The work during the day consists of distributing the following irregular items: 1. Certain pieces that concern two or more departments must be delivered successively to each.
2. Missorted pieces that return for proper distribution.
3. Pieces not addressed to the bank but reaching it by error as an enclosure or through some other mistake.
4. All pieces ambiguous in address or contents which require to be sent on a departmental round robin or referred to the bank officers or returned to the remitters for en lightenment or instructions.
The Foreign Outgoing Mail Department This department receives the outgoing foreign mail from the various departments, and sorts, packs, stamps, registers, insures, and despatches it. The mail comes to the department open and addressed and in duplicate or triplicate. The original (letter and documents) is sent by the first mail, the duplicate on some other steamer, and the triplicate goes to the files. The racks into which the mail is sorted are divided according to groups of countries, and the pigeonholes are arranged alphabetically by countries or cities and in double tier, one for the originals and one for the duplicates. The sorters separate the originals and dupli cates and put them into their proper racks and pigeonholes. The packers put the mail into their proper envelopes, and stamp and seal them. All negotiable iastruments, such as drafts, bills of lading, insurance certificates, consular invoices, etc., are sent by registered rnail. The ordinary letters and advices are put in separate unregistered envelopes.
The numerous rules for handling the mail are the product of experience or of special instructions of the addressees or of postal regulations here and abroad. For instance, the rules for routing depend upon the steamers and the ports at which they call; the rules for registering may be changed at the request of a branch or correspondent; the post-office day in Mexico runs from 12: N. tO 12: N., etc. The sailing list of mail steamers is prepared by the United States post-office, and copies of this are distributed to the interested departments and officers of the bank.
The detached copies are dated and sorted for the files into such lots as export items, dossier, signed letters, bookkeeper's copies, office copies, draft advices, letter payments, etc.
All letters placed in the mail bag are carefully checked for stamping, sealing, addressing, and marking, and a record is kept of them. The department prepares tickets monthly charging the postage to the proper accounts. Records are also kept of the stamps received from time to time on requisitions, and of those withdrawn and put into the current stamp box; and other records are kept of the stamps used each day, and of the number of pieces of mail.
Foreign Registered Mail The registered mail usually contains valuable items such as stocks, bonds, coupons, etc., and on account of the responsibility of handling such items the work is conferred upon a separate department with very trustworthy employees.
The incoming registered mail is received from the note teller against receipt, and a record is kept of the following details: the United States registry number, the name and address of the cor respondent, the foreign registry number, and the contents of the package. The number of packages and the number of entries are counted and proved against each other. All personal mail and envelopes containing letters of value are delivered intact to the proper departments against receipt. The securities are entered in a receipt book and are delivered to the customers' securities department against signature. The coupons are listed and totaled and delivered to the collection departments. Every thing of value received is acknowledged by first mail on forms giving the registry number, date of advice, and description of contents.
A record is kept of the outgoing registered mail, giving the date of shipment, list of contents, numbers on coupons, date of last coupon, name of party on stock certificates, expiration date and rate of bonds, and name and address of consignee. Two employees sign a paper to the effect that they personally have seen contents of the package and know them to be as stated, and that the package was securely wrapped and sealed in their pres ence and never left their custodyuntil receipted by the post-office. The insurance and postage charges are recorded and charged to the proper accounts.