded by nearly $1.000.000 the
average sales Of the first two months OF
this year. The months of November and
December of last year were, as far as
bond sales were concerned. Of an abnor-
mai character and did not represent the
true condition of the bond market: but,
since the first Of the year, the bond mar