The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1919-12-20

r,ittances which were due ana pay
able in those markets. These coun-
try merchants frequently took from
their farmer customers produce to
be marketed and applied the pro-
ceeds to accounts owing to them by
the farmers. These products were
sold in an adjoining city and the
merchant usually received in pay
ment for them a check drawn on
some bank in that city.
He then forwarded that check to
his own banker in that city, and had
the amount of it credited to his ac-
count. This being promptly done, ne
was in a position to draw his own
checks upon that account and use
them in payment of his debts which
are due and payable at that point.
The only cost of this to him was the
stationery and postage and the lit
tie time involved in sending these
checks to the city in question.
A few years ago the local banker
began to approach these country
merchants with this kind of a prep
osition: ''Keep your account here at
your home bank, deposit your
checks, drawn on the metropolis,
with me. l will place the amount
of them to your credit without
charging you for collecting them.
Then you can draw your checks On
my bank and send them to your
creditors in payment Of your bills
with checks on the bank in the me-
tropolis."
This, of course, was alright as far
as outlined, but when one Of these
checks was received by the city
, creditor of the country merchant,
and when the country banker OIL
whom it was drawn received it from
: the metropolitan banker, he pro-
t ceeded to deduct p charge for what
r he called collecting a check" and
S RENTED that amount less than the
), check called for.
The. charge was, Of course, not
: collection charge, it was payment
n charge, because the check was OF
e. order by mis- depositor to pay TIL
o amount named, out of that depos
itor's funds which were in the keep
It ing of his local banker. The checl
o was therefore a demand obligation
r, on that banker. and he was in dut,
is bound to pay it on demand in full
1t II a man should owe you 500
4 due May 1, and if on that date 20
n should send messenger to his oftic
D. with the request that he pay ths
ut messenger the $1,000 which he owe
to you, you would probably not TAX
lie kindly to the suggestion that h
should retain a certain part of tt;
rs $1,000 as a charge against you *
tn collecting from himself what
ne owed you. But that is practical
ne the position which the country ban
is er took when he proposed practices
ed ly the same thing camcufaged
the word collection" or sc
ng change"
o. When he attempted b make
N charge for doing what he W
obliged to do he was not only
're tempting to make a charge for
Ior service which he was not renderir
IN he was not only attempting to liq'
are date his demand obligation at Il
than one hundred cents on the d
We lar, but he was endeavoring to ma
lis the people Of another commun
til, pay for the service he was rend
bic ing to the people of his own conn
IlSh nifty. He was endeavoring to Ii
ent toll upon business done with his
py positors.
81 These bankers coached their
trail positors to reply to objections
the such highhandcd proceedings,
ZEN making the acceptance Of and c.
be pliance with them a condition
continued patronage. They said
ney their depositors, ''You tell the !
to pie you buy goods from, that
llth' they won't accept your check
the this bank and pay the current
70 of exchange, you will buy gs
the from someone else who will"
Q IS Of course the current rate OF
the change was whatever the bal
lyer' proposed to levy as tribute for
the service he was rendering to his
ihicn positors. 1t was pure brigand
the but he depended upon the fact
ealtn it was only few cents in any
y IS instance and that nobody W
ieliV- drive away a good customer 70
ana small an amount.
se y This abuse went so far tha
equal some cases banks were purp
established in out Of the way P
lanSe and chacke drawn fr,on them II