It is usually necessary for the department to transfer the cou pons from the original envelopes in which the coupons are for warded to it for collection to envelopes provided by the paying agents. The original envelopes form an important part of the bank's records and are filed for two or more years. For their convenience the paying agents require that all coupons be pre sented in their own particular style of envelope, and also that all coupons detached from the same issue of bonds be placed in one envelope. The transfer from the one set of envelopes to the other is called "scheduling." With each stop (presentment) is enclosed a slip reading as follows: "Please give messenger number on corner of certificate if you deduct income tax, and oblige, The ......Bank of .. ..." Collection of Coupons and Departmental Proof The coupons are now in shape to be presented for payment. A special group of messengers may be attached to the department, under the control of a clerk who checks the routes on the route sheet. As the returns come in from the street each stop is proved and a full description of the proceeds written on the route sheet. The amounts of the coupons returned unpaid are deducted from the credit advices, as is also the amount of tax withheld by the paying agents. The credits are then proved and the credit tickets, together with the checks and cash received, are handed to the note teller.
Coupons returned unpaid are disposed of according to the reasons for non-payment. The principal reasons for non-payment
are that the paying agents have not received funds, or have not been instructed to pay the coupons presented, or that the certifi cate of ownership attached to the coupons does not comply with the regulations of the Treasury Department. Coupons are some times presented to the wrong paying agency, either through error in handling the large number of coupons or through the fact that municipalities and corporations often change their fiscal agencies, and an investigation is required before the correct paying agent can be found and presentation and collection made accordingly.
Coupons payable outside the department's collection district are handed to the country collection department, where they are transferred from their envelopes to envelopes of the country collection department and treated in the same manner as other collections. The only charge made is the ordinary exchange charges, if any. The department employs the nearest paying agency, which can be readily found by reference to "Elliott's Red Book" and "Bullinger's Guide." Coupons to be returned unpaid to correspondents are handed in their original envelopes to the transit department, against receipt, and are returned to the correspondents by that department by registered mail, fully insured.
The proof of the coupon collection department (Figure 23) is really the coupon proof of the note teller's department.