The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-21
BANK MYSTERIES
FULFILLING TRANSACTIONS COME UP
 IN COURSE OF BUSINESS.
One Man Who Disguised Himself as His Fictitious Brother-Another Who Won Dar-
 ing Bet.

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 There is hardly a banker of any ex- perience who has not fund of inter- esting stories he could tell of his clients if 1t were possible to do so without breaking the secrecy which is understood in all banking business. Occasionally bankers are confronted with mysteries too deep to fathom. says a writer in The Chicago Tribune. I recall one such affair which hap pened while I was managing bank in another city, which was acting as correspondent to this bank. The head of a concern whose account showed a balance in the thousands every month called upon me and stated that impor- tant business matters necessitated his presence in Europe immediately and requested us to honor his brother 8 signature on all checks and other paper.
 He regretted that he was not able to present his brother to me personally, but stated that he would equip him with satisfactory. credentials and hand
 ed me a copy of the latter's signature. It was a reasonable story and did not arouse my suspicion. although I won- dered at the time that I had never before heard of a brother.
 Two or three days after his depar- ture the brother put in an appearance, handed me his letter and cashed a check to cover the weekly pay roll. He resembled his absent brother close ly, the only difference being that he wore a mustache, while his brother shaved smooth. There was no hitch in the whole affair until learned that the supposed European trip was a myth and that we alone were under the fm- pression that he had left the city.
 lat him n npfa Our glances met but he glared blankly at me, offering no recognition what ever. I was considerably perturbed when later In the afternoon his under study paid me a visit and talked about the great success his brother was hav- ing abroad.
 In brief, the new found brother came in one day and advised me that his brother had died abroad and handed me a newspaper clipping to confirm the statement It was only many minutes later that the account with us was withdrawn and redeposited in another Institution while the erstwhile dead man came back to life and his brother vanished into oblivion. As his account was at all times correct we had no right to interfere.
 As I supposed the fictitious brother was our client disguised, yet when l broached the subject to him he posi- lively refused to talk of the matter. Had others than myself been deceived the result might have been different The reason for his strange behavior I have never been able to learn. and It has remained a mystery.
 We often receive peculiar requests for overdrafts. A client whose stand ing account had never exceeded A.oO0 requested us to grant him an over draft of s4,O00, stating that he was not able to offer any explanation at pres ent, but assuring us that at no time would the bank be in any danger or losing. as the overdraft would not be real
 After some hesitancy, we consented, but stipulated certain conditions and reserved the privilege of refusing If these conditions were not followed.
 shortly after his departure a well dressed gentleman came in and handed to our paying teller check for $5.OOO. bearing the signature of our client, ana with 1t a letter requesting us to honor his check with cash. This letter was one of the conditions we imposed for our safety. Still feeling that we were taking a chance, the teller asked what denomin ations he desired. He replied and the money passed out to him. Af- fer holding the currency a moment in bis hands he return ed 1t with a request for the check, which he destroyed be- fore us.
 On the following day our client thanked us for our courtesy and waived the overhaul privilege. saying that he had no further use for 1t. He had with him a check for $5,000, which he deposited. This he had won from his friend on a bet. He had bet that he could negotiate an overdraft for that amount without first explaining that 1t was a bet and the nature of 1t, and his friend Wagered that no bank would trust him for that amount.
 No bank Is without It's crank clients, who are entirely reliable, but exceed ingly aggravating. One. remember, closed his account thirteen times in one year, redepositing always on the following day. Upon being questioned. he said that he did so because he was afraid each time that the bank was was absolutely no ground for any such belief, he was requested to do his busi- ness somewhere else.
 There is another class of people hay ing dealings with banks-the faddists With an income that was under $3.000 annually one man opened accounts with as many as six different banks. drawing on one for rent, another for food and so on.
 Another kept an account in the name of his race horse so that he could keep check on the animals earnings. Some show a desire for freakish and tually going so far as to have the Ten Commandments printed on his checks. while that of another bears the axiom,