The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-10-04
LOSING PASSIONS.
What Happens to the Careless Saw.
inGs Band Deposition.

inss Band Deposition.
Not even all of the happy possessors Of
deposits in savings banks are aware of
the care that hedges about a passbook.
That knowledge generally comes only to
the smaller number who, being depos-
itors, lose their passbooks and generally
underrate the gain of their experience
because of the temporary trouble and in
convenience. When a man loses his
passbook. IL he Is a prudent man, which
most depositors are, he Immediately in
forms his bank of his loss. He is proba-
bly, surprised to find that the officials
are as fully prepared for this emergency
as for their daily dinners. He is not only
requested to advertise the loss, but spe
officially to advertise 1t in a prescribed
form, a printed blank being handed to
him to be filled in and given to the news
papers for insertion. In this way con-
slant reader of the advertising columns
may in time learn by heart the respective
forms used by all the savings banks.
This is reason for all this. "a pass
book" as a savings bank manager of 80
years experience pointed out to an in
quirer, sis a negotiable asset and can
be used as collateral security for loan.
Loans are made on such security by
business banks; but in such a case the
bank making the loan will notify the
savings bank as a matter Of course. But
suppose the depositor who knows that if
he draws 800, say, on Dec. 20, he will
lose the interest on 1t for nearly six
months chooses to go to private in
dividual for the loan of that sum and so
save the interest. The private individual
who lends the money on a passbook Is not
at all likely TO take the precaution of
notifying us. and that leaves both him
and us open to fraud. For that reason
we never issue new passbook to re-
place an old one supposed to be lost IN
til we are sure that the loss has been
duly advertised. The interval allowed to
elapse before it Is considered safe to is
sue new book varies. In this institu-
ton we have no fixed time, but use
certain discretion in every case. After
that we require an affidavit from the
depostOr, and then we give him his new
passbook.
NO" the bank official continued. with
a smile. 'it very seldom happens that any
intention to defraud Is discovered. What
happens in rs per cent of these cases is
that the man who has been positive of
having lost his passbook ends by coming
In with sheepish look to tell us that the
book was all the time just where he put
It. To be sure. il we did not take these
precautions it would be just possible for
a man to obtain a new passbeok on false
pretenses and for his confederate to draw
out the whole of his deposit In his name.
because the possession of John Smiths
passbook is taken as sufficient evidence
that the possessor is John Smith. and the
dcpositOr's signature in our books might
not be referred to by the teller. But that
trick is not likely to succeed. teller
learns to know every signature as surely
as other men know faces without being
able to describe the individual features.
and there would be pretty sure to he
something unfamiliar In the forged sigma
ture. Still. according to up to date meth
DDS of banking it is not enough to be
pretty sure. No possible chance of fraud
must be left even to the most honest. An
honest man has very little opportunity tc
display his virtue in these days. New
York Tribune.