The pass-book is to evidence the deposits made from time to time. It is ruled for debits and credits. The credits are entered at the time of deposit by the receiving teller, if the funds are •received over his counter. Credits that come by mail or through other departments are entered by the bookkeepers (or the audi tor) whenever the pass-book is left for balancing the account. Quite a number of depositors prefer not to use a pass-book, and request duplicate deposit tickets instead.
The check book is simply a pad of blank checks and stub. To protect itself, the bank is careful to give check books to cus tomers only. If checks are written in the bank by a customer special counter checks are provided for his use.
The depositor lists the items which he wishes to deposit on a deposit slip (Figure 12), a plentiful supply of which is always conveniently near on desks and tables. The deposit slip ordinar ily bears a number, the name of the depositor, the name of the bank, the date, and a column for items deposited. It may also contain a proviso somewhat as follows: "In receiving items on deposit this bank obligates itself only as the depositor's collecting agent and assumes no responsibility beyond reasonable care in selecting correspondents, and until actual payments have been received for such items this bank reserves the right to charge back to the depositor's account any amounts previously credited in case the items cannot be collected." If this notice is not found on the deposit slip, it is put on the first page of the pass-book, or is fully explained to the depositor at the time his account is opened.
The amount of cash and of each check or draft is listed separately and the column is footed. Coupons are usually en closed in separate envelopes and the sum marked on the outside.
The items, the slip, and the pass-book arc presented at the ing teller's window, and the teller, after examining and counting at ]east the loose bills and coin, enters the total in the credits of the pass-book.
Nature of Deposits and Deposited Items Caution should be exercised in entering credits lest the nature of deposits be misun derstood. By the de posit of cash and cash items the depositor ac quires the right to draw against the bank and to receive pay ment in lawful money; he does not have the right to draw out the specific cash he depos ited. The cash items are deposited in order that the bank may col lect them, that is, con vert them into cash, but the depositor does not have the right to draw out the specific cash realized from them. The depositor has simply a general claim against the
bank, the contract implied between him and the bank being that the bank, having sufficient funds to the depositor's credit, will pay his properly drawn checks when duly presented. But the fact that he procured this right to draw by the direct deposit of cash and cash items over the receiving teller's window does not clothe him with any different or greater rights than if he had procured the right to draw by giving his promissory note to the bank through the loan department. The deposit of cash and cash items is but one of the many ways by which deposits, that is, the right to draw, are created.
Handling Deposited Items Deposits are received from individuals, associations, firms, corporations, trust companies, and savings banks located in the same city, and the departments of the municipal government. The deposited items consist of cash and cash items only, and these include paper currency, gold, silver and minor coins, checks, sight and demand drafts, bills of exchange, post-office orders and travelers' checks, due coupons, and note and time drafts which are due and certified. When a deposit is received it is entered in the pass-book by the teller, though certain of the deposits entered as cash may yet be uncollected. By far the greater part of deposited items consists of checks and drafts; with certain depositors cou pons are a very common item. The methods of handling these different forms are as follows: Z. Checks and Sight, Demand or Due Drafts, Bills, Notes, etc. If drafts with bonds or stock attached are deposited for collection, they are shipped according to directions received from the deposi tor. A special book of record of such shipments is kept. No responsibility is assumed for loss of the item in transit.
The indorsements on checks presented for deposit are ex amined with more or less care, particularly to see that the deposi tor has indorsed them. Greater care is used in noting the regu larity of indorsements and other features in case of small accounts than large ones, because small depositors are not so likely to correct irregularities of returned items and are more likely to practice "kiting" and other abuses.