New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-31
CHECK RULES MODIFIED.
,o,r.Nr ACTION OF THE CLEARING
HOUSE COMMITTEE.

"Rr-NCHED' COUNTRY BANKS AND
THE NEW REVELATIONS.
Tho Clearing House Committee. which drew
49, the regulations under which charges are on
VI 80. Monday to be made for the collec-
o. ~ all out-of-town checks deposited with
,-,rr House institutions except checks on
49, ,r n few discretionary" cities. al meet
,.os,arsav afternoon made a ruling. the
~ m. y. which will he an exceedingly important
os,eootion Of the regulation. which has been
~. ,,t,erlv complained Of by the mercantile
.ar,-,,,nitv. that prescribing minimum charge
-, 81 oents each on all checks That regulation
,..,u.n a. Section > reads follows:
.rr case the charge upon any item at the rates
~ srecihed does not equal 10 cents. the COL
,oo.,,r bank shall charge not less than that
en-. but all items received from any one per
-. o., the same time and payable at the same
80 may be added together and treated as
80. ,,er for the purpose Of fixing the amount
chargeahie
,rhs-e were Two views taken OF this rule by
,.r.~s one being that 1t meant that checks
s,ovn on banks in any State or zone OF col
,.,,,or" covered by the same rate. Of one-tenth
~ one fourth ~ I per cent. as the case might
h. and deposited together in local bank by
tho same person. could be punched, thus
avoiding the payment Of 10 cents on each cheek.
and the other view being that the phrase the
same place" applied 10 only a single city, or
,ou.n So that only checks drawn on banks in
one CITY could ne punched by the depositor
ters The members Of the Clearing House Com
,,i,-eo itself were divided on the question
~, Yesterday. after protracted and earnest
discussion of the subJ,,.. hey came 10 an agree
rre,, in favor Of The first Of the interpretations
above
and issued the following ruling
The attention Of the Clearing House. Committee
having been called 20 the fact that diuercht ~
corporations have been made o. ne tr'i'lft ne Ne
fre words .at the same place. in section Oh ttne
- a.. ana y not having been intended that
g y,-5 .niace' in said section should have the
sane meaning as the word point USED IN me pr, Pte
decares ina, the said section shall he read so
Te-rt6ries and districts enumerated in either Sec
tio~ . o~ 70 be added together ana treated as one
item when received from any 9nG pers2b s a. me
S'''7 chairman Clearing House Committee
V-N SHERER Manager
Section 8 referred 20 in this ruling imposes
a minimum collection charge Of not less than
on4-tenth Of / per cent on all items. from
y,bor,soever received except on those points
declared discretionary in Section p. payable at
po,nts IN Connecticut. Delaware. District oil
Columbia Indiana Illinois. Kentucky. Maine
MARYLAND Massachusetts Michigan. Mlssolrl
-t7ar,pshire. New-Jersey New-York. Ohio,
PENNSYLVANIA. Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia
West Virginia and Wisconsin. and Section pre-
sc-lhes q minimum charge Of not less than one
four,h Of ! per cent on all items. from whomso-
ever received payable at points in Alabama
Arizona. Arkansas. California Colorado. Florida.
Georgia. Idaho Indian Territory, Iowa kansas
louisiana Minnesota. Mississippi Montana, Ne
Govt
North Dakota. Oklahoma. oregon. South Caro-
Ina. South Dakota, Tennessee. Texas, Utah'
Washington. wyoming and Canada
WHAT II MEANS
The banks are 70 charge mot less than one
tenth and one-fourth II per cent respectively
m collections In these two groups Of States.
which means that they are authorized 10 charge
more than those rates II they think it desra ble'
but from present indications it is altogether IN
likely that they will avail themselves Of this
privilege BY the new Interpretation Of Sec
ZION = then the 1O-cent charge on checks how
ever s,Dal-which rate as The Tribune has
POINTED out would mean for department ana
drveoods stores for publishers Of books ana
magazines and newspapers and for firms ana
corporations engaged in many other lines OF
business annihilation Of their profits ana posi-
tive loss on transaCtions-has been practically
withdrawn Under the regulation as 1t was al
first supposed that it would BE- enforced de-
partner. store depositing with It's BANK one
thousand s. checks received. for example, from
one thousand different points within Il zone
covered bv Section 3. would have had pay
500 collection fees Now il may "buncn' a.
these checks paving on them only one-ten'h
! per cent or total u S1-a charge Of cent
apiece-aud on the same number or - en- KS
drawn on banks in States enumerated N sec
ton T. s. 20 which is not a prohibtiNe chtrse'
These figures. II course represent an extreme
case for the one thousand checks would IN prac-
lice average considerably more than - each
and many n them would undoubtedly bo drawn
on banks in the same cities or towns ana
Therefore could even under the old interpreter
flor have neen punched" Frederick y. Tap
pen. president Of the Gallatin National Bank
said Yesterday Of the Clearing House Commit
tees action. that il would have been practically
cOrfsra-ior 20 enforce the rules as they were
Originally written And his opinion is shared
h. many bankers and by business men gen
orally
No one familiar with the facts would deny
thai The banks are put 10 expense in collecting
checks and that they should he recompensed
for th-r expenditures as they are no' OF
gained and conducted as charitable institu-
uons au- -he collection ~ 10 cents on every
little check would have been. n put II InlIoII.
'rharc.rz more than the franc could pear
No only mat but some banks have the WORK 81
collections So srstenatized that they can much
more easily and ineXpensvely than other banks
c0ll.of tne 0ut-of-tovn checks OF thelr de
positors and the deposits made boy some banK
customer aye most wholly In out-of-toWh
checks against which they draw their own
chec1s helore their bank can maze It's coI!eCtioI'
while other accounts deposit only a trivial mum
ber ~ country checks Yet the banks when
have faciites Cor collecting country checks ana
which RI. rot object 10 receiving them ana iIe
banks which do not want this class Of checks
a. all. are bound 20 the same schedule Oh
charges. and rho customer who turns in 10"
country checks and whose balance returns MN
no interest must pay the same collection rates
as fn- customer " hose account is Largely maui
up ~ these country checks. on which ms pahA
frequently must itself pay a collection chatse'
NOV fo speak o. the loss % interest ana the cost
90 postage and clerk hire INEQUALITIES Ike