The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-11
COLLECTION CHARGES.
What the Bankers Confer
ence Did on the Check
Question.

President Francis B. Sears, of the
Third National Bank of Boston, who
attended the recent conference of bank
ers at Cleveland, as the representative
of the Boston Clearing House Associa-
ton, says:
THE clearing house associations in 80
cities of the United States were invited
to send delegates to a conference to be
held at Cleveland on the 9Th inst, to
consider the subject of charges on the
collection of out-of-town checks Twen-
ty-three such associations were repre-
sented at the conference.
1.-THE clearing house associations in
Boston and New York have lately
adopted new methods and these were
briefly explained to the conference by
the delegates from those cities The
New York method is to make a charge
according to a fixed schedule on all
checks on cities or towns outside of
New York, except in a few of the prin-
clpal cities. These charges are COM
pulsory in all cases, and any bank neg
lecting to make them is liable to a fine
for the first offense, and to expulsion
from the clearing house association for
the second offense. The officers of the
New York banks profess to be entire
ly satisfied with the workings of the
new system.
The Boston method aims to reduce
the expense of collecting out-of-town
checks in order that the banks may be
able to handle them at little or no ex-
pense to their depositors. The checks
on Massachusetts banks are now re-
celVed at the clearing house and sent
from there direct to the banks on which
they are drawn. These banks remit
drafts on their correspondence by re-
turn mail. The Boston banks by this
Iielhod erect saving in time in ex-
change, in postage and stationery.
The out of town banks effect a, saw
ing IN clerical work, in postage and in
stationery by receiving all their
checks in one letter and renting by
one letter and one check instead Of
twenty or thirty letters and checks
1t is expected that this system will
ultimately be extended to cover the
whole Of New England so that checks
on any point in New England may cir
culate at par and be promptly redeem
ed, as has been the case in Great Bri-
tain for many years
THESE two systems were inaugural
ed at about the same time by independ-
ent movements in the respective cities
but in neither case in consequence Of
or IN antagonism to, the other
There was no extended discussion in
the conference at Cleveland. There was
a general agreement that the collection
OF checks throughout the United States
Tor the depositors of the banks has be-
come burden too great to be carried
any longer and that the banks were
entitled to fair compensation for such
work. A resolution was adopted pro-
Vldlng for the appointment of a com
mlttee of five persons and the chairman
OF the conference, Isaac G. Lombard
OF the America National Bank of Chi
cago, as member ex-officio, to cores
pond with the different cleal ing house
associations and see if some common
basis of action can be reached.
mo opposition was made to the an
pointment of the committee nor to the
resolution that the banks were entitled
to compensation for their work. A
number or delegates, however, said in
private conversations that they were
watching the operations of the Boston
plan with great interest and thought
1t was likely to be extended so that the
| whole country would resolve itself in
| to collection districts grouped around
some leading city which should collect
the checks in that district for the rest
| of the country, just as Boston is under
taking to collect New England checks y