The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-02-15
TRIALS OF A BANKER.


the lawyers Office on a matter of busi-
ness, and having disposed of it, the
lawyer asked:
why are you getting so many
young women clerks in your bank -
Because, replied the banker,
1--WE are unable to secure boys who
can write a legible hand and spell
correctly"
"How did you find out they were
so deficient" 7" queried the lawyer,
who is a prominent school director.
"Well. we do not jump at conclu-
sions in our place, and to prove it, I
will give you our experience" said
the bank president. and. continuing.
he made this statement: within
the last six months we have adver-
tised three times for a boy of I6 in
an office, who must write we'll. In
reply, each time, we received many
applications. Our custom is to select
the two replies showing the best
handwriting, punctuation and spell
ing, and after an interview, we give
the coveted place to the better of the
two. Of the three clerks selected in
the last six months, and the two pre-
ceeding them, FIVE in all, we were
obliged to send them to a commercial
college for a course of penmanship."
The school director looked thought
full. We'll" he asked, chow about
the girls?"
"Oh," laughed the banker, 1--WE
did not give up trying, and when a
vacancy occurred a short time ago,
we advertised as usual"
"Get any replies this timer" smil-
ingly queried the director.
"Yes; only twenty-one, and they
were all carefully considered. Twen-
ty were rejected forthwith for poor
writing and bad spelling. The only
letter that was really presentable we
found, after an interview, was from a
boy less than thirteen. He would
have suited us to II, but it would
have been an injustice to the child to
apprentice him at that age. By the
way, he was educated in Philadel-
phia. Securing such poor results
from boys, we concluded to give the
young women chance, and we re-
ceived twenty-three answers to our
advertisement. Sixteen were not con-
sidered good writer's. Seven were
satisfactory, and after carefully con-
sidering the matter, we decided to
employ two, and the results show the
wisdom of our choice"
The banker started out of the law
yer's office, when the latter said :
"Hold on. / want to know little
more. What seems to be the trou-
BILE"
"That is in your line and for you
to find out. I am giving you facts.
We did not ask the impossible from
a boy of sixteen we do not ask his
politics, social standing or religion, !"
retorted the banker, warming up to
his subject. 1--WE did not ask any
questions in botany astronomy, chem
istry or navigation. What we re-
quired was a boy of good character,
we'll educated in the rudimentary
branches which qualify him to become
apprenticed to banking, mechani-
cal, electrical or other business.
1t was rather discouraging, WASH t
it," queried the director.
"Discouraging, yes, and rather
pathetic to think that after a ten
years course at school, twenty boys
were not qualified to get berth in a
company that would have given life
position, and I suppose all of these
boys were educated in Chester's pri-
vate or public schools"
"Well, then, l infer that you do
not believe in the higher education :"
ooh, yes, l do for the ten boys out
of the hundred who wish to prepare
for professional life, and can afford
to remain at school until they are
twenty years old, but I do not believe
in smattering of everything into the
ninety boys out Of hundred who
leave school before they are seven
teen. What they need is to be thor
oughly educated in reading, writing,
spelling, arithmetic, bookkeeping and
the so-called lower branches"
But why study bookkeeping, if a
boy is to learn trade or enter pro-
fession?" ?"
Because a knowledge of book
keeping is necessary to any trade,
business or profession. You lawyers
find that out when You get case be-
tween business men, and we find in
nearly every case where men fail in
business that their bookkeeping was
faulty, and did not show the exact
state of their business affairs -
II see the vertical handwriting has
been cut out in New York" observ-
ed the lawyer.
"Well, if it has proved failure
there, why continue here? 1t does not
seem to be taught IN the commercial
colleges, where many young men and
women attend to study stenography
and bookkeeping. 1t takes time to
forget how to write it and learn a
new system.
"Well, how do you account for the
fact that so many of the young women
applicants wrote well?" asked the
director, eagerly leaning forward to
catch the reply.
''I do not know, but l know that
three of them graduated from com
mercial colleges" laconically replied
the banker.
WELL" remarked the lawyer, as
he prepared to clinch a fact, Eng
lands greatest lawyer, Lord Russell
was helpless as regards keeping ar
account of his own affairs, yet he died
worth million. I might say, how
ever, that his brother lawyers organ
lied trust and took charge of mat
tiers for the eminent jurist and SC
MANAGED things that he died rich