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wishes to deposit ten thousand dollars), and hands the check (not necessarily certified) or money to the clerk who is in attendance upon her. If the deposit consists of checks, bills, and specie, the depositor may fill out a deposit ticket similar to those used in banks, and if she wishes to deposit coupons, they should be placed in one of the small envelopes which are provided for this purpose, the envelope having a memorandum upon its back of the number, amounts, and total of the coupons. It may be stated, however, that such mixed deposits will with better propriety be made at the bank, and the depositor's single check may then be presented for deposit at the trust company. The depositor then writes her signature in the company's book, and receives a certificate of deposit to the effect that the trust company has received from her the amount of the deposit, upon which interest at a certain specified rate will be paid, and that the company will repay the sum of the deposit to the depositor or her assigns upon notice (usually five or ten days), reserving the right to reduce or discontinue the interest, or to pay off the principal on notice to the depositor by mail or otherwise. The provision requiring several days' notice before paying depositors is a precautious measure, the purpose of which is to prevent a sudden run on the institution, and, as has been explained in the chapter on savings banks, is never enforced under ordinary circumstances. On the back of the certificate of deposit is printed a form of receipt with columns for the various amounts of principal and interest which may be drawn by the depositor from time to time. The certificate of deposit answers, in general, the purposes of the pass-book of the savings bank. It is the depositor's evidence of the deposit, and, although trust companies are very cautious with regard to the payment of money, it must be carefully secured against loss or theft, the number, date, etc., being recorded in the depositor's note-book or check-book, in order that immediate notice may be given the trust company in case of loss.

When drawing money from the trust company, the depositor presents her certificate to the clerk with the statement

that she wishes to draw so much money. If only a part of the amount on deposit shall be drawn by the depositor, she signs a receipt for the amount on the back of the certificate and also in the company's book, and receives again her certificate and the company's check for the amount drawn. When the entire amount on deposit and interest shall be drawn, the receipts are signed by the depositor and the certificate surrendered to the trust company. The checks which are given by trust companies to their depositors for money which has been drawn, are the companies' own checks drawn upon banks in which the companies keep their accounts. Such checks will generally pass for certified checks, for the reason that the trust companies are presumed to be at least as sound and responsible as the banks upon which their checks are drawn. But if, for special reasons, a trust company's check is required to be certified, the check must, as in ordinary cases, be taken to the bank where it is payable for the certification. For each deposit a separate certificate is ordinarily given by the trust company. It will facilitate matters, therefore, and at the same time will limit the number of certificates which are to be taken care of, if the depositor, instead of making several small deposits, shall make fewer deposits of larger amounts; but, for this purpose, delays which will involve considerable losses of interest are, as a matter of course, not advisable.

The rates of interest which are paid by the trust companies, although varying somewhat at different times, are usually much lower than the rates which are obtainable from regular investments, and even considerably lower than the rates which are paid by savings banks. Probably from two to two and one half per cent. is not far from the average. But the interest which is paid by trust companies accrues for the whole periods of time during which the deposits are in the hands of the companies, and this fact must be taken into account if one chooses to compare the direct benefits in the form of interest paid respectively by savings banks and trust companies. By way of illustration, we may suppose that the sum of three thousand dollars is to

be deposited on the 1st day of March, to be drawn for a specific purpose on the 1st day of March following, that is, the money is to remain on deposit for just one year. If, now, this sum shall be placed in a trust company at two and one half per cent. interest, a full year's interest, or the sum of seventy-five dollars, will be received; while if a savings bank shall be the depository, at the rate of four per cent. interest, only six months' interest, from July 1st to January Ist, or sixty dollars, will be obtained. If, on the other hand, the deposit is to be made on or shortly before an interest day at the savings bank, and to remain a full year, the depositor will receive a full year's interest at the rate of four per cent.,.or the sum of one hundred and twenty dollars, by making use of the savings bank.

It may be remarked, as has been already intimated, that small sums of money should not be deposited in trust companies, even if the companies shall be willing to receive them, since it will be evident from a perusal of the laws which have been given that these institutions have been organized for other and more important purposes than the receiving of insignificant accounts.

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SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANIES

LMOST all thrifty and well-to-do householders have in their possession certain articles which, although they may not be of great actual value, are valued very highly by the owners, because of the cherished family associations which are connected with them, or because of their importance as antiquities, which betoken ancestral respectability and good breeding. In the majority of households there are also legal and other papers of value-such as wills, deeds, bonds, mortgages, insurance policies, and the like the loss of which will be certain to cause serious trouble and inconvenience, if not actual pecuniary damage. And lastly, there are, presumably, in the houses of all prosperous persons certain articles which, for the purposes of thieves, may be equivalent to money, or which at least, because of a common belief that they may be quickly turned into money, offer unusual temptations to thieves and robbers. Government bonds or other stocks and bonds, the pass-books of savings banks, the certificates of deposit from trust companies, valuable jewelry, and many other things of similar natures, are often the causes of much uneasiness, and also of actual danger to the households of the owners.

The numerous plans which have been from time to time suggested for the safe-keeping of valuables in the houses of the owners, seem to be alike open to reasonable and serious objection. Thus, the hidden strong box, which contained the heirlooms of former days, could be found and opened without difficulty by the skilful house-breaker if he considered

the undertaking worth his while. The promiscuous hiding of valuables in various nooks and corners about the houses of the owners has often proved to be successful only in one respect some of the valuables have been effectually hidden for all time from the foolish and disorderly owners whose memories, in response to careless training, fail to retain accurate indices of the important nooks and corners. The imposing fire-proof and so-called burglar-proof safe often serves thieves and robbers as a hint to the effect that there are articles of value to be found in it, and tempts them to refute its claims of invincibility; and the compact and wellmade chest or valise, which may so easily be thrown out of the window in case of fire, while excellent for the reception of articles and papers which are not likely to be stolen, is useless for the keeping of negotiable valuables, because of the fact that it may be, with equal facility, thrown out of the window by a thief in the night time, when there is not the slightest danger of loss on account of fire.

For the safe storage and keeping of all such articles as have been mentioned, and for the avoidance of the difficulties which have been suggested as likely to result from ordinary methods of supposed safe-keeping, the reliable and wellappointed safe deposit companies which are to be found in the principal cities are almost indispensable.

The term safe deposit company "' has been defined by the banking law of the State of New York in the following words :

The term safe deposit company, where used in this chapter, means every domestic corporation formed for the purpose of taking and receiving upon deposit as bailee for safe-keeping and storage, jewelry, plate, money, specie, bullion, stocks, bonds, securities, and valuable papers of any kind, and other valuable personal property, and guaranteeing their safety upon such terms and for such compensation as may be agreed upon by the company and the respective bailors thereof, and to rent vaults and safes and other receptacles for the purpose of such safe-keeping and storage.

In some of the States no special statutory provisions have been made for the restriction and regulation of safe deposit

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