Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1897-04-02
IN SAVINGS BANKS.


R0MANcEs WHERE ONE WOULD
HARDLY EXPECT THEM.
Interesting Experiences Told by Presl-
dents-Instanccs Of the Accommodating
Powers Of Interest-How . Deposition
Was Robbed by An Unprincipled Lawyer.
If one has the good luck to get several
presidents of savings banks together and
when they are through with talking bust
ness hear them exchange interesting ex-
periences, he will have an enjoyable hour.
Here arc some Of the things which he will
be likely to hear or might have heard any
time within the last few years. Imagine
group of presidents seated around a glow
ing sea coal fire in the luxurious office Of
one of them. After the conversation has
"become general" as some of the novel
writers say, Mr.. A. discourses to this effect:
IL don't know whether any of the rest
of you have ever had anything like this in
your experience or not. 1t Is against the
rules of course, for our bank to take
charge of the books of any of the deposit
ors, but must plead guilty to violating
the rule to a certain extent myself. In
one Of the drawers in my desk for the last
six or seven years have kept the book of
q woman who opened all account that long
ago. As soon as she had done SO she came
to me and told me a moving tnle of the
cruelty of her husband, saying that he
would give her no peace day or night If he
knew she had put money in q bank. She
was afraid to take the book home with her,
as she had no place to conceal it where he
could not find it, and she didn't want to
tell any friend about what she was doing
'unbeknownst,' as she might have said.
So she begged me, with tears in her eyes,
to allow her to leave it with me, and as
personal favor consented to take charge
of it. Every now and then she comes in
here, asks for the book, takes it out to
make her deposit and then returns it to
me- Her account now amounts to about
$500. And I think can say that have
never suffered from a pricking of con-
science because of having winked at vio-
lation of a rule of the bank"
Mr.. A. having been acquitted by the
unanimous silence of his confreres, Presi-
dent B. began to speak. II don't want to
before" he remarked, "but it certainly
a Woodworking mechanic opened an ac-
count in our bank, to which he added reg
ularly for some time. After that for a long
period the account lay dormant, growing
by the addition of the interest until it
amounted to about s., 500. In some way
an INSCRIPTIONS lawyer heard of it and
after the manner of his kind went to the
mechanic with plausible tale. What will
you give me, he asked, if I will prove to
you that there is a sum of several thou
sand dollars due you and put you in the
way of getting the money! The mechanic
was naturally astonished and was easily
prevailed on by the smooth tongued law
yer to sign a contract that if the lawyer
could make out such a case as he said he
could the money would be divided between
them. Thereupon the lawyer let out his
secret The money is due you, he said,
from such and such a savings bank ''Oh,
I know all about that, replied the me-
chanic 'Ihave known all along that had
the money there. But the lawyer Haunted
the contract in the mans face, and, though
it was plain case Of fraud, the man be-
lieved it was valid contract and actually
gave the scoundrel lawyer half the amount
in the bank"
After o suitable interval President G.
took up the tale. II don't know that I can
do BETTER" he began, Ethan to tell a little
story which heard a few years ago from
the president of one of the Brooklyn banks,
and shall try to tell it as nearly as pos
sible in his own words as recall them.
AS was sitting in my office one day one
of the young men in the bank came to me
and showed me a book which bore a date
of many years before. He said 1t had been
k111 III
to send her to me. On inquiry learned
she said the book belonged to her, and she
had put the money in the bank long
time before. AS nearly as she could remem-
Der, the amount was about $500, and sew
eral times, pointing to the book, she asked
anxiously If it was not all there. 1Assured
her that it was and proceeded to question
her as to why she had left the account SO
long undisturbed. She said that many
years before she had been employed as q
servant in Brooklyn and had taken all she
could spare from her wages and put the
money in bank. After time she went
away from the city and had never set foot
in it until that day. She was getting old
and thought it would be q good thing to
90 and get her money. Again she asked If
It was all there, indicating the book, and
of course l told her it was all right, ex-
cept the interest, word that seemed to
convey no idea to her mind. became con-
WINGED that she was entitled to the money
and told one of the clerks to write up the
book just as though it had been an active
account all the time. When his work was
done, found that the amount due the old
woman was about IS, 900. She was simply
dazed and asked how it could be. l ex-
planned as we'll as I could about the inter-
est, but she was unable to understand it.
Overcome by her feelings, she burst into
tears when the money was brought tosher.
ooh, SIR, she said, you don't know what
you have done for me- can't understand
at all how all that money belongs to me;
but, do you know, shan't have to do
another day g work as long as live" I
don't think said my Brooklyn friend in
telling the story, that ever had a keener
appreciation Of the benefits of savings
banks than at that moment and fancy
all Of us would have said the same thing
If we had been in his place. New York