or peculation. A clerk on leaving his till must lock up his money. No
assorter is allowed to leave the room during business hours except on a
pass, to be taken up by the doorkeeper. This is obtained from the
superintendent of assorters, who, before issuing it, examines the till
of the applicant to see that everything is in shape. Slips of paper,
perforated by a punch, are the sops which placate the Cerberus of the
agency. Each assorter is provided with a card on which are printed two
sets of numbers, from one to thirty-one, and a certificate that the
holder's cash was properly balanced and his till in order at the close
of business on the day of the month last punched. On this card the
teller, after examining the assorter's money, makes one punch, and the
superintendent of assorters another, after a minute inspection of the
till and its surroundings. Thus the assorter receives the only passport
on which he may leave the office for the day. In the afternoon, when all
the money handled has been deposited in the safes, the superintendent of
the agency makes a tour of all the rooms. The safes are then closed, and
finally the Treasurer tries all the locks.

The work of the second assortment is by most clerks pretty easily
learned, and upon this beginners are usually placed. The mechanical
difficulties are, however, the same as those already noticed in
connection with the first assortment; and speed can be acquired only by
long and diligent practice. The agency offers few attractive positions
to a clerk, whatever his grade. Currency long in circulation becomes so
mutilated as to be difficult to handle. It is soiled and dusty, and
often emits the most disgusting smells. One memorable shipment of
several millions from San Francisco still lingers in the recollection of
the unfortunate clerks, who spit and sneezed over the filthy mass. The
notes were begrimed with every soil of the Pacific slope, and made
odorous by association with every species of vice and uncleanliness to
which human flesh is subject. The labor of the assorter and counter,
even at the best, is severe and unpleasant; while from motives of
economy the task is heaped up to the maximum and the pay cut down to the
minimum.

The next process after assortment is to "make up" all the packages of
all denominations into bundles, each containing only notes of a single
bank. For this purpose the currency of active banks is delivered from
the assorters through the teller