Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-03-14
DISHONEST DEPoSlTORS.
Humor and Pathos of the Savings
Bank in Great Cities.


Writing of the saving-banks and
their depositors in the Century, Rich
ard Boughton tells of the embarrass-
ment sometimes caused to bank
official by dishonest patrons.
The great bulk of depositors, per-
haps sixty-five per cent, and of the
laboring classes, the weekly-wage
earners; then come the middle and
well-to-do class say thirty per cent;
and lastly the very rich man and the
criminal in about equal proportions.
BY criminal | do not mean to confne
this class to bank burglars, check
forgers, and bank-note counterfeiters
you will see all of these if you
watch the line long enough-but in
clude all those men and women who
avoid police notice when they can,
and are occasionally wanted" down
in Mulberry street; the rich keeper of
the fashionable gambling-house; the
woman who is suspected of knowing
the whereabouts of a vanished thief
or forger; the man who never breaks
into the bank himself, but takes a
friendly and patronly interest in those
who do; and so on up and down the
scale of cosmopolitan vice. At one
time or another they all have savings
bank accounts. 1t seems incompre-
hensible, but people of all these class
es are frequent, even permanent, de-
positors. | do not say this from
hearsay, but have seen examples of
each of them lodging their money
even in their own names.
What can you do with these people
when they come to deposit? 1t is not
criminal to save money, and you can
not arrest them In some cases their
accounts are closed by the banks, and
they are told to take themselves Off
hint upon which they promptly and
quietly act, possibly from fear of the
police, accustomed as they are to
obey when told to "move on"
Some of them, however, are not
easily gotten rid of. A famous con-
fidence woman had her demeanor,
amiable smile, innocent, almost girl
ish timidity, quite won the chief official
in charge. He was accustomed to
call her aside politely from the some
what rough crowd in line, give her a
chair in the anteroOm, and send her
pass-book and money by one Of the
clerks to the receiving teller. Her
indemnity was finally discovered
through a police inquiry at the bank,
and the next time she called, the old
gentleman offered her, not chair, but
her pass-book with her deposits in
full. The poor young thing" swore
at him like trooper. It was quite
necessary TO call in the moral in
f1uence Of the porter, displaying his
special deputy" badge, before Miss
Innocent made less noise and took
herself and her deposits out of the
bank giving the old gentleman a
parting shot at the doorway.
The president and managing Of
ficials of a leading bank once debated
long and seriously whether they
should inform the authorities that
just after famous burglary three
men and two women had deposited
$4,000 each in new bank-bills that
possibly were a portion of those that
had recently been stolen in transit
between the two banks. 1t was a
question whether the suspicion would
justify this action, which of course
would become public, perhaps get
into the newspapers, and some litter
ate depositors might hear the story
with new twist given to it--not that
burglars had put money into the bank,
but had been in and had taken some
out. The result would be a run. 1t
was finally decided to do nothing, at
least at the time. Soon afterward
the thieves-for such they were re-
lieved the banks perpleXity. Two
of the men and two women came in
singly, but in a hurry, drew the full
amount that was in their names, and
made off. The fifth of the party did
not return until years afterwar1,
when man with cropped hair, an I'M
conscious lock-step halt in his walk,
and other evidences Of having been
temporarily retired from society,
called and drew the deposit that had
slumbered while he was doing time
up the river