SOME OF THE CHAPTER I. DUTIES AND PRECAUTIONS OF THE The rules and regulations that follow are, in the main, such as have been found to be of practical use in collecting the receipts of railroads and paying their bills. Like all rules that are of value, they have been suggested by actual experience; generally by mishaps real or threatened. They form what may be called a primary code for the government of the local treasury department of a railroad. Their object is to facilitate business and prevent mishaps; to anticipate mistakes, omissions and irregularities, and by anticipation, prevent them as far as possible. What I have to say, will not, it is probable, contain anything especially new to those familiar with the practical operations of the treasury department of a railroad. Such men are peculiarly well versed in the routine of the service as it affects their office; above all men they are schooled in technicalities and knowledge of detail. To them accounts and the measure of safety that should surround money are an open book. However, as I have before had occasion to say, I do not write for experts. They are more often than otherwise better informed than I am myself. I write rather for those who desire to familiarize themselves generally and specifically with the treasury department, or who wish to take up the subject impersonally as a part of the general theme of railway knowledge. In reference to rules and regulations provided by particular men, or for specific occasions, like those that accompany this, it is to be remembered that while they may not be adapted to all conditions, still they are valuable in their suggestive features. It is not what men read that makes study valuable, but rather what reading suggests. I am led to make these reflections here because it is probable that many of the rules and regulations comprised in this volume will not tally with the practices of many railroad companies, but notwithstanding this, the devices herein described and the rules herein provided will have, in the main, general interest because they meet situations more or less peculiar to every company. The custodian of the funds of a company is its treasurer. There may be two, one in New York or London and the other at the local headquarters. It is not always easy to identify the latter. This is because of the dissimilarity of organizations. Railroads are built up around local conditions and men very much as other interests are. Because of this, the treasurer is oftentimes difficult to identify by his title. He |