93. The General Balance Ledger.-After writing up the general debit and credit books for the first period, the student will transcribe the general balance ledger as illustrated on pages 56 and 57. The general ledger will then be opened from the general balance ledger, beginning with the balances under each account as shown under date of October 1. The small figures below the balances represent the total debit and credit to each account as posted from the general debit and credit books at the close of business, October 1. These latter amounts should appear in the general balance ledger in red ink, and are to be posted to the general ledger by the student .after he has transferred to it the balances under date of October 1.

The purpose of the balance ledger follows from the necessity of preparing a statement of the bank's condition each morning before ten o'clock. This statement affords the president the facts upon which to base his decisions for the day. It being impossible, therefore, to post all of the previous day's transactions in detail to the general ledger, the single total, both debit and credit -of each account, is thus posted from pencil footings in the general debit and credit books to the general balance ledger, and the new balance carried forward. These new balances give the material for the Statement, and will also serve as a trial balance of the general ledger when posted.

All of the balances will be transferred to the general ledger as given, excepting under Customs, Certificates of Deposit, and Cashier accounts. Items under these accounts should be posted separately, and the debit amount posted in every case opposite the credit amount. The red-ink footings shown on the general balance ledger will not be entered under these three accounts, but itemized in detail as specified on the following pages.

Payment of items belonging to these accounts should not be made without first comparing with the amount entered in the ledger when issued. Certified checks when paid are entered in the certification-book as explained under duties of paying teller (35) and need not be itemized in the ledger.

The following certified checks are outstanding and are to be entered in the certification-book under dateof October 1, preceding those which have already been entered from the paying teller's work for the first period: Bulkley, Dunton & Co., $48700....G. G. Haven, $61480.50....John L. Riker, $275.45... Morton, Bliss & Co., $20000, $35000, $6981.86....Knickerbocker Trust Co., $75000, $469.25, $372.75....Samuel Sloan, $50000, $25000, $8618.14. These amounts should be checked off, the dealers having been previously debited.

The outstanding items under the following accounts should be entered separately in the general ledger: Cashier Account-Apr. 10, #3250, Hazard & Co., $21.69; Sep. 27, #7412, James G. Cannon, $8152.50; Sep. 28, #7480, Lazard Frères, $12320; Sep. 29, #7535, Wm. H. Porter, $1942.21; Sep. 30, #7560, C. E. Sprague, $4127.58; Sep. 30, 7582, Speyer & Co., $25000; Sep. 30, #7586, Seth Low, $4985.42; Sep. 30, #7589, J. Edward Simmons, $92.46; Oct. 1, #7591, D. O. Underhill, $800; Oct. 1, #7592, Ellis H. Roberts, $160.48; Oct. 1, #7594, W. H. Rogers, $38.04; Oct. 1, #7597, Allen Durand, $11.27; Oct. 1, 7598, Blair & Co., $9726.62; Oct. 1, #7599, Morton, Bliss & Co., $20000; Oct. 1, 7600, United States Leather Co., $7870.

[The number of a cashier's check does not sufficiently establish its identity, consequently the name of the person to whom it is given should be entered in the ledger when issued. Cashier's checks, excepting for salaries of clerks, are rarely presented for payment the same day as issued, but are generally returned among the exchanges from the clearing-house on the day following.]

Customs Checks-Oct. 1, G. G. Haven, #374, $358.29 Denny, Poor & Co., #375, $183.40; #376,. $1269.95.... Bulkley, Dunton & Co., #377, $76.19....E. R. Durkee & Co., #378, $17.25.... Gilbert Manufacturing Co., #379, $250.... New York Rubber Co., #380, $332.82.

Certificates of Deposit-Feb. 14, 1896, Baul & Co., $1359.13; Mar. 12, 1897, Henry H. Rogers, $4500;. Apr. 27, R. S. Hayes, $5000; June 2, Charles Dudley Warner, $2500; July 1, R. W. Gilder, $490; July 17, Whitelaw Reid, $2120.60; Aug. 25, E. C. Stedman, $72.16; Sep. 1, F. Cromwell, $278.50; Sep. 19, Mrs. William C. Whitney, $3450.90; Oct. 1, F. P. Olcott, $2587.84.

94. Posting. As has been explained, posting to the general balance ledger precedes posting to the general ledger and the student will follow that order. In posting to the general ledger from the general debit and credit books, the student will post in detail under Customs, Certificates of Deposit, and Cashier accounts, making full explanation of each item in the ledger. The bookkeeper finds it convenient where such accounts cover several pages, to keep a loose sheet within the ledger containing the account in brief; that is, merely posting the total debit and credit as in

other accounts, and afterwards posting the items to the ledger account in full. The total debit and credit as posted under each account is added to the pencil footings of the previous day, the new balance being entered in the explanation column and compared with the balance shown by the general balance ledger.

The footings of the special columns are next posted to their respective accounts, after which the aggregate of the general debit book will be posted to the credit of Cash account and the aggregate of the general credit book to the debit of Cash account.

95. The Dealers' Ledgers.-The amounts in the special columns of the general debit and credit books may now be posted to the dealers', bank, and collection ledgers. The certificationbook, and the debit and credit books for dealers, banks, and collection banks will also be posted by the student at this point. The items are simply checked off as posted, the ledger folios not being used for this purpose. In large ledgers the accounts are arranged according to the vowel method, the position of an account being thus readily located.

In posting to the dealers' ledgers the following abbreviations are in use as explanations: If the debit amount consists of but a single check, no explanation is made; if more than one, a check mark is made in the explanation column; if a certified item, the letter C, followed by a check mark if more than one. Straight deposits require no explanation. N for note, R for remittance, D for discount, and other symbols may be used with discretion. Collection items are designated by the name of the payer. Dates should always be entered, the current date governing in case of items advised by correspondents.

The subordinate ledgers should be balanced at the end of each month. The student will make a list of the balances of each of these ledgers and compare the total with the balance shown in the general ledger at the end of each period.

On the following page is presented the form of what is generally known as the "Boston" ledger, which has found favor among many banks where the force is small. The Boston system does away with debit and credit books, requires but a single ledger, and the entries being made direct from the deposit tickets and checks, the use of duplicate balance ledgers is thereby avoided. The best system, however, and particularly for large banks, is one that requires the use of duplicate ledgers as in this set, one the old style or dealers' ledger, and the other a skeleton or balance ledger. The balance ledger should be proved every day, and frequent comparisons should be made with the corresponding dealers' ledger. The postings in the dealers' ledger should be called back and checked from the debit and credit books as a guard against error. To facilitate this process,

two sets of debit and credit books may be employed, and the checking done on alternate days.