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The copy should be adapted to the reader. It must be couched in words and terms that he understands. If addressed to the busy man, it must be brief; he will not read long explanatory matter. But others may want to read reasons and arguments, and too great brevity is a mistake in advertisements addressed to such persons. Advertisements addressed to the general reader must not be so long as to repel the busy reader, nor so brief as to be hard to understand. Perhaps the weakest point of the average writer of financial advertisements is a failure to understand the viewpoint of the general reader and to learn his wants and his attitude. The average man does not understand the banking or trust company business; it is a mystery to him-simple as it may seem to an insider. He would be greatly interested in a magazine or Sunday newspaper article explaining the details of the business in a frank and straightforward manner--written in plain English and not in clearinghouse phraseology. He would appreciate a booklet from his trust company giving such information.

The wording of the advertisement should have the ring of sincerity, honesty, frankness; and it must be backed up by performance.

The literary style used in the copy must be interesting, catchy; but never witty, frivolous or over-original. Parting with his money or delegating his business never impresses a man as a humorous procedure; the "cute" financial advertiser disgusts him. The sentences should be short, crisp, clear; the words good, common short English words, avoiding superlatives and technical terms. The test of a good advertisement is that it attracts attention, interests and convinces. It must leave the reader in a pleasant frame of mind-never scold, preach or antagonize.

A fundamental principle in copy-writing is to treat one point at a time. If the reader digests that one point, the advertisement has been a marked success. The next advertisement may add another point.

The copy should be addressed to just one person-the reader. He should be made to feel that his business is wanted.

The copy for advertisements in periodicals should be changed frequently; in the newspapers, daily. This holds the interest of readers and creates the impression that the company is alive.

Timeliness is a telling point. Bank-books for Christmas presents should not be advertised in July. A robbery offers a splendid opportunity for an advertisement on the folly and danger of keeping large sums of money in the house or on the person; a fire, for a discussion of the advantages offered by the safe deposit department; a defalcation by an executor, for a demonstration of the usefulness of the trust company in fiduciary capacities. A few live companies produced some telling advertisements for their safe deposit departments immediately after the San Francisco disaster.

Of the inducements or talking points available for trust company advertisements, the strongest is undoubtedly that of the solidity of the company and the security afforded to depositors. No inducements will attract people to an institution which they do not believe to be safe. Facts tending to show solidity are ample capital and surplus, large

assets, proportion of assets to liabilities other than capital and surplus, careful investments, reserve, well-known and substantial directors, trusts from courts, state or municipal deposits, state supervision, an up-to-date system of accounting, the confidence of numerous depositors. Frequent and thorough audits, either by a regular auditing department or by out side audit concerns provide an excellent talking point for solidity.

Next to safety, ability and desire to give capable service is usually the best talking point. A high rate of interest is, as a rule, not a good advertising point. There is apt to be a suspicion that the high rate of interest is paid at the sacrifice of security. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to the rule. In banking-by-mail business, Pittsburg and Cleveland banks have secured large deposits partly because of their four per cent. Interest rates on savings accounts. Where the interest rate is used as an inducement, it is of prime importance to show why it is possible to pay such rates without sacrifice of safety.

Among other inducements which may be made the subjects of advertisements, are convenience of location, attractive building or offices, special conveniences for customers, especially for ladies, advice about business matters, opening of the office one evening a week. A series of strong advertisements may be written on the different functions of the company, treating one at a time. The maxims of Benjamin Franklin and others, with brief comments, provide good material for educational publicity.

THE TYPOGRAPHICAL MAKE-UP OF THE ADVERTISEMENT.

The typographical make-up of the advertisement should be made the subject of careful study, for it largely determines whether the reader will notice the advertisement at all. It must be different from the surrounding matter-set off by itself. On the average page, this may be accomplished by means of a suitable border and a white space between the border and copy. If the page is pretty well filled with bordered advertisements, however, more individuality and distinctiveness will be obtained without the border. As a rule, there should be a caption or catch-line which stands out distinctly, to appeal to interest or curiosity. The face and size of type for use in the caption and in the body matter, as well as the border and general make-up, should be dictated by the advertiser, and the proof should be seen and corrected. It is wise to allow the printer ample time. The advertisement should have a good position on a page apt to be read by the people whom it is desired to reach. It should be given plenty of room; if the copy crowds the space, the latter should be increased or the copy be rewritten. It is economy to pay for enough blank space to give a good setting.

There is an advantage in always using a distinctive style of type or border or an emblem-something which will readily give individuality to all of the company's announcements. To insure getting just the make-up that is desired many companies use electrotypes which they own and distribute to the papers as needed. The cost is slight and no chances are taken of poor judgment or serious errors.

CHAPTER XIV.

EXAMINATIONS, AUDITS AND OTHER MEANS OF SAFEGUARDING THE BUSINESS.

ORTUNATELY, the tendency of the day is toward the surround

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ing of the trust company business with every reasonable safeguard. This tendency is due not only to the increasing public demand for such safeguards, but also to a truer appreciation on the part of directors and officers of the sacredness of their trust, and to the realization that it is good business policy to use every means of inspiring confidence in institutions whose success is built upon confidence as a corner-stone. For the safeguarding of the business of trust companies every argument applies that has force in the case of banks, and additional arguments are found in the wider scope of the business and in the increasingly important trusts that are committed to their care. The parties interested in the matter include the general public, the stockholders, and the employees. Of the general public, the depositors and the beneficiaries of the trusts are of course most directly interested; but inasmuch as trust companies constitute an important part of our financial system, and because the failure of such a company vitally affects the interests of many persons who have had no direct dealings with it, all the people have a right to demand that in the conduct of the business reasonable precautions be adopted. The stockholders have their money invested in the company and are the first to suffer in case of failure; they have valid reasons for requiring satisfactory protection of their interests. The employees, including the officers, are entitled to every possible protection against excessive temptation.

Aside from the restrictions and limitations upon the business imposed by the laws under which trust companies operate, the possible safeguards include examinations, audits, care in the selection of officers and other employees, and the adoption of an accounting and administrative system which leaves the fewest possible loopholes for dishonesty or bungling management.

ACCOUNTING AND ADMINISTRATION.

Of these a well-considered and carefully planned system of accounting and of administration is fundamental. Recent years have seen great progress in this respect, but there is room for much more. Many companies are still using systems which invite error, mismanagement and fraud; and doubtless some will continue to use them until failure comes or until a competent accountant or auditor is employed who shall point out the weak places. Among recent cases of banks and trust companies ruined by defalcations have been several in which stealings of hundreds

of thousands of dollars had been going on for a series of years! A small trust company was robbed of several thousand dollars by an employee who had for some time acted both as savings teller and as savings bookkeeper! In such cases one hardly knows whom to blame most, the defaulting employee or the officials responsible for the lack of intelligent system. It is true that no system can be devised which will absolutely prevent blunders on the part of careless or incompetent workers, or stealings on the part of dishonest ones; but it is entirely practicable to perfect systems which will reduce such possibilities to a minimum.

Such a system having been adopted and put into operation, the next essential is to see that it is carried out faithfully, and that nothing that smacks of habitual carelessness, mismanagement or dishonesty exists. This can be accomplished only by means of examinations and audits, regarding which a considerable change of sentiment has taken place during recent years. The old-time banker looked upon it as something of an insult to suggest that his work ought to be checked over or examined, feeling that the dignity of his trust ought to place him above suspicion. The modern view is such that the most progressive bank and trust company officials welcome thorough and intelligent audits, believing that the careful and conscientious man has nothing to lose and much to gain by having the fidelity of his administration proved beyond question. It is a frequent practice to voluntarily employ public accountants to make thorough audits.

So far as the audit is designed to detect crime, it is not a reflection upon the honesty of the average officer or clerk-which is, indeed, assumed but rather a recognition of the fact that occasionally a dishonest man may creep in and destroy the work of the honest majority: and from this viewpoint the audit is a protection to the faithful ones. At any rate, the public is no longer disposed to accept from the directors of financial institutions which fail the excuse that "they didn't know there was anything wrong, and supposed the officers and clerks were honest," and is coming more and more to hold such directors both morally and legally responsible for such knowledge. The public is right about it, too; there is no excuse for slipshod methods and guesswork in the business of the trust company, and men who are not willing to attend to their business have no place upon the board of directors of such a corporation.

It is to be observed further that the detection of crime is by no means the only object of examination and audit. Still more important is the prevention of crime, which systematic auditing accomplishes in two ways by the discovery of stealing at its beginning, when the amount is almost invariably small, and by the deterrent effect which is inevitable when officers and employees understand that speedy detection is practically certain if anything wrong is attempted. Indeed, the very suggestion of stealing comes to most men only when the conditions seem to make it easy and comparatively safe. Another exceedingly important purpose of a proper audit lies in criticism and suggestion regarding the

system of accounting and general administration, the pointing out of loopholes for error or dishonesty and the enforcing of faithful adherence to the system in use.

Examinations by officials representing the state government are required in many states, and ought to be in all. State laws sometimes require also examinations by committees of the boards of directors; and whether required by the state or not, such examinations are usually provided for in the by-laws of trust companies. Examinations are also made in some companies by committees of stockholders who are not members of the board of directors, while a few companies have resorted to examinations of each department by employees of other departments. Among the larger companies the habit is growing of maintaining a special auditing department; while instead of this, or in addition to it, many companies have an annual or semi-annual audit by a public auditing concern.

The examinations conducted under the authority of the state are intended primarily to see that the company is conducting its business in accordance with the laws of the state; and while their purpose is attained more or less completely, according to the thoroughness of the officials who do the work and the time at their disposal, such examinations are rarely thorough enough to detect any but the most bungling attempts at stealing, while suggestions regarding the system of accounting are wholly without their province.

Examinations by committees of directors are as a rule very superficial and unsatisfactory, while many are mere farces. In the cases of "one-man companies"—that is, companies in which the executive officer is relied upon to manage the company practically alone, without advice or investigation by the directors, these examinations are apt to be exceptionally farcical; and this in spite of the fact that these are the companies which specially need thorough and frequent examination. The reasons for the incompleteness of directors' examinations are found partly in the common disposition to regard the director's office as a badge of honor rather than as an avenue of service, and partly in the fact that the men chosen for such positions are usually men whose time is very fully occupied with their own affairs and who often are urged to accept the position against their wills and better judgment. Nor are the men composing these committees as a rule familiar with the details or even the principles of trust company accounting. The time given to the examination by such committees does not average over a day or a half day. It is evident that such examinations can hardly be deemed satisfactory as evidences of the sound condition of the company.

Nevertheless, the writer does not want to be understood as holding the opinion that the ordinary examination by a committee of directors is wholly useless. Failures often occur because of unsound or excessive loans or investments, and if the directors are not already aware of such conditions in their company-as they should be-even a cursory exam

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