The window man examines and checks the documents to see that all are complete, that there are no alterations unless duly initialed, that the insurance certificate amply covers the ship ment and accurately describes it, and that all the documents are properly indorsed.
If the bank's charges are to be collected from the drawee, the window man computes them and adds them in red ink to the face of the bill beneath the numerals, in the form of "plus $2.18 our charges." If the amount of an item is not filled in for the reason that the manufacturer is shipping through a forwarding agent and desires the bank to include in the bill all the shipping and insurance charges, as reported by the forwarding agent, the window man adds these charges to the invoice value and completes the draft by filling in the proper amotmts.
The window man then marks on an instruction blank the name of the correspondent to whom the item is to be sent and all special instructions which are to be put in the remittance letter.
The item and all documents are then passed to the clerk in charge of the bills register.
The Bills Register The bills register is divided into sections, each section bearing a distinct set of numbers and devoted to a particular class of items. Special sections may be carried, say, for all items drawn: T. On cities where the bank may have a foreign branch.
2. In sterling.
3. In francs.
4. In marks.
5. In currencies other than dollars.
6. In dollars, other than on cities specified above.
The register clerk determines the proper section for each item and stamps it with the next open number of that section. He indorses the bills to the order of the correspondent, unless the item is remitted to a branch of the bank, in which case indorsement is not necessary, for the branch can indorse on the parent bank's behalf. The items are then separated into originals and dupli cates, and each set is securely fastened together. If the item is not drawn in duplicate and a duplicate could not be easily ob tained, a photographic copy is made and kept on file. The fol lowing entries are then made in the bills register : the name of the immediate indorser, the amount of the draft, its tenor, the general nature and quantity of the merchandise, and the number which the indorser has given to the draft. The item is then passed to clerks who prepare the remittance letters.
The Remittance Lefter The remittance letter is written in English or the language of the addressee. It is prepared in quintuple—the original, dupli
cate, and copies for the bookkeepers and for retention in the department. The form provides for a complete description of the item, and such information as the bank desires for its own purposes is entered on detachable slips.
The bill, and remittance letter are then checked, and the checker stamps special instructions on all the copies of the re mittance letter. Some of these instructions have been indi cated by the window man, and others are of a standing nature. A consideration of them will bring out the nature of the transactions.
The drawer is not called upon in every instance to pay the bank's discount charges. He may request the bank to give him the face amount of the bill and to reverse these charges, in which event the bank adds to the amount of the bill its charge and stamps the remittance letter: Kindly collect this draft, plus our charges of (the bank's com mission), together with interest at (the prevailing rate) per cent from date of draft until approximate arrival of proceeds in New York. Stamps and all your charges are to be collected from the drawee.
As a general rule, the bank must use such instructions in its remittance letters as will get back to it the exact amount of money to which it is entitled, together with any advantage which mar ket fluctuations may give it. On drafts drawn in foreign cur rency the rate of exchange is obtained from the traders, the seller is paid at that rate, and the item is forwarded to the cor respondent with instructions that the bank's account with it, kept in the particular foreign currency, be credited with the proceeds.
Remiftance Lefter Covering Sterling Items Pound sterling items drawn on the British colonies are handled in a distinctive way. The original bill, with the original documents, is despatched, say, to Australia, and the remittance letter is stamped: In this manner the American bank's account with the London office receives immediate credit for the face amount of its remit tance. An Australian draft, irrespective of its tenor, is nego tiated by the American bank at the demand rate on London. The bank is out of funds only for the time required for the voyage to London, and the drawee is obliged to meet all the charges calculated by the London banker.