The evening world., 1904-04-28
rust Company to Supply Free
| Blanks to Merchants Six
Big Cities Made Centres for
Honoring Orders
FAR-REACHING PLAN MAY
REv0LUTI0NIZE METHODS.
Trust Company for Guarantee
ing Payment Gets Percentage
Six Big Cities Made Gen.
tres for Honoring Orders.

The Executive Council OF the Ameri.
can Bankers Association met to-day IT
the Lawyers Club to arrange the final
details for the installation OF a general
banking order system throughout the
United States. This IL the next step
following the adoption yesterday OF a
uniform banking money order scheme
which will be a rival to the enormous
money order organization conducted by
h Government through the Post-Ofice
Department.
Contracts will be made with some
strong surety company which will fur
nish members of the American Bank
ers' Association. upon application. with
q uniform money order Autographed
upon safety paper numbered with the
name OF drawer and drawee printed as
per requisition, the amount in no case
to exceed 500 for each money order.
On these will be printed. FOR value re-
eeived when properly Endorsed. we guar
antee the payment of this order"
The rates to be charged are: Less
than s.. FIVE cents; S. and less tina $40.
10 cents; $40 and less Than $50. Ii cents
$50 and less than 500. 20 cents. For
guaranteeing the payment of the uni
form banking money orders the trust
company which issues the orders will
receive a percentage payment according
to the number of orders furnished the
banks.
When the American Bankers Associn-
ton mot at San Francisco last year
President Bigelow appointed a commit
tee on bank money orders. This com
Unittaa consiotol 81 In.n,l, l,lo Il.
cashier of the Northwestern National
Bank OF Minneapolis; w. ". Willis. Jr..
L. p. Hillyer. Perciyal Kuhne and J..
W. Butler. The committee reported to
the Executive Council and that report
was adopted. While the American
Bankers Association does not include
every bank in America. It has a mem
bership OF the biggest and most repre-
sentative banking houses In the world.
Lewis Z. Pierson. President OF the Ma
tional Exchange Bank OF New York. IL
Ne father OF the scheme to put a rival
Into the field ready 10 contend with the
government In the issuance OF money
orders. He c~orresponded with every
bank In the association n found tina
the scheme would be viewed favorably
when the time came for action.
Mr.. P1erson was so sound statlstically
that the banking institutions readily
saw a new method by which they might
Increase their earnings even IL they had
to contend with the safest II most
energetic OF all financial institutions.
the Government.
Elk cities to BE Made Centres.
The committee adopted the scheme
unanimously and the Executive Council
10 simply voting expenditures and max
Ing just those necessary arrangements
by which the scheme may be put into
sure action. Six cities will be made the
centres for the honoring OF the money
orders. They are: New York. st. Louis,
Boston. Baltimore. Philadelphia and
Chicago.
But as all the cities in the United
States having any p%retension to hnan-
cial Importance have correspondents In
the various banks in the banking
the same as bills uses In general cir
culation. 1t will be recommended to the
surety company issuing the paper that
blocks of blank money orders be fur
nished to the mailing and jobbing houses
free to facilitate general business.
The scheme in Its entirety Ia broad and
far reaching and may revoiutionize the
az w NA' =
small amounts of money are concerned.
money order business Enormous
To show what this money order sys-
tenn as carried on by the Government
and the American Express Company
amounts to, the Executive Council OF
the American Bankers Association were
entertained with the following statisti'
In February, 1904, the transactions on
money orders in Chicago amounted IL
l23, l57, or an average of S,OOO,OOO n day,
The average time elapsing between the
payment of the money and the issuance
of h order was ten days. which. meana
that the Government had all thai
money in its hands free Of interest,
This Is exclusive or the profts coming
from the exchange charges. too.
Up to Oct. l6, 1900. the amount OF un,
claimed money orders In the United
States was 81, go 600. In 1899 the Ameri-
can ExpreSs Company issued 10, l35. 90:
money orders. a~ggregating 1920 4O, 277 .65
They received an average of 10 cents for
zach money order.
so far propositions have been enter
tanned from the American Surety Com
pany. OF New York; the American
Bonding Company, of Baltimore. and
the National Surety Company, OF New
York, to Issue the uniform money orders
at a fixed rate per thousand. These in
stitutions have representatives in the
councils of the American Banking AS
ISOLATION. where the recommendations
of the committee received Endorsement