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Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

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344 HISTORY OF THE BANKany part of the civilized world in the currency of the countrywhere the money was to be paid. This was at the time aninnovation in Canadian banking. Uptill then a draft onNew York had been used for a remittance to any placein the United States; a draft on London, or possibly on Parisor Hamburg, for other parts of the world. The foreigndrawing facilities of the Canadian banks had been limited toNew York, Chicago, London, Paris and Hamburg or Berlin.The effort to make the new facilities known led the bank tothe use of polyglot advertising cards, one of which isreproducedon plate 39. 1 A special cipher code was also <strong>com</strong>piled forthe use of foreign correspondents in the event of their requiringto <strong>com</strong>municate by telegram or cable with the branches of thebank. Arrangements were made to telegraph daily exchangequotations to the Winnipeg and Calgary branches, and tohave these offices issue them by mail to the other branches intheir territory. Formerly exchange quotations had beendistributed by mail from Montreal, but this method was tooslow to meet the needs of a general foreign exchangebusiness.Among the steps taken by the directors and managementfor the <strong>com</strong>fort and well-being of the staff about this timewas the provision of libraries at a number of the outlyingbranches where the opportunities for recreation outside officehours were meagre. Over eighty of the branches were thusequipped and the number has since been increased. 2 Formany years a library had been maintained at head office,devoted principally to works of reference connected withfinance, economics and Canadian history. This had beenmade available to the members of the staff by a system oflending cards, the postage on books sent to the branches beingpaid both ways by the bank, but it was felt that at outlyingplaces more might be done to provide not merely instruction butentertainment for the officers of the bank. In December, 1909,'Facing page 243. See also plate 40, facing page 246.'At the end of 1921 the number had reached 225.

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