imply such agreement. As to the matter of what is needed on the card in the way of information for future identification, it is evident that there is considerable difference of opinion. If the account is an active one, there can be little question about identification. If, however, the account once opened remains dormant for a period of, say, ten years, the signature alone will hardly be a satisfactory means of identification, 7489 I hereby agree to the regulations of The Blank Trust Co. governing savings accounts. I hereby agree to the Rules and By-laws of THE BLANK TRUST COMPANY governing savings No.7489 accounts. inasmuch as a person's signature is apt to change materially within a few years. In such cases it is undoubtedly of advantage for the company to be in possession of information of a private character concerning which an outsider is not apt to be posted. In taking the signature of a woman, the teller should always learn whether the title is Miss or Mrs., and note the fact on the card, if the signature itself does not show it. The signature cards are filed in the drawers of a cabinet which is placed where it will be easy of access by the tellers and the savings bookkeepers. They may be filed either numerically according to the numbers of the accounts, or alphabetically according to the names of the depositors. If filed alphabetically, they serve as an index to accounts (which otherwise must be provided in a separate book or set of cards), thus saving much time and work. If this plan is adopted, however, great care must be exercised to keep the list always complete, and to remove the cards of closed accounts promptly and place them in a separate file. It often happens that the required signature cannot be obtained at the time the account is opened, and it is therefore necessary, in order to keep the card list complete as an index, to have a temporary card to place in the files until the regular signature card is completed. Figure 232 shows such a "dummy signature card." Savings accounts are often opened in the names of two persons, either of whom is to be permitted to withdraw the funds. In such cases, both signatures must of course appear on the signature card, together with the notation that either may draw. This notation is also placed on the ledger page and on the pass-book. Joint accounts are also opened with the agreement that in case of the death of either of the parties the account is to belong to the survivor. For the signatures pertaining to such joint accounts, some companies use the ordinary signature card and make upon it the necessary notation, either with pen or with a rubber stamp, while others provide a special card. Some consider that a brief notation answers the purpose, forms used being these: "Subject to the order of either and the survivor"; "joint account"; "to be drawn by either or the survivor"; "either may draw"; "balance at death of either to belong to and be paid to the survivor." Others deem it better to have on the card a more formal contract, such as the following: "We, the undersigned, hereby declare that we are the joint owners, in joint tenancy, of the money that is now, or may hereafter be, deposited in the Blank Trust Company in our joint names, as signed hereto, and of any interest that may accrue or be credited thereto; and that either of us may draw and receipt for the whole or any part thereof, either before or after the death of the other; and that at the death of either of us the survivor shall be the absolute owner of the balance then due the account, as surviving joint tenant, and is hereby authorized to receive the same from said company on his individual check or order therefor." An interesting discussion of the company's liability in the case of such an account, written by Thomas. B. Paton, and entitled "Legal Aspects of Payment to Survivor of Joint Account," is found in the proceedings of the Savings Bank Section of the American Bankers' Association for 1906. When an account is opened in the name of a society or corporation, the signature card must contain the signatures of the officer or officers authorized to draw; and it is necessary also to have a certificate that such officers have been given such authority in due form. The custom with some companies is to take the signatures on a blank signature card which is placed in the regular files, and to have the certificate on a separate form, one of which reads as follows: and as such is hereby authorized to draw funds from and to give instructions concerning the account of said company with The Blank Trust Company. This authority to remain in full force until revoked by action of the of said company, and written notice thereof given. Signature of This certificate must be made by an official other than the person authorized to withdraw funds." Some companies use a special signature card for these accounts, the signatures usually appearing on the face, and the certificate on the back of the card. After an account has been opened, it sometimes happens that the owner wishes to give to another person authority to withdraw funds from his account for a time, or perhaps to become permanently a joint owner of the account. In the former case, an order like that shown in Figure 233 answers the purpose well. If the account is to be permanently changed to a joint account, many companies prefer to close the old account and open a new one, in regular form; but some provide forms like that in Figure 234, to be signed by the owner of the account authorizing the change. THE DEPOSITOR'S PASS-Book. After having filled out the signature card and deposited his funds, the customer is given a pass-book, a common form of the inner pages of FIG. 233.-CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY TO DRAW FUNDS. 190 。 our joint, CONTROL BURING LIFE OF BOTH, AND THE BALANCE TO BELONG TO AND BE PAYABLE TO THE SURVIVOR IN CASE OF DEATH; REVOCABLE ONLY BY CONSENT 7 Mic Walter & Smith FIG. 234.-AUTHORITY FOR JOINT CONTROL. which is shown in Figure 235. Some pass-books have another column for the entry of interest; but the more common custom is to use the form shown in the figure, and either to enter the interest in red ink or use a rubber stamp for the interest entry, as shown in the figure. Where interest in credited semi-annually, as is the usual case, different colored inks are used in stamping the two interest entries for each year; as for example, red ink for the January interest and blue ink for the July interest. Some companies pay interest in April and October. The inner pages of the pass-book are usually cut off along the line above the words "Date," "Withdrawn," etc. in Figure 235, so that the headings of the first and last account pages may be seen, at whatever page the book is opened. The rules and regulations of the company are usually printed on the first or last page or the cover, together with such advertising matter as is deemed best. The depositor's name is often entered on the front cover as well as on the inside of the book; but customers often dislike this, and some companies therefore omit entering the name on the cover. Usage differs in the matter of requiring savings depositors to fill out deposit slips with their deposits. In some cities all trust companies require such deposit slips, one form of which is shown in Figure 236, Other forms are like the ordinary commercial deposit slip, with the ad dition of the number of the pass-book. In other places the use of deposit slips is entirely done away with, the depositor simply handing his deposit. to the teller, who enters it on his deposit journal and on the pass-book. There is also a difference of usage as to withdrawals from savings accounts, a few companies requiring from the depositor no receipt other than the entry in his pass-book. The usual custom, however, is to require the signing of a savings withdrawal slip or receipt, two forms of which are shown in Figures 237 and 238. Under either plan the pass-book must always be presented when the withdrawal is made. Special forms are often provided for cases in which the withdrawal is for the full |