Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-02
WALKING BANKS.
All Mexieans Garry Large Sums OF
Money on Their Persons.

All Mexicans Garry Large Sums OF
Money on Their Persons.
A bank to the Mexican is not to be
thought of for the handling OF small.
amounts. Almost any Mexican in pro-
fessional or business life carries on his
person anywhere between $500 and
$500. Even the poor Indian i'll his
blanket can more than likely produce
more than many foreigners
The ordinary foreigner in Mexico.
whether tourist or business man 10.
Gated here, carries perhaps $50 to $1O0
with him and no more. If tourist,
the foreigner win deposit any money
over that amount he happens to have
with him in the safe Of the hotel at
which he is registered; If business
man, he will carry no more than that
amount on his person and will give a
check for anything over that amount.
The Spaniard resident in Mexico is in
clined to carry much larger sums than
any other foreigner here, and he will
often carry sums of money aggregat-
ing nearly $1,000.
The ordinary Mexican professional
man will be found to carry sums Of
money on his person that would sur
prise the ordinary traveller and even
cause him worry were he forced to
carry it with him, yet the Mexican
never even thinks Of it.
1t was but few days ago that an
instance of this kind was brought to
attention. One Mexican of the middle
class asked another in a casual way
If he could change a thousand dollar
bill. The other pulled out wallet
from his inside pocket and counted out
nearly $1,000. Time after time this
has happened, and it seems no uncom-
mon thing for Mexican Of the middle
class to carry between one and two
thousand pesos on his person.
One Mexican, who was being re-
proved for this apparent carelessness
and imprudence, replied: +
1--WE do not have any Of your Ameri-
can holdups and highwaymen in Mex
. ico have known my friends to have
their pockets picked for large amounts
through their own carelessness as to
where they carried their money, but I
have never heard of any one being hit
over the head with blackjack and his
pockets rifled of their contents. That
thing is unknown in Mexico. and so
we have no fear in carrying these
amounts
The check idea seems to have taken
but small hold as vet upon the citizens
Of Mexico, especially when small
amounts of less than $1,000 are con-
cerned. They consider it much easier
to pay spot cash than to give a check
for amounts of $50 and 500, and they
claim, with some amount of reason,
that business deal can be put through
with better advantage to themselves
when the cash is in sight.
Even the Indians In the street carry
amounts of cash that would never be
supposed to be in their possession. They
carry their money in leather belts fas-
tened around their bodies inside their
trousers. These belts are hollow and
are open at one end. Into the open
end the Indian slips his pesos or bills
until he has the whole full. The belt
then is either taken of and hidden
away or the bills are changed for lar
ger denominations and still carried
around the body. But the Indian is
stickler for "pesos duros' and prefers
them to any other class of money ex-
cept gold.-Mexican Herald.
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