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EVERYTHING'S ON THE CUFF NOW IN CITY
(Continued from page out for people like us. Gold at least will give us an even break." A poorly dressed woman, with a face wan and lined from suffering, appeared at the Manufacturers' Trust Company. of which Harvey D. Gibson is president. He is also chairman of the city's Unemployment Relief Committee. She carried a card for food supplies which should have been presented to one of the branch depots. Gibson was standing by when she entered. She has four children, and her husband; ill, hasn't worked for a year. "Proclamation or no proclamation," he said, "this is one check that will be cashed today."
Leaves $20 for Change. Patrolman Lewis Moore of the Snyder Avenue Station, who patrols Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, disclosed he was paid March 1 and "the only think I have this morning is a $20 bill." He went to the store he patronizes for a pack of cigarettes and the clerk had no change. Finally they compromised. Moore left the $20, too $2 in change and was to go back later to see if the clerk had collected the $17.85 coming to him. Dr. H. S. Foltz, of Elgin Road, Valley Stream, L. I., didn't know of the moratorium until he went to the bank to draw a small amount. "But I'm not worrying," he said, "my grocer said he would trust me."
Glad it Happened. Mrs. Oscar Neilsen, a housewife, of 65 Lincoln Boulevard, Hempstead, L. I., another who lost money in the Bank of the United States was "glad it happened because it will help the banking situation generally.' "If a moratorium had been declared months ago, it would have saved the country a lot of trouble," she said. Samuel Traylor, an automobile salesman, living at the Tudor Hotel, was calling his wife from Newark, N. J., when the telephone girl asked for another dime. "Don't you know a bank holiday has just been declared he asked. "Very well," she said, and let him talk on.
Trouble with $100 Bill.
Francis D. Saitta, an attorney, of 182 Suydam St., Brooklyn, had been paid $200 in cash Friday for work on a title closing. The money was in two $100 bills. Yesterday he started out to cash one of them. He went first to the Fulton Savings Bank and found the doors closed. He waved the bills outside the window, indicating he merely wanted change, but an employe signaled it couldn't be done. Then he visited the country treasurer's office, with no results. Next he went to a cafe frequented by judges, lawyers and public officials generally. "We're all cleaned out," they told him. Eventually, after tramping about for five hours, he obtained two $50 bills at the postal savings bank. The nhe called on a cigar store proprietor, ordered a dollar's worth of cigars and tendered a $50 bill. The proprietor handed him a slip of paper. "Just give us an I. 0. U., Mr. Saitta," he said. So Saitta walked out with the $50 still intact and in his pockets a dollar's worth of cigars he didn't want.
Speaks Take it Easy. "There's one bright spot in all this," Police Commissioner Mulrooney remarked. "The speakeasies are going to take it on the chin. I don't think you'll see many of them taking scrip in exchange for drinks." Investigation by The News failed to establish the accuracy of the commissioner's prophecy. M t speaks in the midtown area had the usual carefree, spending Saturday noon crowds. The general attitude seemed to be, 'What the hell! This will be over soon."
Plant Issues Scrip. Throughout the day instances multiplied of individuals and corporations devising expedients to meet the emergency. Home made scrip made its appearance in Queens, thanks to the ingenuity of Ira I. Sloman, rubber cement manufacturer of 31-27 Thompson Ave., Long Island City. Saturday is pay day at his plant. When his six employes came into the office for their wages, Sloman handed each of them a letter bearing his signature, which read: "To whom it may concern: This scrip is issued for the sum of $-. It will be honored by the maker the same as money and will be accepted in trade or may be presented at the Bank of Manhattan, Hollis, L. I., branch, upon reopening."
Scrip Plan Works Well.
It worked out as he had planned. Miss Mary Wallick, his bookkeeper took her scrip for $18 to a restaurant in the building, where it was accepted for cash. The proprietor of the restaurant then sent it back to Sloman, who is owner of the building, as part payment on the March rent, and again it was accepted at face value. The policy of dairy concerns was outlined generally by the Borden Company in a statement issued by A. J. Cronk, president. It stated that the company would "continue its deliveries of milk and other products," and that "we have every reason to hope that the bank holiday and attendant difficulties will not interrupt the flow of milk from our producers to us."
1,200 paid by Orders. In an effort to help local merchants, the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company, which operates incinerators and ash dumps, issued to its 1,200 employes a species of scrip in the form of typewritten orders for merchandise in amounts varying from $5 to $20. Officials of the Interborough Rapid Transit reported $75,000 on hand in small currency. That in addition to the daily intake from the turnstile machines, they said, would easily carry them through until Tuesday morning.
B.-M. T. Has $140,000, Too. The B.-M. T. reported it had about $140,000 from Friday's receipts which had not yet been banked, and therefore all its agents were adequately supplied with cash. Hospitals seemed to regard the situation as no more than the usual week-end holiday. At the Flower Hospital it was stated that all critical cases requiring immediate attention would be given the necessary hospitalization whether or not patients had cash.
