The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-12-05
THUMB MARKS
IN USE IN
BANK

CHEYENNE. Wyo., Dec. 5.-The
old Chinese system of identified
ton by thumb marks has been
adapted to modern banking. and
the method made famous by Mark
Twain in "Pudd'nhead Wilson" is
now in practical use in the First
National bank of Cheyenne as a
means identifying the sigma
ture of the many foreigners who
make deposits at that institution.
In fact, the thumb mark has be-
come as necessary on checks
drawn by that class of the banks
depositors as is the written sigma
ture of the drawer. The system
has been in use in the First Ma
ton for more than year, and in
that time the bank has had not
the slightest trouble with its for
eign depositors. The arrangement
works to perfection.
There are probably more nation
alities represented in and around
CHEYENNE than in almost any 9th
er city of the country, The great
mining camps of the state have
drawn every nationality of Europe
to themselves, while the Union
Pacific and the Burlington rail-
roads have brought hundreds of
laborers from Asiatic countries.
Koreans. Japanese, Chinese, Mex
leans. Indians. Lithuanians, Poles,
Czechs, Hungarians, Bohemians,
Welshmen, Irishmen, Greeks, ltal-
ians and about every other nation
atty can be found around Chey
enne in the course of days
search
Many of these people deposit
their savings in the First Nation
al. and very few of them can
write their names, especially in
letters which can be read by an
ordinary American business man.
An additional source of trouble
to the banker is the great resem-
blance so many foreigners hear to
others of their own nationality, a
resemblance so strong that identi-
fication in many cases is almost
impossible.
To the average American every
japanese resembles every 'other
Japanese, while Cinnamon are as
alike as peas. Unless they hap
pened to be we'll acquainted with
a depositor the bank officials soon
discovered they were having
great deal of trouble in identifying
either the drawers or the payees
of checks which came to them.
At the time of opening an &C.
count with bank it Is always
customary to. have the depositor
file his signature, the more readily
to detect forgeries. But the First
National people were nonplussed
when many of their depositors
placed signatures on file which
would throw the ordinary chiro-
graphical expert into fit. One
day the assistant cashier, A. d.
Johnson, bethought himself of the
Mark Twain story of "Pudd-nhead
Wilson," and Immediately put the
scheme in operation.
AS result each foreign patron
of the bank when he makes a de-
post is now required to place his
thumb on an linked pad and then
make an impression on card,
which, with his ordinary signature
and his name as written by the
bank cashier, is deposited in the
records of the bank. Whenever a
check is presented drawn by this
patron his thumb signature must
appear on the check and must cor
respond with that on the card in
the record. If it does not so cor
respond the check is thrown out
as a forgery.
Mr.. Johnson has become so pro-
fcient in reading thumb sigma,
lures that he can recognize the
prints of great many of the
banks patrons. without reference
to the records.