Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-30
BANK OPEN At NIGHT
Will Be Started Here About the
LIST of November.
BUSINESS UNTIL MIDNIGHT
Result of Visit by President Smith to
New York.
TWO RELIEFS OF BANK CLERKS
Distinctly New Feature for This City
How It is to Be
Operated
TWO REL1EFs OF BANK CLERK.

A night bank is likely to take Its place
among the financial institutions of this city
| in the near future. Several days ago the
directors of the Union Savings Bank, which
| controls the Washington Exchange Bank.
formerly the Washington Savings Bank,
| authorised the president, Mr.. E. Quincy
Smith, and Cashier Watson Of the latter
bank to go to New York and look into the
| practical working Of the night bank in
| that city.
Messrs Smith and Watson have returned
| enthusiastic in regard to the project, and
| will make a favorable report on the feast
| bility of establishing such a feature Of
| their bank.
| In speaking of the trip Mr.. Smith said to
| a representative of The Star:
"Mr. Watson and 1 returned this morning
| from our trip to New York to look up the
night and day bank. We spent considerable
| time with one of the assistant cashiers. and
| obtained a great lot of information when
was new to us. The bank in New York Is
| only FIVE months old, but it has been in OK
| istence long enough to have worked out
| its complete night and day system, to have
| added extensively to its safe deposit bust
ress, which was demanded by the night
| clientele, and has arranged to open a full
| fedged bank for lady depostors across the
| hall from the main offices of the bank.
There is no segregation of capital and.
| of course, the ladies' bank is in reality only
a department, but to all intents and pur-
| poses it is a separate bank in separate
quarters, to which only lady depo5.ors so.
There are separate tellers a separate man
ager and a lady always in attendance out
| side of the counter to assist in making out
deposit slips drawing checks. or in. other
ways instructing lady depoAtors.
For Use of Ladies.
I'm connection with the ladies' bank there
is an extensive series of ladies' retiring
rooms, including. of course, writing
| room and another room with all toilet &C
cessories including half dozen full
length mirrors. Opening out of this room
is an elevator for ladies, which runs down
to the ladies' section of the safe deposit
vaults beneath the street level. There are
very extensive arrangements for ladies in
connection with the safe deposit business:
including a handsome withdrawing room in
which jewels could be adjusted, hats put
on straight, etc.
There is also a ladies' maid In attendance
downstairs. In fact. it is surprising to
find how much attention is given to the
| ladies in this bank. And the ladies pre-
| sumo upon 1t to some extent. At the street
| door of the bank there is a man in uniform,
whose duty is supposed to be mainly open
| ing carriage doors, putting up umbrellas,>
etc. In the first carriage which arrived
; after this man began business was lady
| who assumed that the man in uniform was
as good as any other clerk. She therefore
! passed out her deposit book containing
roll of bills and directed him to make the
| deposit for. her. Not knowing how to get
out Of 1t he finally did so, and since then
three out of four of the ladies remain in
their carriages when they are making
deposit or cashing checks. and the carriage
man goes back and forth between the
carriages and the telers' windows.
Three Shifts of Clerks.
1.-THE night and day bank of New York
| runs three shifts of employees. Their day
| at present ends at o'clock, but beginning
| with October /, as l understand it, the first
| shift of men will not go off duty until
| o'clock in the afternoon. The second shift
leaves the bank at IL o'clock al night, and
the third is on duty all night. The first
| shift of men has as it's head the cashier of
the bank, the second shift the assistant
| cashier and the man in charge at night Is
| called night manager.
"OutSide of the counter there is at all
| times pleasant, wel-dreSSed individual
who looks over customers as they come in,
| who introduces them to the cashier as
| sistants If desirable and instructs them
where to go. This man is retired officer
of the police force in New York. He Is
well acquainted with the city crooks, and
many times his knowledge of the shady
side Of life has been of considerable value
Popular With the Public.
THE convenience of the bank to the pub
lie generally has been demonstrated many
times. 1t is in a stylish, largely residence
section and does not seem to bid particu-
larly for large commercial accounts. 1t
gets many commercial accounts, but usual
ly secondary accounts, the main account
of the individual or firm being kept down.
town near the store or Office, and the ac-
count of the night bank being largely for
evening convenience.
Zone of the banks largest depositors
came to it several months ago in an I'M
usual way. A man entered the bank. He
was from Chicago as 1 remember, and is
a well-known business man just about to
open a New York connection. He received
a telegram one evening that his had
been severely injured in Chicago. He
wanted to start for Chicago Immediately
and applied for special train which would
make fast run. For some reason, prob
ably because of the lateness of the hour,
he could not satisfy the railroad officials
and he did not have enough money with
him to pay for his train.
Coming out into 9Th avenue he saw the
sign of the night bank, called in and ex-
planned the situation to the night manager,
who took the chance of the mans identity
and gave him the necessary funds for his
special train. A week later he returned TO
New York and opened an account with the
bank, deposting $4,000. Such stories with
out number are told by the bank people
and are all interesting and demonstrate Inc
real place which such institution fills
Plan for the New Departure.
"Mr. Watson and 1 came back really
quite enthusiastic, and we feel entirely sure
that place will be found for night bank
in Washington, and after our report to the
board of directors of the Washington Ex-
change Bank it is our impression that we
shall be directed to go ahead as fast as
possible and Washington will probably
have a night bank in operation by Novem-
Der /. We have changed ideas as 10
hours and instead Of having an interim in
the day during which the bark would be
closed, as suggested heretofore, we intend
to recommend continuous session, the
bank to be open from $50 in the morning
to 1870 am, one set of men going of at
4 o'clock and the other shift coming On
at that time.
THE modern business man seems to wan.
all the facilities he can get for doing bust
ness and to want them all the time. He
wants an all-night restaurant, ar all-nighs
street car service, an all-night club serv-
ice, and now an all-night bank. Under the
old regime the hours of the b1nk were
made to suit the bank. They never suited
| the customers convenience, especially Sat-
urdayS. Under the new plan the ba nix trias