Standard atlas of Delta County, Michigan : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county...patrons directory, reference business directory... / compiled and published by Geo. A. Ogle & Co.

$UPPLE.E~NT V~~

I.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON BANKING AND BUSINESS METHODS.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Banking and Business Methods.
RELATIONS BETWEEN A BANK AND ITS CUSTOMERS.
I N botiotot lift thee sn.... Itooiplt o ltpot.Tot ottoti.tha tha Whch x' t.t between the business nlen ge-!1 tonittSon tbfteatbltoeeitS......t.....................
erally and the banks, edt should be guarded with jeaIous
care, so that both Inay retain the full confidence of the other.
Business doevlopment in t he United States h.. progressed with
tocb gigantic strides that it h.. long since passed the stagi there
iti' yopen pttiblttttttty..tb..i....wt g.y..to.
ThoT l -t today t nt essity in the transattito of 'i and ttkng exchabgos. It h.. bee. said, and vith a great deal of truth,
that in the present day the entire and s01e object and result of
business is t he t r n rof cr dits o the boo ks of t he b anking
houses; and that about the only use t o which money it put is io
nicking.oall change or paying balances. Btitets, in the most
general and comprehensive sense, is almost wholly carried on by
the aid of banks with chetek., drafts nd exchange. And it will
be seen what a very important part the element of onfidence plays
in business life, when it it remembered that every check or draft
that changes hands, itplits the confidence to the part of the party
receiving and accepting it, that it will be honored at the bank
-vhen presented.
OPENING AN ACCOUNT
I IE first step in the matter of becotting a deposittt tt d cu -
tomer of a book is the ioterview with the bonker, ef~ttb
tite President, or Cashier, as the catt may be. If 00 -known to the banker it is necessry for stom toe -ho
s knoow. to idenotfy aod ouch for the applicant as being hontorable -I straightforward, for banks are eo pelled to be areful in this iatter as they tubsequontly must handle all the
checkt, drafts and exchanges t hat the prospective custt tom r eploys tn hi. business, so that while the business of an honest man
is valuable to them and is appteciated, that of a dishonest man
it shunned by them as E0 element oft risk nd daogerotht same
to theto os to eteoy tot elte with whom he deals.
Tht idtntificttito and tefernce, however, being satisfactory
tbt t tt utttoet osto.t............. pjte bo, t o ot boot,
vrites his signature in a book kept for that tmaotiOO tde
kn nto the breeeing and paying tellers- makes his first deposit
and is Otet a full fledged customer and depositor of the bank.
DEPOSITS.
D EPOITS are oad. it the following t a.to t: A "Deposit Ticket"
or "Deosit Blank" is ftrtihed the cuttoome, oand he enters
upo. thits afull description of ill the items which he desiret
entered to hi. credit, ttitg whether it to gold, siltet O0 -currency and making a separate.entry for each draft or cheek
thae depotsits.1.n entering such items as drafts and check
some banks require a separate entry for each itel- which will
ow Ott what bank or at least what city or tow0 each draft
ottbhtckttlodto.o. After having endorsed his tt ue on t tbt k
of alt checks and drafts he hand the "Deposit Ticket," together
with all the itoms named uPon it, and-his Pass Book, to the receitiog tellet, who examiotoe it, chetks off the various items to
too that they are oil there, and.otert the total amount to the
ctoetootr's credit in the "Poot Btok;" and it is also carried to his
tredit froi the Deposit Ticket onto the bookt of the b ank. Thb
"Deposit Ticket" It an imorttant feature of the transaction, 00d
the customer is required to fill this out with ink. It bears his t
and the date and is carefully preserved for future -reference by the
bank to settle any dispute Or difference that tay. As oli
men Ore liaolt to error the depositor, t o prevent mistaket, should
always see that the amount of the deposit is correctly entered in
hit book before leaving the bank. If a deposit is made whet a
oustooer hat not his "Pass Book" o duplicate ticket should be
ttktn, and the ouot entered properly whet next at the bank.
00 Wt'ill be seen from the above that all checks and drafts Ott
entered to the credit of the customer at the time he depositt the-,
the same a00 cash items. The depositot, however, is held responsi -
ble for the non-p.yoet of tt checks, drafts and other Items deposited as cash until payment h.. bee. ascertained by the bank.
The bank, however, moust tse due diligence in attending to the0
within a reasonable time. check o r draft is held beyond a
tooatotital titot toO, meanwhilei, Ott b ot uont wtioh it it drw
fails, the receiving bank would be conpelled to lose it. Whts
a reasonable time, atcording to' decisions of the courts, dependt
upon the circuostaoeot and varies it different caset. In cities,
where they have a Clearing I-Iouse, chetks on other city banks are
expected to reach th Cleatting I-ouse oon the next day tucteding
the time of the deposit; but as to checks and drafts drawt upon
othet or distant cities, o reasonable time must be allowed to, ther,
to be presented for payment. If the bankero, however, it ngligeot ctcernoiog it, he must stand the loss. Such cases very t"iely,
if eve, occur, and' it oay safely be stated that it the absence of
any spetcial or unusual conditions for al items such as chetkt,
drafts, otc., the banker only receives them for collection for le
account of the depositor and therefore acts only as his agent and
as such is charged w ith using only dute d iigence in attending to
the business.
DISCOUNTS, LOANS, ETC.
HE word "Discount" i applied to interest when it is deducted frto the aiountat the time a l oan is mad-in
otthe word., interest that is paid it advance. It is the
general rule of banks in 1/aking "short time" loans to custo give credit for the tmount of the loan, less the interest.
M~any busines -en fail to obtain the full benefit that a bank
can give the-, through hesitancy or diffidence it asking ftroa
loan; and in any instances will _botow oa tegborigtbotin
oess man ood thus, ftequently embitartast him, rather than go to
the banker, whose business' it it to help him through such times
of need, whet possible. This is what bank0 are established for,
largely, and they are always glad to "get their money out and keep
it out" provided they can be reasoably sure otf its return. If an
applicant is unable to furnish teasonble security, or is irrespontible ort onorothyO to 0100 otootorily to rettuted, bot to toour
ing money which ht ctnoo o t t tot the tutt of, wheher i t
be rotin a banker to aniothe business o nt he doet a tnjustiet
the intetests of buoioest generally. H-owever, every business -an
in need of financial help, whether his needs be great or little,
should go to the banker firot and submit the situation, securities,
etc., to him, as of alt men he is by training the best judge and
advioso in such matters. He may be compelled to decline to give
the required aid, but this refusal should 0eve be taken as a personal mattet, at it must be rememibered that he hat other inter
estt to serve and depositors, stockholders and directors to protect
before following his own personal desires.
COLLECTIONS.
le g notes o o ther items for collection the customer
writes on the back of each the words: -For Collection for
Account of," and places his signature below It. Upon receipt of this, the proper officer or clerk of the bank, will
enter the items either it the back of the customer's "pass book"
or, give a sparate receipt as; the case -ay be. When the bank
receives payment 00 the items the tuotomer is notified and the
amut sentered to his credit both on his Pass Book and on the
books of the bank the same as any other deposit. A bank in 'receivi0g paper for collection acts 0ly as the agent of the customer
tod doto not 00sum0e any responsibility beyond due diligence on its
part. lii banko make ctolletions eithei or out of the city
where they are Iocted for their customers at very moderate rates.
These items shou d always be left at the bank before they become
1 e. 00as to give thie ban ti to giye an abundant notice to the

pattieo. If Ott ustotoert desttot to toke 0 "ight"o r "tft dr....
upon a debtor, u pon application to POk will furnish him 0WIt0
blank drafts.
STATEMENTS AND BALANCES.
AtW words concerning stttements and balances Xvill not
be ttappropriate i1 this connection. Every customer of a
0bnk should always aid without fail,.onc in each month,
have hi., "P... Book" balanced by the banker. This rule.h.,-,Id.......... bbto Polsoto crt.....
and avoid l oss and complicationt. Th0 amount ofObtpoitti
up and a balance to struck by deducting the total mount of the
customIer's checks which the bank has either paid or "accepted"
(certified) during the month. The canoctlld checks tre returned
to the tomor. If any ottor is discverde 10 hbootd obe reported
immediately to the bank so thatit 1 ay be investigated and rectified.
NEGOTIABLE PAPER.
*ROBABLY the greatest factor to the Business world of today is "Negotiable Paper," without which it it not probable that btsinoss developtmet could have assumed the
vast prtportion that it has reached in Amtrito; and without which the business of the civilized world could not be carried
to. Thios term icludes a variety of instruments, such as promissory notetchetks, draftt and bills of exchange. The b ill of exchange io O.- of the oldest forts of oegotitble paper, and has
been oin "s for a o mbe of centuries. Th. draft and check came
into u.. at a much ater day, and the p rtom otisso r noteo
potatively receot inventioo, and has very largely taken Oht plcom
of the bill of exchange as it twas used it fortter tites. Themost
important attribute of proi-ssory notes, billt of exchange, and
other instrument s of tihe same class, which distinguish them froom
ail othe otrtst is their.egotiability. Thio 011s its o totirely distinct elements or brnchesfirst, the power of transferring
the paper fro- too owno, to another, to that the assignee ohall
011me a complete title, and be blh t to s te o it; tecotd, the effect uont the right. of the parties produced by such a transfer
whto oade before oaturity, itO the tegttat tooto of busoiess, for
_ onosidertito to a purchaser it good faith, and w ithout otite
of any defect or d0f0001, whereby oll defenses of the boaker (with
few etoptitoo) are cut off, and the holder beconoes absolutely
entitled to recover;
A written odet or e ptomise ma y be perfectly valid as 0 cotact; but it will ot be negotiable unless certa in requisites are
comtpliod with. The foliowing requisites are indiospesble: It
ust be written; noIto 0be signed; it must be absolute, not dept doitg 0po0 0y contingency; it must be to pay m00ey in o certain
amount capable oie.bog certain by cotputation; the time of payoent must be certain or such at will become certt in; but when
00 time is expressed the law iomplies that payment is due iotediatoly; and lastly, the order or promise oust be atcomipotted by
words of negottability th tt is, payable to a certain payee'. o-dot
or to bearer.
PROMISSORY NOTES.
CCOR1DING to the general "law merchant," unaffected by
statute, a promissory note is the written promise of apoertoo, called the "maker," to pay 0 certain sum of money at
a certain time to a designated per.o. termed the "payee"
or to hi. order or bearer. It must h.t. all the requisites that have
beeo mncotiooed for oegotiable paper, othebtose, if it fails in any
of these matters it becomtes a contract, as it thus loset the eletent of egotiability. Contractt -ay be perfectly valid without all
of these requisites, but they do not posse01 the peculiar qualities
which belong to prtoissoryot 0tes.
It it customary it all promissory note. to write the words
"value received' but this it not absolutely essential, a. o consideratio n 0 1d value It implied in every note, draft, check, bill of exchange or endorsement. It is the common law of both EBgland
ond this cointry that o0 promise can be entforced 0n0less made for
O consideration or saled, but negottiable instruments as a rule are
a0 exteption to this. Between the original parttet a want of coosideration can be p leade d a defense and would operate to defeat a
trecovery. It would have the sa0e effect as between a. endorser
and hit todorsee, but this only applies to immtediate parties or to
those who had notice of the defense or beca01e holders of the
paper after maturity. It may be stated as a. almost invartable
rule that no defense will operate to defeat the recovery if the
paper has bee. negotiated and passed into the hands of a. tinoocent purchaser, It the regular course of busioess, before maturity
and for value. The absen c of any of these elements, however,
will allow dofens to be set toanod will defeaoo toveoytooe.lo
tho t.ods of.tt.d potties if it too to sho.. Ot.t bthetoats either:
a, want of onsideration, that it waoobtained by duress, or fraud
or circumventi.o, or larceny; or that the consideration was illegal.
In order to cut off these defenses ond give the holder the absolute
right to recover, alt of the conditions named must be fulfilled. If
he purchases the note even one day after it becomes due it is then
subject to any defense or set off which the maker may have
against the original payee.
"Dn n of payment for a note must be made at the place.... efmotn otftt oticoetood 0000
where it ts payable at the time of maturity; if not paid 000100
must immediately be give1 to the endorsert, otherwise, in a m-.
jority of the State0, all endorsements that are not qualified will
be released. If a note is not dated it w ill not defeat it, but will
be considered as dated when it was made; but a written date is
pit foaoie evidence of the time of makiog. When a note falls
due on Sunday, or o legal holiday, it becomes payable the day
previous. If a su is wtitten a t length in the body and also in
figures at the corner the written words control it. It destroyt the
negotiability of a note to write to the body of it any conditions or
contingencies. A valuable cnsideratiton is o t alwa 00 0o0ey. It
may be either 00y gain ot advantage to the protisor, or injury
sustained by the promisee at the promisor's request. A previous
debt, or a fluctuating balance, or a debt due from a third persoo,
might be a valuable consideration. So is a moral consideration, if
founded upon 0 prevous legal consideration at, where one promises
to pay a debt that it barred by limitation or by infancy. But 0 merely
moral consideration as one founded upon natural love and affection is o legal conio Ideration. No consideration is sufficient in law
if it be illegal tn its oatuoe, or if distinctly opposed t o public policy.
If a note is payable at a bank it it only necessary to have the note
at the bank at the stipulated time to constitute a suffitent dema0d; and if there ae 0o funds there to meet it, this is tufficienit refusal.
DAYS OF GRAkCE.fI- a great 0any States three "Days of
Grace," a0 th Ottoermed, are allowed on oegotiable instrutnents
beyond the date set for patyoent. Thit i not the universal rule,
however, as the tendency of late years hat been toward doing
away with this custot, and a number of States have already
p....0 1o. aboltohiog Ott "DH.o ot G.tto.. Whott Ott tolo t.
1 effect, however, and it ioo t specifically waived in the tment tho payor io entitled to three days as fully as though it were
so stipulated, and the holder cannot enforce collection until the
expiration of three days after the date set for payment.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE.
HE "bill of exchange" to an open letter t oorder whereby
one person requesto another to pay 0 third party (or order
or bearer) a certain fixed sum of money. They are of two
kindo, the I00nd and Foreign bill. the narnes of Which itply the difference between them, Othree partties to the bill are
talled the Drawer, Drawee and Payee. The bill musit be presented
totohe Drawee and if he agreet to obey the order. he "accepts" the
bill by writing the w0d "accepted" across its face and 01g0s his
name below it —and thus becomes the "Acceptor." The instrument
is usually made negotiable tO the pay0 0an0 t ptosftr it to others
by endorsement, which method of ttrtsfer 0ay go o0 indefinitely.
Th. following is a common form of an i1na1d bill of exchange:
B3ILIL OF EXCUIAWNGE.
s C BI CAO, IOt., Juoe 1, 1894.
Sixty days after sight pay to Jo00 Sims, or order, Sit Huodttd Dollars, od charge same to my account.
TO HENoRY HOLT & Co., dooto Dot,
Boston, Mass.

CHECKS.
A C-ICIC on a bank is one form of "Inlood Bill of toxchange," bPt there is 0o01e slight differetc i1 the liability
of the parties to it. A chtck requiresto 00c0p00ne, as a
bank Is bound to pay the cheeks of its depositors while
still in possession of their funds, aOd the drawer of a check having
funds on deposit hto an action for damage for refusal to honor hit
check, under such circumstances, o0 the ground of a0 implied obligation to pay checks according to the usual ouote of bosiness.
Checks att usually drawn payable immediately, but they oay be
made payable at a future day, and in this case their resemblance
to 0 bill of exchange is very close. As stated, o check requires 00
tcceptance, so far as payment o r liability of the drawer it concrned, but it cretoes 0o obligation against a bank in faoo of
tt holder 0nt01 aeptanc. W0hen accepted 0y t bank tho word
"Accepted' ti stanmped on its facbt with the signatue of the banker.
It it thet '0id to be certified and thereafter the bank Is liable to
the holder. As 1on 00 the check to "certified" the omount
charged against the accouot of the "drawtot" the osame as if paid,
ad it t/Ownoidetod plid t.. lt as Ith "drt...." it con......
OTt dtot of 00c0eck is not a surety in the same 000s0 a0 is
the drawer of a bill of exchange, but is the principal debtor like
the maker of a ote. Hle canot complati of any delay in tho presentment, for it to an absolute appropriation to the h older of so
much oo ne.y, in the hand of the bank, and there it may lie at
the holder't pleasure. The delay, however, is at the holder's risk,
and if the bank should fail after he could have got hib money the
loss is his. If, before he presento the check, the bank payt out
oil the mooey of the drawer, thet he oay look to the drawero for
payment. If the holder of a check transfers it to another he
has the right to expect that it tolt be presented for payment within 0 reasonable time. I-He has the right to expect that it will
eithbt tpreooted tho next dot or otwoted It thepo010 00 wtich
itisdrw. Ift is hel d beyond a re nble time and loss is
occasioned thereby, the party respoosible for the delay must bear
the loss. If a bank pays a forged check it is so far itt ow loss
that it cannot charge the money to the depositor whose name was
forged. BOut it it entitled to recover the money frot the party
who presented it. If it pay a check of which the amount has bee.
fosely and fraudulently increased, it ca. charge the drawer o nly
with the originol ao unt, prov ided the drawer hi-self has not
caused or facilitated the forgery by carelessly writing it or leaving
it i such hands as to make the forgery o to io easy. In
some of the State0 the Supreme Court has decided in cases where
checks were "raised" that the drawer must bear the loss as they
had failed to take resnbe p ecautito to prevent it. Perforatig aod 00ttig machines tre to the market which make it alkt ost
impossible to raise or olter the mounto so as to avoid detection,
and the tendency of the decisions is to regard the tit Of these 00
bonly o retoooobe p-eeautloo on the part of check drawers to save
their bank fron trouble and l oss. S ome, however, adopt the plan
of writiog the oloont io red ink cr.o. their ti gnature.
If many persons, tot partnert, join in a deposit they must join
it a check. If 0 payee'0 name is misspelled or wrong i0 a check,
the -usua plan it to endorse it firt 1exactly as it appears and the
sign the nam correctly.
There is no settled rule as to how checks should be drawt. 1u
nearly ott the cities it is at almost invariable rule to make thetm
payable "to otder" so a0 to require the endorsement of the payee;
but in smaller towns many check drawers make them payable "to
bearer," to which cato they require no 0ndorsement, and if lost or
stole. 0ay cause loss-as whoever presents such a check at the
bank is entitled to payment.
DRAFTS.
DRAFOT s a fort of an "inland bill of etcha0ge." The two
forms of bills of exchange called "draftt" are the bank
draft (or exchange) and the "sight or time draft." The
bank draft is, to oI1 intento and purposes, the same a. 0
check, but the term is usually applied to "cheeks" dOatn by one
bank up.o funds which it n0ay h-. in somet other bank,.termed
its o"orrespondent." A draft is but very eldom made payable to
bearer, it being almost an invariable rule to make thet payable
to a certain payee 0 oorder. They ore negotiable 00d can be
transferred indefinitely by endorsement. If a draft is lost or stole.,
by applyig to the bank that 1ssued it, the payment ca0 be 0topped,
and ofter the expiration of thirty day0 a duplicate will be issued.
Tht 'Sight Drafto' or "Tim '0110ft," it which case it reads to
pay after a certain nlumber of days, is a very 0ommon method of
making otletiooo to-doy by creditors,.ttd it ottoes the double
purpose of being an order to pay to o bank or third party,- and is
also a receipt to the debtor. It it simple in ito wording, the following being a general form:
$10 0 0 0 CICAGO, June 1, 1894.
At sight (or so n-ay days, after sight a. the case may be) pay
to the order of o Bank One T housand Dollars yd charge
000100ac00nt. JOHN Smls.
to GEo. Sims, NW YOtto, N. Y.
ENDORSEMENTS.
HE signature of any payee or holder on the back of any
check, draft, note, bill of exchange or other negotiable itpstromeot is termed his "endorsement." It simply means the
placing of the tnoe of the holder, or payee, on the back
of the instrument, thus indicating that, for a conoidertion, he
ha0 relinquished his title to it, and to the absence of any condition or qualification expreosd it the todorsoement, it implies that
the epdotoer will ot that the instrument to paid to ttse it is not
takeo up by the maker or payo'0 Where the instrument is tade
payable to "bearer," a0 t o "John Sims or bearer," no endorsement
it necessary to pass the title-it p000es with delivery and 00y
holder may collect or s te pon it the sa as if he weret the
payee named therein. to a case of this kind if any holder endotres the instrument, the law is construed strictly against hiO,
and, as it was not eoessory for him to e000dor to pass title, the
law presumes in the absence of a positive qualification that his endortsement wtt made fo- the purose- of indicating that he would
pay it if the payer failed to do so. Where several payees are
named tte ithnstrument it must bear the endorsement of ott of
them to pass the title and make one transfer of it. In this case,
however, their liability as endorsers is joint, not several. But
where two or more holders endorse one after the other in making
a transfer from one to the other their liability is several, not joint.
Every check, draft, bill of ethaogo, noto or other negotiable
instrument which is -ad0 payable to a certain "payee or order"
must bear the endorsement of the party named, to ptoo e he title,
and even It case0 where they are made payable to "bearer" it is
generally customary for the party to whom 0 transfer it made to
require the persoo frott whom he secures it to place his endorsemnent thereon.
There are several kindo of endorsemenot which should be ment00ned in this connection. The first is the "blank endorsement,"
or "endorsement in blank," it mokiotg which the payee simply
ploces his signatoure o the back of the instrument, without condition or qualification of any kind. This passes the t itle t o the instruocut, and, f-o that tite ot, it becomes payable to bearer,
and the title passes with delivery, until sote subsequent holder
sees fit to limit by making it payable to some other payee, or
ploces somo other qualification or condition in the endorsement.
When oa negotiable instruoent bearing a "blank endorsement" hab
once beeo put into circulation, 00y subsequent holder of it hab the
right to limit or restrict it by writing the conditions over his own
endorsetotent., o, by writing over the endotto.tot.t of the original
poayee, wotrds o i0 pyable to ti-........ ott 0s00 othr potty,
"op otdet." OToi p01n0 has beeP decided by the supreme courts
of severa~l of the States.
Tht endotrsenett 0ay be restricted or qualified in a number of
wayH. One, which it oalled o "full endotrsteet," is ve00y
it the business world. It it simply the act of the payee namned
making it payable to some other certain payee or order. To do
this, the endotoer writes on the back of the instrument, the diaturection., ai ty t doeo S010., 00 ordtr,"..toO ploto hio ottotoe boloto it. OTto Otto ot 11limi1 his liability as an endorseo.
but the title to ohe instrument n1ust thereafter pass through Joht
Sims, and it must bear his endorseent before it will be paid o
honore.d.

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tootYottof 1000, 00 000, A, otOhO & 00.

COPYRIGHT 1910, BY C;E:O, A. OGL-E: & CO.