The San Francisco call., 1904-02-18


,Couyrieht. lsO4. By Joseph b. Bowles)
Let the young man who would be-
come a successful bank president first
look around him that he may form as
intelligent an idea as possible Of the
sort Of men, who are called upon to
hold the guiding reins over the affairs
Of large financial institutions Next
he should gain at least a general
knowledge Of the duties Of a bank
president and then study closely the
methods by which men have made
their success in banking. Above all.
he VIII have TO acquire a thorough
knowledge of the business itself, and
this. in most cases. viii be gained by
actual experience in bank. Early in
his career he viii learn that he Will
do well TO supplement by hard study
The knowledge which he picks UP in
performing his routine duties. In ad-
dition 10 learning all he can about his
own business he should keep his eyes
open 10 what is going on in the out
side world. particularly those condi-
tions which have a direct bearing on
matters Of business and finance.
The president Of a bank is the con-
serTator of the money deposited with
his institution along with the capital
representing the various stockholders.
The essential feature Of his position is
10 handle deposits i'm such a way that
they viii show profitable returns.
Upon him rests the responsibility for
making loans. from which the rev.
enues Of the bank are derived. This
requires a skillful knowledge of such
investments as will not only pay
profits. but which can be readily
turned into money in case of need.
From this il viii be seen that the
bank president must have compre-
hensive knowledge Of the general field
Of mercantile and manufacturing
business and know the methods by
which business Of various kinds is
transacted. IN fact. he should be ac-
Quainted with the affairs Of everything
on which he bases credit For in
stance in lOaning money on stocks Of
any kind he must know as to whether
their merits are near the price at
which they are being sold. It will be
10 his advantage if he has touched
elbows with men of all lines Of bust
ness. for he must be a good judge of
human nature in addition TO having a
broad knowledge of business affairs.
A business man comes to q bank presi-
dent for a loan. The latter must not
only acquire a definite knowledge of
The merits Of that mans business, but
acquaint himself with the borrowers
reputation, business ability, general
standing in the business world and also
be able to read his character.
Generally when a young man goes
ger. This title" aptly designates the
duties he viii perform. He Will carry
the mails. collect city drafts and
checks and later on possibly be put
10 work copying and directing the
mail. Thus he viii lay the foundation
for his career as a banker" One
thing Of advantage he viii gain in this
work viii be contact with business
men. He also viii become familiar
with drafts, notes and bills OF lading
and have an opportunity to learn the
meaning Of the various terms used in
the banking business.
From messenger he will graduate
into the bookkeeping department
where he viii first be put TO work
copying and keeping a record Of out
Of town clearing house items. Thence
he viii go into the clearinghouse de-
partment. in which checks going into
the clearinghouse are prepared. This
work wakes him up and tends TO make
him rapid and accurate. Next he
would probably be advanced to the
position OF statement clerk, whose du-
ties consist Of keeping a record Of
checks Of certain depositors and 9TH
ersvise helping to keep the banks
hooks in balance. By the time ne has
proved himself capable in this work
he VIII be IN line for promotion as a
city bOokkeeper. in which position he
VIII keep the accounts OF merchants
and bankers doing business with the
bank.
II IS reasonable 10 suppose that
after a young man has had q thorough
training on the books he viii not only
know the inside workings Of the bank.
hut viii have gained a pretty good
idea Of the people doing business with
IL and their standing. With this
knowledge he would be equipped TO
become a receiving teller, whose work
81 is to receive deposits and charge
them to The proper departments. Pay
ing teller is next in the line Of pro-
motion. The paying teller, with his
assistants. looks out for all the money
paid over the counter and has charge
OF all the actual cash in the bank.
Then come the officers Of the bank
assistant cashier, cashier. vice pres
ldent and president. The duties of the
assistant cashier. Of course. are di-
rectly in line with those Of the CASH
ier, who is the responsible executive
mead Of the bank This officer has
direct supervision over the heads of
al departments. In most cases. how
ever, the cashier is more than an ex-
ecutive officer. With the broad
knowledge Of business and business
people and the intimate acquaintance
Of the banks customers. which he
must necessarily have. the cashier is
often called upon to do much OF the
same sort Of work as the president,
and therefore in many instances the
young man who has worked his way
Up 10 the former position viii find