The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-16
Mrs. K. S. Hawkins Tells Ex-
periences as TELLER" in
One of the Big Banks
WOMEN HAVE GOOD
BUSINESS INSIGHT
Mrs. Hawkins Has Handled a Million
Dollars During Past Year and Is
ambitious to Be of Still
Greater Usefulness

new home
Elegant in its appointment sterling in
Its business qualifications confident in
the splendid patronage that is given this
worthy institution,-it stands for the best
and the highest in every attribute ac-
corded in the commercial world, and for
seeing the necessity of innovation in sew
eral different departments 1t was the nio
heef to inaugurate the question of giving
women prominence, not alone In the mat
ter Of deposits, but in regard to organiza-
tion as well.
little conversation occurs to me that
took place between a very clever man and
myself just a little later than this lasq
year, after Mr.. w. w. Crawford, the
honored president of the American Trust
and Savings bank, had installed Mrs.
X. S, Hawkins as Ladies' Teller In the
bank.
Said the gentleman who was twitting
ME In regard to women and business mat
ters:
l see the pretty creatures are to have
department all to themselves in the
handsome new home of the American
trust bank"
What's in the handsome new home OF
ehalantly just like that
why, haven't you read in the papers
that theres going to be ladies' depart
ment in the new bank with a lady i'll
charge that viii be all to the female cap
llaists or birmingham that the Martha
Washington hotel in New York is to un-
chaperoned- spinsters." he explained flip
PANTY There won't be male creature
In That part of the bank, not even a mes
senger boy"
That's nice" said l indifferently, seo-
ing that he was trying to make game of
me.
What $ nice, the ladies' department in
3 the bank, or the absence of the messen-
ger boy?" he asked quickly.
Why, the ladies' department in the
bank, of course" / answered "I'm GLAD
we have such an up-to-date bank presl-
dent as Mr.. Crawford, so that the women
can get their money out whenever they
want It,"
Now, this self same man that I hap-
pened to be talking to was teller in
bank and had been for many years so
naturally his disposition had become
warped bit and he snared back:
a woman can get her money out or
any bank she puts it in, only she's got to
put 1t in first"
Crouch l cried That's one reason
I'm glad women are going to have a de-
partment all to themselves In the Amer
lean Trust and Savings bank. so that we
won't have to go to fussy, bad tempered
old men, for an explanation of the differ
enee between certifying a check and hav-
ing 1t protested, live in holy horror of
being -protested!'
The man smiled and sighed:
I'm absolutely hopeless over women
ever understanding the banking busi-
ness"
Perhaps you are the man who started
the report" | suggested "about the
woman asking the man at the window to
please give her back the check she had
handed him when he finished looking at
1t, because she had a perfectly good
recipe for cucumber pickle written on it
and she wanted to keep it"
Not guilty" cried the man. II might
be the one who preciptated the joke about
the woman who received notice from her
bank that her account had been over
drawn by several hundred dollars. so she
took out her check book and drew a
check for the amount she had overdrawn
s Con the same bank in which she
hadn't cent? and mailed it, with letter
begging the bank to adjust her account" ="
All of which, | suppose. predisposes tho
fact that women are lacking in the bank
ing instinct. Is that what you call it?"
asked.
'As you please" said the man suavely
But going back to first principles the
Z Ihedi bdnk department Tor women was
instituted years ago, when"
You mean er er-- when women
started to keen their money In their-er-
er- stocking?" | asked
something like that" he replied "b,,t
not exactly. 1t was the old fashioned
woman [ speak Of who used to deposit
her money in several different banks
One was her powder box, and In this she
put a certain sum which was market
money; in another an old cigar box, she
deposited another amount for incidentals,
while still another, the sugar dish, held
the amount which was to pay the serv-
ants"
We'll. she was methodical to say the
least of it," l suggested. "She had a
place for everything"
But she hadn't any sense of balance >
ff | might call 1t that" he interpolated
''She was always borrowing from the
sugar dish to pay the expenses incurred
by the cigar box, and the powder box
got mixed up on it's assets and liabilities
with the other two, and the Lord knows
what happened. That's the type of woman
who lands bank teller in the insane asy-
lum.
Just the same, I've seen many poor
widow left with few hundred dollars
and half dozen children who managed
her affairs better than any man ever
dared" l exclaimed.
you are right" he admitted '"rhIs
thing of a woman taking a trip round
the world for $1199S and bringing back
presents for all her friends and family
is quite beyond me-
you will admit then, that you cannot
understand a woman's mind when il
comes to managing money matters?" /
queried.
was there ever a man who could un-
derstand her about anything?" he came
back at me quickly.
"Then that's the best possible argu-
ment that women officers in a bank
should obtain" defended.
You are right he acquiesced 'Tr
they can comprehend powder box bank
ing and cigar box mbanking and the ETH
quette of stocking banking. see no rea-
son why the women officers and the
women depositors in a bank should not
get along admirably. They'd probably
make a new set of rules and regulations
all their own, and blot out all the red
tape that ties up the various"
"Oh. suppose you think they'd use pink
and blue ribbons instead, according to
their own particular color scheme" I in
terjected, but that's small matter, be-
cause whatever the color scheme happens
to be, the women at least can unravel the
knots, and any question that any woman
may happen to ask a woman officer in
bank will be intelligentiy answered at
the window, to say the least of 1T.
'Oh, yes; the questions will be an
swered all right, all right" said the man.
smiling. 1.-THE first official teller in a
bank was a woman, I've no doubt. The
names such dead give away"
of wi T 1aJ