Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-05-14
IN SAVINGS BANKS.
RoMANcEs WHERE ONE WOULD
HARDLY EXPECT THEM.
Interesting Experiences Told by Presi-
dents-Inssances of the Accommodating
Powers Of Interest-How a DepositOr
Was Robbed by an Unprincipled Lawyer.

dents-Inssances 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-
rerieEces, he will have an enjoyable hour
Here are 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 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:
81 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 l must plead guilty to violating
the rule to & certain extent myself III
one of the drawers in my desk for the last
six or seven years l have kept the book Of
IL woman who opened an account that long
ago. AS soon as she had done so she came
to me and told me moving tale 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 II 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 a
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 / think l can say that have
never suffered from pricking of con
science because of having winked at Il vio-
laton of rule of the bank. =
Mr.. A. having been acquitted by the
unanimous silence of his corfrercs, Presi
dent b. began TO speak. Il don't want to
bore any of you who may have heard this
before" he remarked, but it certainly
was II singular experience. Some years ago
a Woodworking mechanic opened an &C
count in our bank, to which he added reg
ularly for some time After that for q 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 u plausible tale. What Will
you give me, he asked. if | will prove to
you that there Ia n sum OF several thou
sand dollars due you and pat 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 q 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 snch savings bank oh,
l know all about that, replied the me
chanc i haveknown all along that had
the money there. But the lawyer Haunted
the contract in the man : face, and, though
ii was plain case of fraud. the man be-
lieved it was a valid contract and actually
gave the scoundrcl lawyer half the amount
in tho bank.
After n suitable interval President c.
took up the tale. II DOM know that / can
do better" be began, than to tell little
story which | heard u few years ago from
the president Of one Of the Brooklyn banks,
and shall trydto 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 book which bore n date
of many years before. He said it had been
brought in by an old woman. | told him
! to send her TO me. On inquiry l learned
that she could neither read nor write, but
she said the book belonged to her, and she
had put the money in the bank u long
| time before. A nearly as she could remem-
| Der, the amount was about $500, and SOW
eral times, pointing to the book, she asked
anxiously if it was not all there. | assured
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 a
servant in Brooklyn and had taken all she
could spare from her wages and put the
money in bank. After a 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 good thing to
60 and got 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, a word that seemed to
convey no idea to her mind. / became con-
| WINGED that she was entitled to the money
and told ono 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 So, 900. She was simply
dazed and asked how it could be. l ex-
| planned as well as l 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 to her.
"Oh, 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 days work as long as live"
| don't think, said my Brooklyn friend in
telling the story, that ever had a kecner
appreciation of the benefits of savings
banks than at that moment, and l fancy
all of us would have said the same thing
if we had been in his place. New York
Tribune.
Quick Beef Extract.
A quick way to make a strong beef OK
tract rather than tea for an invalid need
ing plenty of nourishment is by process
of soaring and prpsSjnp Raw iuicv boof