The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-10-14
STRENUOUS LIFE BEHIND
BANK TELLER'S WINDOW

count has been overdrawn and the
deposition must be quickly notified
and a careful watch kept upon any
further demands which may be made
upon 1t. There Is a complication of
notes coming due, there are scores
Of accounts to be looked up and borne
In mind against possible demands,
a suspicion here, a certainty of de-
ception there, a long list of figures
relating to various certified checks,
all with some bearing on the business
of the day. There are long lists of
signatures, each to be carefully men,
OriZed.
Regular Work Begins.
promptly on the stroke of ten the
window is thrown open and the line,
which has probably already formed,
passes rapidly in review. The win
dows both Of the receiving as well as
the paying tellers are likely to be
very busy places in the early hours
In New York banks other than the
'pudely savings institutions the re-
port Of the clearing house is received
at about half past ten a. m. Here is
half an hour of margin to cover the
Withdrawals of the previous day. 1t
may be a very vital matter that mon
ey be deposited the first thing in the
morning to stay the hand of the cash.
Ter, who would otherwise stamp the
fatal mo funds" upon the check va
its way from the clearing house. A
cashier will tell you to a certainty
when the lines will reach their maxi
mum lengths and when they will disap-
pear. These calculations differ in
various parts of the city. The bust
ness of the depositors, the approach
of holiday, or the first of the month,
even the weather, must be consider.
ed In this very complicated equation.
Cashiers Machinery.
J The machinery under the cashiers
control which aids in handling this
difficult business with the greatest
possible dispatch has reached a per-
lection Of late years which Ihe old
time cashier could scarcely have
imagined. The telephone at the cash.
ier's desk is, Of course, indispensable
but this has been superseded. The
cashier is, after all, only the mouth
piece OF another department, where
long rows of clerks are bending bust
ly over great books everlastingly add
ing up long columns of figures. the
outflow of money is, of course, under
| the instant control of these clerks
The problem is therefore to keep n
the closest possible touch with the
bookkeepers. One OF the ingenious
| devices to this end seems to transmit
all questions and receive the answers
by curious scheme of silent teleg
raphy. To one side Of the cashiers
window stands a curious white slate
SO connected with q corresponding
slate in the clerical department thai
any word written on one will be in
stantly reproduced on the other. The
telephone would do the same work, II
be sure, but the conversation NIGH
be overheard. A depositor might re
sent the cashier taking up the tele
phone and asking IL he (Jones) were
good for a hundred or Thousand
dollars, but he cannot complain 1
the cashier delays paying out The
money for a few seconds while he ap
parently makes some notes on
harmless looking sheet. When thu
cashier takes up his pencil to write
on this reproducing slate signal bel
Ms wrung in the clerical department
wherever that may be, and an aler
clerk receives the question. 1t Is bu
the work or an instant to turn thu
ledger to the proper page, obtain TIT
necessary information and signal ]
back.
The machine for making change Il
!. again a great saver of time WHERE