The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-28

more regarding the vault department.
OF banks than any other person In
America. She has written a good deal
on this subject. She has built up the
safe deposit business OF the National
District bnDk to very considerable pro-
portions. Her name Is Miss MiIlie H..
Lung
III Richmond Va. Miss Eleanor
Montgomery Is manager of one of the
departments OF the American National
bank. Miss Agnes Maud Deanes is con-
nected with q Detroit bank. Mrs. Ron
aid H. Barlow is an official of Phil
adelphia banking house and Miss Laf-
fin is an official of ST. Louis, Mo-,
hank.
Strange as it may seem Canada
stands next to Texas in Its partiality to
the woman banker, and Toronto is the
banner city of the dominion in this
respect, Mrs. C. Amy Ready is man
ager of tile ga yings department of one
of the Toronto banks. and Miss Helen
Forster Mrs Susie Northgrave, Miss
Nellie Coburn Miss Clare Carson and
Miss Miriam Morpl1y are officials of
other oanks In that city. Miss Naomi
Farrell is superintendent of the wom
ei's depart ment of the North Crown
bank of Winnipeg.
Some of the banking officials of New
York resent the action of the uptown
concern In the creation of its women's
department.. They believe it will be
a success financially hut they have d
prejudice against the woman official in
banks. They declare that the woman as
Il banker Is all right in a small COM
munity but is all wrong in big city.
They pooh pooh the suggestion that
women are Inherently more honest than
men and have less temptation than
icen. They point to three of the most
Il
finance as being chsrgeable to woni-
en-. In two of :hese ins tances the fraud
was On a lark.
The first historical case is that of
the Countess Lamotte in the Queens
necklace affair. That was one of the
greatest sensations of France. Dumas
wrote one of his greatest romances In
connection with 1t. OF late days they
had another affair in Paris, that OF
Madame Humbert. She carried her
swindle over many years and fooled
the cleverest financiers of the French
capital The third case bankers point
to is that of Mrs. Cassie Chadwick.
who brought confusion to Cleveland
and Pittsburg bankers and who in
volved some very prominent million
aires, some of them connected with the
United States Steel corporation.
woman cashier answers these
critics as follows:
Officers In banks in this country and
in Canada so long that the question OF
qualification must be accepted
proven. | have found, in my position
as cashier, a few ignorant men, and
most of these ignorant men are bank
presidents, who have a prejudice
against woman filling an official
position in a bank. This prejudice is
but an echo of the prejudice that wom-
an has met with every since she en-
tered the field of business. 1t is being
overcome gradually and soon will dis
appear. Women have high ideas of hon
esty and integrity and they feel re-
sponsibility more than men. They ara
Just as capable to hold positions OF
trust. I think there would be less
embezzlement. less absconding and just
as good service in banks We're there
more women officials than there are
today.
woman has a greater patience than
men and a greater skill or talent for
detail. In no business does accuracy
in detail count more than in banking.
Education in this direction is what
girls should have. 1T has been with
held from them and given TO their
brothers
"Their chances for promotion should
be the same for men. IL they have
ability it is unfair to hold them back
because of their sex. have been n
pHnk cashier lot ~ years. ne NOTk
suits me. | like it very much. know
/ have given good service. I think
women should be engaged in every
business way outside of politics. I pre-
dict that within one year there will be
dozen banks in New York to follow
the example of the pioneer In that city
and that within five years you will
have as many women bank officials in
New York state as there are now in
the state of Texas"
She may be right, and she may not.
One thing she does not consider is that
two great banks in New York have
had women among their principal
owners and neither of these banks has
shown any partiality to women offI-
Gals. For many years Mrs. Hetty
Green's stock interest in the Chemical
National bank was large that she
made her office in a private room
above the bank. Mrs. Green had no
women officials handling her money
while she banked at the Chemical and
she has none now in the bank to which
she has transferred her big account.