The bank clerks who attend to the clearing-house business must be experts in their special work. The slightest error on the part of one clerk may prolong indefinitely the entire settlement. As a check against error very severe rules are established. The following are samples from the by-laws of a large clearing-house:

"1. For disorderly conduct of any clerk, or other officer, at the clearing-house, or disregard of the manager's rules and instructions, for each offense, $4.00.

"2. For any officer failing to attend punctually at the hour for making the exchanges, $4.00.

"3. Debtor banks, failing to appear to pay their balances before a quarter past 12 o'clock, $3.00.

"4. Any error in the credit ticket (that is the amount brought), $2.00.

"5. Errors in making the balance ticket (that is, the amount received) entries, $2.00.

"6. Failing to deliver check tickets before half-past ten o'clock, $1.00.

"7. All other errors, $2.00.

"Any clerk, or other officer, who shall repeatedly and perseveringly disobey the orders or instructions of the manager, shall, with the approbation of the clearinghouse committee, be expelled, and not readmitted without the written consent of the committee. Thirty minutes will be allowed for the morning business settlement, and for each additional fifteen minutes' detention, $2 will be added to the fine under No.3."

The following selections from the general rules of the same clearing-house will give the reader some idea of the exacting character of clearing-house regulations:

"Errors in the exchanges and claims arising from the return of checks or other cause are to be adjusted directly between the banks which are parties therein, and not through the clearing-house.

"Whenever checks which are not good are sent through the clearing-house they shall be returned by the banks receiving the same to the banks from which they were received as soon as it shall be found that said checks are not good;and in no case shall they be retained after one o'clock.

"The manager shall immediately report to the clearing-house committee any apparent irregularity in the dealings of any bank belonging to the association that comes to his notice, and receive the instructions of the committee in regard thereto.

"The committee shall have power to remove the manager or any of the clerks, whenever, in their opinion, the interests of the association shall require it.

"The hour for making the exchanges at the clearinghouse shall be ten o'clock A. M. each day. At a quarter past twelve o'clock, noon, the debtor banks shall pay to the manager, at the clearing-house, the balances due from them respectively either in coin or in such other currency as the laws of the United States shall require, or in such certificates as shall be authorized by the clearing-house association, excepting sums less than one thousand dollars, which may be paid in bills of the debtor bank.

"At half-past one o'clock P. M. the creditor banks shall receive from the manager, at the same place the balances due to them respectively; provided all the balances due from the debtor banks shall then have been paid to him.

"Should any bank fail to pay the balance due from it at the proper hour the amount of such balance shall be immediately furnished to the clearing-house by the several other banks in proportion to their respective balances against the defaulting bank resulting from the exchanges of that day."