Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-08-17
BANK SWlNDLERS.
How They Try to Get tho Best Of the
Cashier.

Cashier.
The affable gentleman who hands
you out money in exchange for your
check Is the mark of sharks and swim
dlers of all descriptions. The possi-
bilities offered by a successful fraud
upon him are great and the risks on
the whole are less than have to be
faced In many other fields Of crime.
Dodges innumerable have been
worked for his especial benefit, but
the very dangers Of his calling make
him wary, and he is not easily "had."
That favorite device Of petty thieves,
for example, called ringing. the
changes" which so often deceives tine
|shopkeeper, seldopa succeeds with him.
He has disconcerting habit Of COM
pleting each payment as originally
asked for, blandly ignoring any
changes in detail until the end. Thus
he makes each transaction complete in
itself, and it Is not easy to confuse
him.
Bad money is seldom presented at a
bank, unless undesignedly, by those
who have been themselves deceived.
It is extraordinary how quickly a
cashier can detect one bad coin among
a number Of good ones. The slightest
difference in appearance, size or even
weight is often sufficient to catch his
attention! 1t Is not because he has
had 80 much experience with bad
coins, but because he Is so accustom-
ed to good ones, that he is quick in
noticing the difference. Gold counter
feits are usually wrong in the weight,
while silver ones have often a suspi-
ciously greasy appearance and ring
badly.
Cashiers have sometimes to face the
risk Of robbery by fellow officials,
though these cases are extremely
rare. A few years ago, however, a
bank clerk left suddenly for abroad,
under circumstances which his friends
endeavored to hush up as much as
possible. He had been detected in the
act Of fishing with string and bent
pin, a bundle of notes out Of cash.
ier's box during the latter's absence.
A long term Of Imprisonment would
have been a fitting reward for this
traitorous act, but the bank where it
occurred paid small salaries and
thought it advisable to let the offender
go rather than face publicity.
Another case was where a cashier
continually found himself short after
balancing the days transactions. U.s.
ually the deficiency was for small
sums. It puzzled him for a long time,
but eventually the mystery was solved
by an accident. A clerk in the office
was In the habit of handing him a
book to initial each day. The book
was laid on the desk, where usually
there were a number Of loose gold
coins lying about, was duly marked
and lifted up again. One day the
clerk, In taking back the book, was
not so cautious as usual, and the
cashier caught the CLINT Of coin ad-
herring to the back Of it. Struck by
this defiance of the laws Of gravity, he
grasped the book, and found on 1t
small piece Of wax, to which the coin
was adhering, and now that clerk Is
numbered among the unemployed.
Another cashier recently lost $500
in a simple way. Paying out money
rapidly to a large number of custom
ers on a busy day, he found, when the
crowd had melted away, a man whom
he had already paid lingering on. Ask
ed what he wanted the man, who was
an old soldier, sent to cash check by
a mercantile establishment, said that
he was waiting for $500, part Of his
check, which the cashier had not yet
given him. The latter was under the
impression that he had completed the
payment. but the old soldier turned
out his bag. 1t was not there, and, as
there was not the slightest doubt or
his honesty, the cashier paid him out
another $500. At night he was $500
short, and Is now paying 1t up by in
stallments. Some smart individual in
the crowd had annexed the amount
while the old soldier was busy count
ing the earlier portion Of his payment.
Forgery Is the terror Of the bank
cashier for 1t Is difficult to detect, and
may relieve him Of a large sum at one
blow. If a suspicious check Is not
paid and turns out to be genuine, 1t
may lose the bank a good account, or
even involve 1t In an action at law.
Thus it is easy to imagine that some
awkward transactions arise at times.