davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
THE CLEARING HOUSE.
How the Institution Works and
Saves Work.


The New York clearing house is
composed of fifty-three banks. ma
tional and state. If a bank wants to
become a member, it must submit to
searching scrutiny; its moral and
financial standing is investigated. In
New York q bank whose capital does
not exceed 100000 pays fee of
$4,000; II the capital is larger the fee
is $500. Some New York banks have
paid as high as $4,000 initiation fee.
The expenses of the institution are
paid by assessm A bank, to be-
come q member, must have a capital
and surplus of at least 100000. The
average amount Of money cleared or
exchanged each day between the
clearing house is ss1s.5s7.ses. This
amount has been as high as
$3.50. 000.0 900.
II this immense sum had to be ac-
tually and physically exchanged be-
tween the banks each day, 1t would
need an army of clerks, and conxest
business. Through the medium of the
clearing house, 1t is accomplished in
less than an hour, and requires lust
per cent of the acrual cash OF the
whole amount involved, or an average
of 12,500.000 a day.
another are placed in pigeon holes
marked for that respective bank The
next day all checks received the dav
before are cleared.
At 10 o'clock each morning repre-
sentatives of every bank in the clear
ing house assemble in the clearing
70 ON. Each bank has q desk that il
numbered, and each banks repre-
sentative brings a package for each
bank for whom 1t has cashed checks.
On the stroke of 10. a gong sounda.
and the clearing begins. The various
packages are deposited on the differ
ent desks. and each banks desk soon
holds all the checks against it that
were deposited the day before Each
bank owes money, or has some com-
ing.
Each bank pays to the clear,ne
house. by 1890 each day, the anounf
of its total balance with All the hanLs
At the end of the clearing, each oIeri
returns to his bank all checks drawn
on 1t the day before. These go f1ret
to the paying teller, who sees thai
the signatures are right; next to ia
bookkeeper. who sees If the man
drawing the checks has funds in tha
bank. If the check is not good, It goes
straight back to the bank throueh
which 1t was cleared. This bank Il re-
sponsfble for 1t. The amount Of clear
ing house exchanges ana balances IL
printed in the papers each day. ana
form barometer Of business. r. t1,av
are large it Is sign trade il hoor,,,
ing; II small. the volume OF businee.
Is neutrality-suspicious. Evenine
= Se>s - =.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21

proposition of $500 made last
spring. and Mr.. Myers says in one OF
ms letters discussing this question.
70 the writer, January 81, page z: st
mink 1 have submitted all the facts
and figures necessary to convince you
mat the city cannot afford to operate
a plant at cost of over $500 per
lamp per year on moonlight schedule
Wnen 1t can buy superior service at
$oo.oo per light all night and every
night If that statement and Mr..
Myers efforts mean anything they
must mean that the Edison company
has renewed its proposition of q year
ago to supply lights for $500 per
light.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT ga"

The writer wrote the article headed
.sdore Light" saw it before 1t was
printed, and stands by it now. In no
mart of any of Mr.. Myers numerous
letters to the editor of this paper. has
he anywhere given any other figures
for Topeka's depreciation and interest
than the figures quoted above. Interest
$3.50 and depreciation $3.50. He has
never given any figures which he states
gives the actual cost of the light which
the city is manufacturing at the pres
emit per lamp per year, nor has he
stated the figures giving the future
cost This is remarkable because MI
Myers made the boastfu1 statement
that until his company dug into the
records, the city did not know what
it's light was costing it. Mr.. Myers has
never told us this to this date and It
remained for the State Journal to tell
him what the light is now costing the
city of Topeka. The State Journal told
him in THE Municipal Message. pub
lished February Is. and reprinted to-
day. The figures were based on Mr.
Myers accepted valuation of the To-
peka plant one year ago, his own stated
interest rate at per cent and his own
estimate of the depreciation, in fact
our estimate of the depreciation was
trifie larger than-his. He gave the
depreciation at $61.763, while we estf-
mated it at 5 per cent which would
have been 5000, and Mr.. Myers was
trying to get as large a depreciation as
possible in order to show that It would
cost Topeka a. much money ~ he could
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT &C..

Well. here Is another case where Mr..
Myers misQuotes the, State Journal,
and shamefully misstates many mat
ters. The State Journal did not say:
1--WE only differ in our deductions and
conclusions" 1t stated 1T differed
mainly in those respects, and said to
quote exactly from the article of
Thursday, February 13: I'm this argu-
ures and compilations differing from
him almost solely in his deductions
and conclusions and agreeing with him
in many" 1t is just as well to be
truthful in quotations. In this para
graph to which this exhibit is a reply,
Mr.. Myers shows considerable nerve
and gives us an opportunity to show
how he has "jugg1ed figures" in this
discussion. He says: SIS it not mis-
leading to say the State Journal is
exceed $1,000? Would the Journal
invest $4,000 for the improvements
Of its plant on the mere statements of
one Of it's subordinate employees that
he was satisfied that such an expendi-
ture would enable the Journal to pro-
duce it's output at less COST" etc. Tho
State Journal used the phrase mot to
exceed $1,000" simply to avoid
rather elaborate calculation of interest
covering a period Of 18 years and 2
months, and based on all of the in
vestments which Topeka has made
from time to time in its plant, aggre-
eating $SS,263. Mr.. Myers figured the
total interest on this at $65.096.70 and
the interest per lamp per year at
1890.
These deductions Of Mr.. Myers for
total interest, SIS. 096.70, and interest
per lamp per year. $3.50, are simply
absurd, and the process by which Mr..
Myers arrived at those figures was ex-
ploded by superintendent Stewart of
the st. Joseph plant and by his assist
ant Mr.. Strong before the Topeka
visitors, and in the presence and hear
ing of Mr.. Myers himself. This was
brought out by questions asked by Mr..
MacLennan for the very purpose of
showing the councilmen how Mr..
Myers had exploited his interest fig
ures and these figures stand today on
a placard on the wall in the comonit-
tee room of the city hall and are also
printed in this paper today from the
issue of Thursday February 13. Now
tn ere is not the shadow of q doubt that
Mr.. Myers interest figures are too
high. The mayor knows this, the coun-
cilnen know 1t and the writer can
figure it out exactly. But 1t is tedi-
Gus process and would require several
hours time and would not be particu
Iarly interesting to the reader; and
when completed would simply show
the average cost for Is years did not
exceed $1,000 per year. or there
abouts. instead of 1851, Mr.. Myers
average. Some rainy day we will
figure this out for our own satisfac-
ton hut it is not essential to this dis
cussion for the reason that the State
Journal stated: I'VE have started out
to accept Mr.. Myers own figures and
for the sake of the argument assume
that they ($75-5) are correctly ad-
duced."
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21

plausibly show. The only figures
which Mr.. Myers has given as to the
cost of the light to Topeka, is the av-
erage cost for the past eighteen years
which he says was as follows:
Operating expenses ...$49.O8
interest 1859
Depreciation $500, 1880
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT s.B."

Topeka's electric light plant is not
failure. Nothing could show this more
conclusively than the fact that the
light is now costing Topeka, handicap
ped as it is, by old style lamps and old
machinery, only $52.S3 against Mr..
Myers proposition of $55. and against
his own company's charge for lights to-
day to the city of Topeka for the thir-
ty-two lights on Kansas avenue $65 per
lamp per year for a light which is not
so good as the city is producing right
now.
AS proof of this, let the reader OBJ
serve the street lights on Kansas ave-
nue. which are all Edison lights from
the Shunganunga to Garfield park, and
they will note that these Edison lights
are not so strong as the city's own
lights on the other streets.
So far as municipal ownership gen.
orally Is concerned, Mr.. Myers got a
demonstration on Wednesday of this
week after he wrote his Municipal
Message Number Two which ought to
last him while. When Mr.. Myers
mentions municipal failures, will some
body please "holler:" "St. Joseph" In his
ear and watch him start! In his letter
of January 3oth. Mr.. Myers says: Il
do not know Of any municipality operat-
ed plants that can be called entirely
successful" Answer: st Joseph, and
there are others, but st. Joseph Is suf-
f1cient at present.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT e.

That is an adroitly worded para
graph: is a slam at the mayor and
council; an implication tnat MI.
MYERS is more anxious to see that the
CITY saves taxes and does not make a
mistake in purchasing new plant
than he is to secure contract. The
state Journal does not understand
Mr.. Myers criticism of its statement
that: 1.-THE Edison company re.
newed its PROPOSITION made last year"
This is entirely wrong The mayor
and council understand that the
ndison company has renewed IL
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
Total
.S75.57

These figures were written to The
State Journal and are also today dis
played on the south wall of the COM
mittee room of the council in the city
building and they are the only figures
given showing interest and deprecia-
ton per lamp per year and are spread
nearly the length of the committee
room walls. To repeat what the
State Journal showed was the cost
to the city for lights per lamp per
year last year, not an average Of Is
years. but the past year actually:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT .T.''

If we have nothing tangible OF
authentic upon which to base claims
and 1Ieizrsssn then the ctfy's reoorda
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT "H."

This statement Of Mr.. Myers is in
tended to be humorous 1t Is simply
untrue. applying to each of the fouI
cases wherein he says the State Jour
nal "being wrong in all four instances. y
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT &C."

Part of this portion of Mr.. Myers
letter is answered in Exhibit A" above.
Further answer is: "St. Joseph" whose
management is under board of public
works or commission (Which Topeka
purposes to have) and whose records
are as carefully kept as those Of the
Edison company and which municipal
plant uses late and modern methods
and machinery, economies which To-
peka contemplates with it's new plant.
What ST. Joseph has done, Topeka can
do. There are able men in ST. Joseph
in municipal offices and there are just
as able men In Topeka In fact a St.
Joseph man said to- the writer: What
a fine body of able. intelligent business
men you seem to have in Topeka In the
city administration. II the mayor and
the councilmen here with us today are
samples"
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
$52.S3

The above figures are reached by
charging per cent interest on the
value of the citys plant year ago as
accepted by Mr.. Myers, s27, 500. ddvid-
ing this interest by 32S the number
of lamps, gives $4.19, depreciation the
same 8 per cent S4.19. The operating
expenses for 1907, as shown by Mr..
Myers figures in the table The State
Journal printed, and by the city s
records was $14,251.07. Dividing this
by 1928 gives $43.45.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT sK.n
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

Here Mr.. Myers again displays his
tremendous interest in the taxpayer.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
Topeka. kansas, Feb. IS, 1908.

MT. II. z H1aGlIEnu1fI, CIEy.1-
Dear Mr.. MacLennan: Herewith I
hand you my reply to your Municipal
Message" know you will find it truth
full and hope you will find. it interest
ing. The only condition attach to its
publication is that it shall appear ex-
actiy as submitted, that is, without alb
breviation, omission or addition. and
this 1 know you will see to.
Twas a good deal disappointed in your
article of yesterday which appeared I'M
der the heading MORE LIGHT" In
it you showed interest and depreciation
- 81 Toe as 1918 and 1888 respectively
acd directly underneath you say:
'Nzx the wsxl Mr.. Myers figured our
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
EXHIBIT 3D."


would wreck any plant. or concern,
municipal or corporate. In Mr.. Myers
whole twenty page letter he never NEIL
toned St. Joseph, but did mention
what the alleged cost had been to
municipality lighted cities as follows:
Bay city, Mich, $90s6; Bloomington,
III. $4,000: Chicago, ILL.,. $4,000; Chicago
coin again 1851; Muncie, Ind. $3.50;
Harvard. ILL.,, $50; Lakewood, Ohio,
$4,000. He overlooked st. Joseph. SEA- OF
and Topeka, $52.S3. There is also no
particular reason why Mr.. Chas. w.
Shows report Of Syracuse, N. Y. should
not be printed, but Topeka's actual
successful experience and St. Joseph's
actual successful experience are worth
more than any number of alleged fail
ures. Furthermore it is quite sure that
the electric companies In cities where
there have been municipal plants have
frequently misled the municipalities by
Juggling figures, and other methods
which corporations have not hesitated
to use, and by cutting rates and maxi
ing a proposition like the s55 one now
pending before Topeka, and by attrac-
tive and expert presentations Of the
case, such as Mr.. Myers himself has
made. They have thereby induced
municipalities to wreck and dismantle
municipal plants under a misguided ap
prehension which will cost those cities
thousands of dollars. There is more joy
in such offices as Mr.. Myers, over one
municipal failure than over a dozen
municipal successes. Private corpora
lions doing public service feed off from
municipalities. AS a rule they get valu-
able franchises, franchises worth dou-
BILE the plants, for absolutely nothing
They eat municipalities, eat 'em alive,
where they can; but they are not going
to swallow Topeka's municipal light
plant, or our municipal waterworks, IL
The State Journal can prevent it. We
wish to say right here, however. that
Mr. Myers management of the Edison
company is far ahead of the grasp and
greed Of many other similar companies,
and that from this investigation we are
convinced that the Edison company's
prices for Topeka residence and COM
mercial lighting are far more favorable
than most cities enjoy, but Topeka can
beat The Edison company on street
lighting proposition.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21
MUNICIPAL MESSAGE NO. 2.

To which the attention of the Topeka
state Journal is particularly re-
quested.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21

In the next paragraph of its edf7
toria1 the Journal urges the city not
to confess it's failure. Why not ?
Many other cities have done so and
Topeka's experience in the lighting
business is no different than that of
other cities, SO why not admit the
truth and make it unanimous?
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-21


lFor reply see Exhibit CT
It is for these and many other rea-
sons could cite that 1t is utterly i'm
possible to apply true business meth
DDS to municipal industries. A "busi-
ness Administrations sounds well but
it can only be carried out as for as
the law will permit, and Is always
subject to our political system For
instance, one superintendent of the
city light plant secured his position
through on order of court, notwith-
standing the mayors appointment of
another man. Business men. fault
finders and theorists when making
wholesale attacks upon public officers
best that can be done IS to approx
mate true business methods.
In proof of the foregoing the writ
er submitted to the State Journal a
list of more than so cities ranging in
population and Importance from New
York with its four millions to Beverly,
Ohio, with but LOO, and in every case
the result is the same Failure!
IF'or reply see Exhibit d.
Failure.l FailureiI. And in almost ey-
cry instance from the same cause
namely. lack of careful business adj
ministration. VIII the Journal be
good enough to publish my letter OF
January s0th. in which gave the his
tory of these failures, and will it also
please write to Mr. Chas. w. Snow al
Syracuse, New York, who I under
stand was chairman of a committee OF
Syracuse business men, bankers and
labor union officials. appointed about
a year ago to Investigate the adyisa.
bilitv OF establishing q municlpa.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
BRINGS REMAINS HOME
Conrad Hermstrom Dies in
Chicago Hospital on
Saturday.

Indiana Harbor, Ind, Oct. 5.-Morti-
clan f. ]. Teal yesterday brought the
remains of Conrad Hernstrom, Of In
diana Harbor, from the Swedish CO.
cenant hospital in Chicago to his home
on Pennsylvania avenue, from which
place interment will be made tomorrow
afternoon. Hernstrom, it will be re-
membered by many, was injured while
working at the local plant of the Stand
ard Forgings company early last
spring. Severe crushing injuries to his
right leg resulted and he was removed
to St. Margaret's hospital in Hammond.
Here the leg was amputated and ap-
parently was doing nicely when Hern-
strom was taken home.
The leg failed to heal properly and
he was removed to the Swedish hospi-
tai in Chicago several weeks ago. where
his death resulted late Friday evening.
Hernstrom is about 80 years of age and
is survived by q wife and three chill
dren. to whom the hand of sympathy
has been extended by the entire Swe-
dish colony of this city.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
Microscopic Writing.

A remarkable machine made by q
lately deceased member Of the Royal
Microscopical society for writing with
a diamond seems to have been broken
up by its inventor. A specimen of its
works is the Lords prayer of 227 let
ters, written in the 100000 of a
square inch, which is at the rate OF
53,SS0,000 letters or Is complete
Bibles, to a single square inch. To
decipher the writing 1t is necessary to
use a 1-12-inch objective, which is the
high power lens physicians employ for
studying the most minute bacteria.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
AFFECTED BY DECISION
South Chicago High School
Has Forty Sorority
Girls.

The Chicago high school fraternities
met a crushing defeat in the circuit
court Saturday. After listening to the
arguments of counsel in the suit of Ed
ward Mcdonald for reinstatement in
the Hyde Park high school, Judge
Windes delivered an oral opinion late
In the afternoon which upholds the
board of education completely in it's
rule of barring members of secret So
cieties from the public school system.
As there are no fraternities at the
South Chicago high school, the only
secret body that will come under Judge
Windes' decision is local girls So
orority to which forty girls of the
South Chicago high school belong. It
is thought they will quietly abide by
the decision of the court, although sew
eral members of the sorority have been
wearing their sorority pins in open de-
f1ance to the ruling of the board of
education.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
HEARD BY RUDE.

Plans are on foot to make next Sun
day-when the dedication of the CO.
iumbus statue will take place-the big
gest event in the history of South Chi
cago.
The Chicago city council will meet
for their regular session tomorrow
night
United States postoffice officials were
In South Chicago Saturday looking
over some sites for the new South Chi
cago postoflce.
| The Chicago papers on Saturday told
a big cock and bull story about the
killing of the man at the Grand Cross
| ing Tack Works. They gave the list
OF injured as ten.
In just another month the voters will
get a chance to say something.
Who would have thought that the in
terest in football would have remained
SO long in the background
| South Chicago's streets are kept as
clean as they possibly could be. The
department. deserves a great deal of
credit
Lone bandits in South Chicago should
be provided with plenty of company
by our hospitable police force.
South Chicago business men report
| that the trade on that day was far
| ahead of any other day during the
year. It looked like the old time
South Chicago to see so many people
on the streets.
From the number of fires in South
Chicago during the month of Septem-
Der 1t was a very Improbable place fol-
the fire insurance companies.
Sending children to school without
any breakfast is disgracefuI. BY al
means give them little breakfast food
before algebra.
Those dear high school fraternities
and sororities received hard blow Sat.
iurday when a Chicago judge stood By
the decision of the board of education.
The season for hammocks in Soutf
Chicago has drawn to a close. 1t ha.
been a very successful one, according
to reports.
Just a few more days and you viii
see those pay-as-you-ente cars. May
be-perhaps.
Yesterday was an ideal day in Soutl
Chicago and everybody took advan
tage of 1t by spending 1t in the opeI
air.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
MALARIA FEVER RAGING
Police Find Pitiful Condi.
lions in Hegewisch Home
This Morning.

Word has been received at the South
Chicago police station early this morn
ing from Hegewisch that Mrs. Militesch
and baby, living at 1873 Ontario ave-
nue., were suffering from Malarial fever.
Frisco Skimrich, a border at the place
was also found to be very sick with
the same disease. The South Chicago
ambulance was sent to Hegewisch and
they were taken to the county hospi-
tai.
When officers arrived at the MiIitisch
home they found pitiful scene. The
mother who has been sick for the past
two weeks was in a raging fever with
her baby at her side. The little one
was more dead than alive from cold
and exposure. Frico Skimrich, the
boarder, was also found in another
room in an unconscious condition. They
were discovered this morning by neigh
bors who called at the house.
The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-10-05
Sill IN The RACE
Independent Candidate For
Sheriff Denies That He
Has Quit.

Casper Felseher, who has been var
iously reported as having withdrawn
from the race for sheriff, called up THE
TIMES last Saturday night for Lowell
and vigorously denied that he has got
off the indepe ndent ticket
"I want you to correct the reports
that have been started" said Mr. Fels-
cher. Il am running just as well as
the democratic and republican candi-
dates. They will find that 1 am on
the ticket to stick
'Of course, 1 know where all these
stories come from. They are simply
started to hurt me. but TIL get there at
the finish"