Evening star., 1923-11-24
MEN PREFER CASH
; IN PAY ENVELOPES
Payment by Check Means
Loss of Good WiII-Rob-
berries Force Care.
By j. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispa tch to The Star

Speclai Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, November 24.-De-
spite the robberies which have swept
over the country and which are
keeping the 10000 police of New
York on duty sixteen hours a day,
large employers appear generally to
oppose payment of workers by
check. They assert, according to
the American Management Associa-
tion, that if the convenience and
good will of their employees means
as much as they think, there will
be few attempts to pay by check
except under special circumstances.
Workers Prefer Cash.
The benefit to the morale of work
ers and the saving In time and
money secured by paying in cash
far overbalances the losses sustained
through holdups and bandits. en-
ployment experts agree. Wages
constitute the most absorbing topic
In a workers life and the statement
that 1T is what is in the nav
envelope that counts" is only half
true. The kind of pay and the man
ner OF payment are of much more
Importance to the worker than is
generally realized. A check and cash
may represent the same amount of
money but check is not so promptly
usable as cash and 1t does not have
the same significance to the work
man.
Employers here Indicate that thew
purpose to regard the matter from a
broader viewpoint than that of pay
roll safety. The increase of even one
cent a week in the cost of paying
workers mounts to no inconsidera bI e
q n b. ar
or 90 weeks, when large numbers
are employed and payment by check,
IT Is claimed, is more expensive In
New York state there are approxi-
mately 100000 individual payments
made to employees each year, involv-
ing total of between S1,500. .000, 600
and $4,000, 100000, Of which approxi-
mately only FL, 900 of l per cent has
been stolen.
Cashfng Checks Is Problem.
The questions which most employ
ers consider first, however, is where
and when checks given employees can
be cashed. Usually banks are closed
at hours when workers are free to go
TO them to cash checks, which forces
them to cash them at a store, some
times at a discount or else take time
on from work. One company here by
paying its workers in cash found a
great reduction in the absences of
employees on pay day.
The paymaster of the B. F. Good
rich Tire and Rubber Company in
discussing a possible change from cash
to checks said: Il unhesitatingly state
that the first and greatest step toward
promoting the welfare of employees is
paying them in currency. l am firmly
convinced that nothing could be done
which would so quickly nullify the
years of patient effort spent in Sc
curing the good will and loyalty of
our employees as would a change from
the plan of paying in currency 20 pay
ment by checks"
Banks Urge Check Plan.
Some banks have encouraged pay
ment by check because it tends to
lead to saving and eSta blishment of
accounts by workers, but one in
stitution found that when work kers
from large factory all appeared
at the paying teller's window at the
same time it closely resembled
run on the bank that the president
of the institution decided to discon
tfnue this service.
Some concerns, such as the Fitro-
lite Company, deposit master check
for the entire pay roll, together with
a list of employees, and have the in
dividual amounts credited to the ac-
count of each worker. Other en-
ployers employ notifications of this
employer has decided economic
interest in wages even after they
are paid, as unwise expenditure of
wages by the worker means he has
secured a poor return for his effort.
Such condition cannot but react
on the employer.
Two Methods Combined.
The Detroit Piston Ring Company
puts S. in cash in each pay en-
velope and gives check for the
balance of the weekly wage. Some
employers make a practice of in
cluding a SIS or $40 gold piece in the
envelopes in the hope that workers
will be led to save them.
In summing up the situation W. J.
Donald, managing director of the
American Management Association.
says: THE information and evidence
which we have secured lean very
strongly toward continuation of
payment in cash, especially for en-
ployes receiving less than $4,000 a
year"