mm
OLUME 16.
REYNOLDSVILLE, PENN'A., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1908.
NTJMBEB 60.
Methods of the Big Bank Ex
change In New York City.
MARCH OF THE MESSENGERS.
Th. Way Millions on Million, of Dol
lar In Checks Changs Holders In a
F-ew Minutes In the Daily Balancing
of Accounts Between Banks.
;Clearing!" That word is the order
for the shuffling of many feet and the
pattering of thick envelopes upon bard
iwood. Men with leather bags hung
Against their chests like bass drums
pass up and down rows of desks at
which other men sit and as they go by
deftly hand out brown paper packages
containing the equivalent of millions in
gold. Thus do the banks of New York
transfer money eaeh business day.
As vast as the figures Involved in the
oppratloa are, they do not make an
Impress upon the mind. One is more
apt to wonder whether the gray haired
' Messenger in the blue serge suit would
succeed in disorganizing the line if he
gave the wrong envelope to bank No.
40 and, if so, whether he would be con-
1 -iflemnefl forever by bis associates. But
"To one seems to make a mistake, and
"$b.e -.visitor bas no reason to worry
about the possibility of misplacing ?28,
000.C00 even for half a second. The
machinery of the clearing house is al
most too perfect to slip a cog.
The clearing house begins to show
signs of activity as early as 9:30 o'clock,
.when the vanmiard of bank runners
makes Its appearance. They travel in
pairs and are mostly young men, al-
though the veterans have not all re-
Aired. Their badge of office Is a bag,
I any sort of bag, suit case, telescope,
'kit bag, canvas bag. Sometimes it has
' the name of the bank it came from
'printed across the end. More often it
bears no distinguishing mark.
Further, its identity Is frequently
hidden behind an exceedingly shabby
exterior. That Is perhaps a- virtue. At
fill events, it Is not considered good
form In banking circles to be ostenta
tious. A strong bag even though It be
old and chafed Is just as good a vehicle
for a fortune as a new one and Is less
. likely to produce burnings in the heart
of a thug. So this is the reason why
;the young men who sweep up the mar
jble stairs look as If they were carrying
bags filled with their own clothing In
stead of other persons' checks. Self
conscious they are not despite the loads
they carry, and one might well Imagine
they were going upstairs to change
their garments for gymnasium suits.
But when the visitor reaches the floor
above and climbs to the little gallery
at one end he realizes that not basket
Sail, bat another game. Is to be played.
Already the players are preparing to
We their positions. At the side walls
(re benches on which delivery clerks
Ire sitting, their bags at their, sides,
6
ana opposite Is n solid counter divided
Into about seventeen compartments, to
the front of which are affixed, If occu
pied, the name plates of different
banks. Keyoud the first is a second
counter and between the two a rack for
hots and overcoats. A broad aisle with
more benches nud hatracks separates
the two rows of counters from dupli
cates on the opposite side of the room,
Settling clerks, who take their places
on high stools behind the outer rows
of counters, face the walls. Those at
the inner counters face the center aisle.
At the elbows of the settling clerks
stand their nsslntants, who are re
quired to sign the exchange slips pre
sented with each package of checks.
As the clock nears 10 one glances
from the high dome, with its row of
electric lights, to the scene below. The
clerks at the compartments have made
themselves comfortable. The messen
gers standing at ease before them
have slung their bags and are ready.
A minute passes. A man appears at
the rostrum In the gallery and rings a
gong twice. Eyes below are uplifted
as he makes an announcement about
out of town banks that will hereafter
clear through different correspondents.
That Is not of particular interest, but
he pauses briefly and then utters the
magic word, "Clearing!"
The messenger for bank No. 1 crosses
the room at one end of the counters
and takes the place of No. 07, who has
moved down a pace. Simultaneously
fifty other men have taken a step for
ward, and the tramping and scraping
of feet come regularly. No. 1 has
slapped an envelope down before the
clerk at No. 07's compartment, dropped
a ticket into a slot, offered an exchange
slip for signing and passed on to No.
06 without uttering a word. Each of
No. l's fifty associates has duplicated
his performance In every detail, and
bo the exchanges, as they are called,
have been fairly started.
In the meantime the settling clerks
are doing' their share of the work.
Long sheets of paper in front of them
are being filled out with the total
amounts of the checks presented by
the men who are circling about the
counters, making monotonous but not
unpleasant sounds with their feet
Suddenly, when you are Just beginning
to understand what It Is all about, a
halt Is called. No one says anything,
but every one stops. You ask why,
and some one says the exchanges have
been completed. You ask how $300,
000,000 can chango bands in exactly
fifteen minutes by the clock, and the
same person looks at you with a pity
ing smile and remarks, "Why, you've
Just seen it done."
There Is marked silence for a mo-'
ment after the feet have stopped mov
ing. The crowd In the room begins to
thin out, for the delivery clerks are
going, taking -lth them the packages
of checks which have been deposited
with the settling clerks. The latter
still have work to do. Their assistants
rescue the little tickets from the com
partments into which they were drop
ped, and the settling clerks scan the
amount of them to see if they agree
with the totals on the exchange slips.
When first he entered the room the
settling clerk gave the proof clerk In
Have you passed our window late-
iy?
Next time take a peep at those
dainty summer low cuts that
grace the display. J
EverJseeJ prettier, moregraceful
heels ?
Ever'see nattier'toes ?
Made as right as they look, too.
Tans and vici and patent coltskin
and snowy white canvas.
. $2.50 for the cheapest pair.
$4.00 for the costliest.
And several prices sandwiched in between.
(The above talk is addressed to women only; we
will say things to husbands and brothers next
time. '
BING-STOKD COMPANY.
Gunningham
JEWEUR AND
OPTICIAN..
Opposite Imperial Hotel.
Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania.
Watches, clocks, jewelry,
silverware, cut glass,
china, umbrellas and
sewing machines. : : :
Typewriter ribbons, safe
ty razor blades, sewing
machine needles and sup
plies. Umbrellas ' recov
ered and repaired.
tne managers gallery tne amount' or
the checks he brought with him. Now
he ascertains the total of the amount
deposited with him. Soon he Is able
to tell whether bis hank has a debt or
credit balance, and this Information he
communicates to the proof clerk. Then
the clearing house knows exactly how
much cash will have to be moved from
hank to bank In adjusting Im lances
Forty-live minutes is the limit allow
ed for making the exchanges and prov
ing the balances, and fines may be im
posed if the allotted time Is exceeded.
But it Is rarely necessary to impose
fines, so rapid is the work of the mes
sengers and so simple the system of
exchange. Most of the work Is done
before the messengers get to the clear
ing houHe. The checks for exchange
with other banks are Inclosed In sep
arate envelopes, and these envelopes
are arranged In consecutive order in
the delivery clerk's bag, so all needless
delay in depositing them Is eliminated.
To make the clearing finally complete
It is of course necessary to exchange
the cash. "Accordingly," says James
G. Cannon in his book on "Clearing
Houses," "before half past I o'clock
each debtor bank, In compliance with
the requirements of the constitution,
pays Into the clearing house the amount
of its debit balance and obtains a re
ceipt for the same signed by the as
sistant manager. After; half past 1
o'clock the creditor banks receive at
the clearing house their respective bal
ances and give their receipts for the
same In a book provided for that pur
pose, but in no case can a creditor
bank receive Its balance until all the
debtor banks have paid In." New York
Post.
A MARKET IN MOROCCO.
The Best Place to Study the Ways of
t the Wily Natives.
The place of all places to see the
Moorish people Is at their markets, for
every class and kind of them is there,
and when you have seen one market
you have seen them all, for there is a
racial similarity in the Moors the world
over.
The first thing about a Moorish mar
ket that attracts the attention of a
traveler 1b the farreachlng odor or,
rather, the multiplicity of odors, for
there is a composite character about
the smell of a Moorish market that can
not be equaled anywhere outside of
China. Before you can even bear the
continual wrangle and Jangle of the
market place you con smell it.
Once there the interminable jumble
of things and folks Is disconcerting,
and the evidence of dirt everywhere
takes from an American all desire to
deal in eatables, for the Moors seem to
be wholly Insenslblo to dirt of any
kind and every kind and have no objec
tion to fruit and berries that have como
In unprotected over miles of dusty aud
sandy roads.
These people are natural traders, sec
ond to none in their ability to obtain
the highest possible price or equally
ready willingness to let the article go
for a mere pittance rather than miss
making a sale,
They will begin the price of a lamp
at 3 shillings and after a little haggling
will come down to 1 shilling, but If you
move on they will thrust the lamp into
your hand and ask you to give them
anything for it that you will, and It Is
a sale, no difference how small may be
your offer.
In nearly all countries the every
where present and always the same
donkey Is an Inevitable adjunct of a
Moorish market The whole animal
kingdom would be searched through in
vain to find any creature more wholly
devoid of impulse and sentiment than
this Imposed upon little beast.
Like a fatalist philosopher, he Is
wholly resigned to the order of things,
and nothing can cause him to stir from
the even tenor of his ways. Caressing
and even food do not seem to add any
to his satisfaction, and beating and
abuse do not.detract from his tranquil
lity. His features are perfectly Immo
bile. As he stands In the market place one
may pet him and give him bits of grass
or fruit and he will not raise his head
or even open bis eyes. He la the su
preme, Ineffable resignation In flesh
and blood. And no Moorish market la
complete without him by the scores
World's Events Magazine.
raris ever ramous.
Paris waa a famous and cultivated
city ages before, Venice. If we search
for them we may And It In historical
associations that may vie with those of
any city In the world except Rome and
Constantinople, and even its antiquari
an and artistic remains I : seldom
equaled or surpassed. At Rome, Flor
ence or Venice the tourist talks of old
churches, palaces and remains. At
Paris he gives himself up to the boule
vards, the theaters, shops and races.
The profoundly Instructive history, the
profuse antiquarian remains of the
great city, are forgotten carent quia
Tata sacro. London Spectator.
Make Him Mad. '
"Don't yon think, major," Inquired
the young man In the front row, "that
he sings those battle songs realistical
ly 1"
"Yes, Indeed," replied the gentleman
aforesald-"so realistically. In fact;
that I feel like fighting aU the time
Tm listening to him!" London An
swers. I '
METAL MAGICIANS.
The Wonders of Labor Saving Devices
In Machinery.
When McCorinlck built his first hun
dred reapers In 1845, he pnld 4i cents
for bolts. That was in the mythical
age or hand labor. Today fifty bolts
art made for a cent So with guard
fingers. McCorinlck paid 24 cents each
wheil Jutues K. Polk was In the White
House. Now there Is a ferocious ma
chine which with the least possible as
sistance from one man cuts out 1,300
guard fingers in ten hours ut a labor
cost of n cent for six. Also while ex
ploring one of the Chicago factories I
came upon a herd of cud chewing ma
chines that were crunching out chalu
links at the rate of Gfl.ooo.lino n year.
Near by were four smaller and more
Irritable automata which were biting
off pieces of wire and chewing them
into linchpins at a speed of 400,000
bites a day.
"Take out your watch and time this
man," said the superintendent of the
McCorinlck plant. "See how long he is
in boring five holes in Hint great cast
ing." "Exactly six minutes," I answered.
"Well, that's progress," observed the
superintendent. "Before we bought
that machine it was a matter of four
hours to bore those holes."
In one of Its five twine mills a mon
strous bedlam of noise and a wilder
ness of fuss, which is by fnr the lar
gest of Its sort In the world there Is
enough twine twisted in a single day
to make a girdle around the earth.
Everybody's Magazine.
SCIENCE AND ART.
A 8torm as Pictured by the Weather
Bureau and by a Poet.
In commenting on the fact that a
person may be thoroughly equipped on
the scientific side of music without
being sensitive to its beauty as an art
Qustav Kobbe In his book "How to
Appreelnte Music" quotes the witty
distinction which Edmund Clarence
Btedman draws In his "Nature and
Elements of Toetry" between the Indi
cations of a storm as described by a
poet and by the official prognostica
tions of the weather bureau.
Mr. Stedman gives two stanzas:
When descends on the Atlantto the gi
gantic Btnrm wind of the equinox,
Landward In his wrath he scourges the
tolling surKes,
Ladon with seaweed from the rocks.
And tb'S stanza by a later Imllndlst:
The enst wind gntheted. all unknown,
A thick sea cloud his i nurse before.
He left by nlftht Hie frozen r.nne
And mnoto tho.cllrrn of I.nl:rador.
Ho lashed the roiiHla on either hand.
And betwixt the fiipe and Newfoundland.
Into the Lays his unities uur.
All this Impersonation nml fancy are
translated by the weather bureau Into
Bomcthing like this:
"An area of extreme low pressure Is
rapidly moving up the Atlantic const,
with wind and rain. Storm tpnter now
off Charleston, S. C. Wind N. C;
velocity, 54; barometer, 2!MI. The dis
turbance will reach New York on
Wednesday and proceed eautwartl to
the banks and bay of St. Lawrence.
Danger signals ordered for all north
Atlantic ports."
How to 8tick Stamps.
"Say," remarked the postofflce clerk
who was off duty as he watched a
friend alllx two stamps to the corner
of an envelope, "why, don't you put
those stamps on horizontally Instead
of vertically? Don't you know you
would save a lot of work for us stamp
ers if you put your stumps beside each
other Instead of under each othert Wo
always have to make two strokes when
canceling vertically pasted stamps by
hand, and they don't work well through
the stamping machines either."
"Is that so?" inquired his friend as
ho took another envelope and proceed
ed to affix two stamps to it in a ver
tical position. "Then, by the great
born spoon, why doesn't the govern
ment sell Its stamps In horizontal
lines? Look at these. Here I bought
20 cents' worth of two cent stamps,
and they come to me in vertical lines.
If I buy five twos, get them attached
one to the bottom of the other. Do
you think I'm going to the trouble of
tearing each stamp off Just to please a
government clerk by pasting them side
by side? Guess again." New York
Press ' V
Sensitive Plants.
There are plants so sensitive that if
when standing by them you should
suddenly put up your umbrella or sun
shade It would be quite sufficient to
cause them instantly to close together
their leaflets and turn down their leaf
stalks, Just as if they were startled and
alarmed by the movement Indeed,
on a sunny day when the temperature
is sufficiently high you need not make
even so decided a movement; merely
your shadow coming In contact with
their leaves will often cans them to
fall slightly. Strand Magazine.
Dignity.
Z ought not to allow any man becausa
he has broad lands to feel that ha Is
rich In my presence. I ought to make
him feel that I can do without his
riches, that I cannot be bought nei
ther by comfort, neither by pride and,
although I be utterly penniless and re
celvlng bread from him, that he Is the
poor man. beside m Emerson.
REYNOLDSVILLE BUILDING AND
LOAN ASSOCIATION
REYNOLDSVILLE, PA.
Eighteenth Annual Report
March 23rd, 1908
Officers
JOHN M. HAYS, President.&JOHN H. KAUCHER, 1 reasurer.
-C. J. KERR, Vice-President. L. J. McENTlRE, Secretary
M. M. DAVIS, Solicitor
John M. Hays
C. F Hoffman .
William Copping
V. R. Pratt
Directors
C. J. Kerr
R. H. Wilson
F. P. Adelsperger
M. S. Sterley
L. J. McEntire
John H. Kaucher
Henry C. Deible
A. T. McClure
M. M. Fisher
MEETS FIRST MONDAY AFTER THIRD SATURDAY IN EACH MONTH
.A '
Statement of Cash.
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS TO MARCH 23rd, J908.
RECEIPTS
Dues, etc . . . $895,452 49
Insurance 3,250 82
Real Estate . . ' 27,195 88
Rent 7,146 62
$933,045 81
PAYMENT
Loans ', $571,598 64
Withdrawals 313,331 63
Expenses 26,134 29
Insurance 5,429 79
Fixtures 490 82
Books 300 03
Forfeited stock 718 97
Interest paid for advance payments , . . . 3,168 04
Koerner property 1,600 00
Cash . 10,273 60
$933,045 81
Assets and Liabilities.
ASSETS.
Loans on First Mortgage . . . .s $221,000 00
Loans on Stock 22,400 00
Due from Stockholders 5,983 42
Real Estate . - 6,830 23
Balance in Treasury 10,273 60
$266,487 25
LIABILITIES.
Value of Stock $254,342 76
Dues Paid in Advance 7,792 60
Unearned Premiums . . . . 4,176 89
Due Solicitor ' 150 00
Due Treasurer 25 00
$266,487 25
OFFICE HOURS.
9:00 a. m. to 12:00 m. 1:00 to 4:00 p. m. 6:00 p. m. to 7:30 p. m.
STATEMENT OF SHARES.
DATE
OF
ISSUE
16 Oct.,
17 April,
180ct.,
10 April,
20Oct.,
21 April,
22iOct.,
23 April,
24'Oct.,
25,April,
26,Uct.,
April,
Oct.,
April,
Oct.,
April,
Oct.,
April,
Oct.,
April,
Oct.,
1897
1898
1898
1899
1899
1900
1900
1901
1901
1902
1902
1903
1903
1904
1904
1905
1905
1906
1906
1907
1907
Total
66
50
105
62
160
185
252
129
200
150
207
153
160
85
215
187
190
164
177
120
88
3111
2
El
S
n
a
P
&
"5
M OS
'3
re
- 2
ffl
Oh
50
37
58
45
66
87
44
89
90
48
34
46
83
49
112
102
51
61
73
37
55
1217
16
13
47
17
94
148
208
90
110
102
173
107
83
30
103
85
139
103
104
83
33
f 126;$04 47190
1894
12ffl
114
108
102
90
90
84
78
72
60
60
51
48
42
80
80
24
18
12
6
"3
15 w
(V u
1 &
2- I
a
o
"O CO
a
a
o
47!$
178 4S
166 77
155 80
144 25
133 42
122 89
112 65
102 70
93 05
83 68
74 62
65 84
57 85
49 30
41 26
8316
26 83
19 81
12 58
614
12,571
8,924
14,510
9,632
23,080
24,682
30,968
14,531
20,540
13,957
17,321
11,416
10,929
4,874
10,599
7.715
6,300
4,818
8,417
509
540
fl660O'6 3fl
5 70U7
1251,342 72
156
146
137
128
119
110
101
93
85
77
69
61
53
46
89
32
25
18
12
28h 3 6021
513!
4 59
408
315
18
19
20
22
2 73 23
2 3424.
1 925
1 fS5 -20
1 .15)27
108 28
8429
63,30
45'31
80(32
1833
0634
r35
136
We have examined the books'of the Association and find the above report
correct. M. C. Coleman, )
C. C. Gibson, Auditors.
' P. A. Habduan, )
jL