Indianapolis Times, Volume 35, Number 92, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 August 1922 — Page 3

AUG. 26, 1922

ONE MINUTE TALKS on BANKING

By Brandt C. Downey. Vice Pres, and Cashier, Commercial National Bank.

_ This Is the Sixth of eerie* I of "One Mlnuto Talk* on I | Banking” by prominent | | bank officials, which will | I run each Saturday in the I I Times dnriny the month of p !• Angnst. “■ Why Banks Close in Mid-Afternoon "You bankers certainly have my idea of a ‘snap,* I wish I could call it a day at 3:00 in the afternoon and go home.” These words, j my fr U9inesS Jf fl * >anks er ® 9 cities, show that **: many people still j*4 ' MB done as soon as the front doors the middle of the L matter of considerable interest and misunderstanding on the part of the public at large. I have heard this sort of statement j made so often by friends and customers that T am borrowing, rather liberally from an advertisement recently published by a Minneapolis bank. >*tiich answered that question logically and interestingly. The following narrative will make clear to the readers what usually is taking place In the various departments of their banks after the hour when my friend thought the bank's' business was done and we had all! gone home. It was late afternoon, the day's work, begun at eight in the morning, was nearing a climax. In the back rooms of the bank a vast rush of hur , ried work was in progress. There came a 3Udden lull in one de-1 partment, however. Something was wrong. The hum of the adding machines and typewriters gradually died away. The inaction was spreading to other departments. “What's the matter there —what’s off?” one of the bank officers asked. “We are waiting for the ‘stuff.’ ” which in bank parlance means checks, ; drafts, notes to enter, list, and prove. ; The proof teller was called. “Don't you realize that you are put- j ting us in danger of missing the Chi-1 cago and New York trains when your j checks come up late like this?” com- j plained the manager of the transit i department. The proof teller promptly passed the! blame to one of the receiving tellers, j By th:s time half the bank force j i was tied up—with nothing to do. f “Late deposits.” explained the re- j reiving teller, "I did the best I could.” ; Have you ever stopped to consider ! the work that remains to be done In ! a bank after the last deposit is taken in over the counter and the doors are j closed? The checks and money cannot be i hold over from one day to another. I the results might prove disastrous. I Tellers must strike a balance as soon as possible. The total of all mouey, checks, drafts, notes, etc., received must agree exactly to the penny, with the total sum credited to the depositors on that day. Remittance letters must reach the propei trains or the banks may be held liable for negligence. Checks must be charged to the makers so; that overdrafts may be avoided. Sig-; natures must be examined for forgeries. Time is valuable in a bank during the progress of late afternoon work. Furthermore, the reputation of the bank for accuracy and the speedy and intelligent handling of the public’s business must be maintained. The banking public expect* speed and precision. These are a few of the reasons why a bank must have a distinct cut-off in its contact with its customers—a definite “zero” hour when it must stop taking deposits. Your bank must be given some leeway to close its daily business accurately and on time. Remember your bank’s closing hour and keep in mind that unnecessary last-minute deposits make late afternoon work doubly in any bank. Bankers all over the country are taking steps to encourage earlier banking, just as the merchants are advocating early shopping. This is a contribution to that purpose.

SMS VIEWS II RAIL PAVING COST Taylor Groninger Tells Federation Clubs Company Should Bear Expense. "It Is inequitable and unjust for the abutting property owners to pay the cost of paving between street car tracks and the street car company should be forced to pay,” Taylor E. Groninger. city corporation counsel, at a meeting of the Indianapolis Federation of Civic Community Clubs at the Chamber of Commerce last night, declared. Groninger announced he would file within a few days a petition with the public service commission asking for a reopening of the Gale St. case, in which the public service commission overruled an order of the board of public works requiring the street car company to pave between the tracks rn Gale St. He also asserted that 'Washington St. had not been resurfaced but repaired and the cost for the same paid f;om the city general fund and not assessed against the abutting property owners. Members of the federation were opposed to such a program and called attention to the fact that Capitol Ave. had been repaired In such a manner and the cost had been assessed against the abutting property owners.

How DoYou Jud?e a Man?

WHAT he does, of course! When the public passes judgment upon what (f T)\\ constitutes real greatness in a man, the first consideration is—what has. he \\ -13 j) done for the community—how has he made it a better place in which to live the list below are working with Indianapolis business men and the public and are helping make Indianapolis mighty—the capital of an inland empire. In 1828, when Indianapolis was a struggling prairie village, Noah Webster published the first American dictionary. He defined “thrift” first as “saving,” then as “rapid growth” and “success." If Noah Webster were alive today he would find in the mighty Indianapolis of today a living testimony to the accuracy of his definition. Built at the crossroads of the nation, the city has been fortunately aided by geographical location in forging ahead among American cities. But in the powerful, pulsating, industrial city which has arisen, finance, the savings of three generations, has played its most necessary part. * Modem Indianapolis and these banks have grown lip together. Growth has constantly created new sets of conditions and new opportunities for usefulness. Today and tomorrow, as in the past, these banks can be counted on to meet the business needs of their clients with every possible service and consideration. You and all good citizens are vitally interested in the constructive development of your banks. They serve the people who deal with you—who work with you or for you—they serve your friends, your neighbors—your fellow citizens. Your success depends in no small degree on the ability of these banks to meet the demands of those who live and work in this city. It is good business for you to take more than a passing interest in them. The truth is, that they mean a whole lot more to you than merely a place to leave your money or cash your checks. The resources of the banks have made possible the wonderful development of the city’s industrial system. They have brought factories and business to Indianapolis and have financed many of them from infancy to the full growth of commonly known national figures. If you can’t bank “big money” bank on a small scale and keep your money in intimate contact with the activities of the Indianapolis of today. Enjoy the convenience of having a safe place for your money, of paying your bills by check. Start a savings account and make it grow. It takes courage and self-denial oftentimes, but, after all, it’s not so much the amount as it is the discipline that counts. Your money has been in the bank and someone is going to put it back in the bank again. Why not yourself? Today is none too early, to start

City Trust Cos. National City Bank Commercial National Bank The Peoples State Bank Fletcher American National Bank Security Trust Cos. Marion County State Bank J. F. Wild State Bank Washington Bank & Trust Cos.

This is the conclusion of a series of six advertisements , published by the several banks above , to cultivate a better understanding of banking and bankers. Its purpose has been to give a more thorough knoivledge of just what the banks mean to the public of the Indianapolis of today and to her prosperous expansion toward the mighty city of a million inhabitants which will be the Indianapolis of tomorrow.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Specialists in Finance Following Business Through

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