With the ink thumb-print of the cashier of a bank placed on a bank draft over his signature and over the written amount of the draft, chemical papers and the dangers of “raising” or counterfeiting the draft would have no further consideration.  The thumb-print of the secretary of the United States treasury, reproduced on the face of greenback, silver certificate and bank note of any series would discourage counterfeiting as nothing else ever has done.

But this thumb-print possibility in commercial papers has its greatest future in the positive identification which either thumb or finger print carries with it.  Criminologists all over the world have satisfied themselves of the absolute accuracy of the fingerprint identification.

At the present time traveling salesmen, who spend much money and who wish to carry as little as possible of cash with them, have an organized system by which their bankable paper may be cashed at hotels and business houses over the country.  But with the thumb-print in use, as it might be, such an organization would be unnecessary.

As between bank and bank, this use of the fingerprint in bank papers of large face value is especially applicable.  A draft for $100,000 or $1,000,000 may be worth more consideration of the banks concerned than the penmanship of signer and countersigner of the paper.

In the shipment of currency where there may be question of either honesty or correctness in the persons sealing the package, a thumb-print in wax will determine absolutely whether the wax has been unbroken in transit, as well as establishing the identity of the person putting on the first seal.  As to the protective value of such a thumb-seal, a case has been cited in which train robbers, discovering a chance seal of the kind in wax of such a package, left that package untouched when the express safe had been blown open; it was too suggestive of danger to be risked.

In the ordinary usage of the thumb-print on bankable paper the city bank having its country correspondents everywhere often is called upon to cash a draft drawn by the country bank in favor of that bank’s customer, who may be a stranger in the city.  The city bank desires to accommodate the country correspondent as a first proposition.  The unidentified bearer of the draft in the city may have no acquaintance able to identify him.  If he presents the draft at the windows of the big bank, hoping to satisfy the institution, and is turned away, he feels hurt.  By the thumb-print method he might have his money in a moment.

In the first place, even the signature of the cashier of the country bank will be enough to satisfy its correspondent in the city of the genuineness of the draft.  Before the country purchaser of the draft has left the bank issuing the paper he will be required to make the ink thumb-print in a space for that purpose.  Without this imprint the draft will have no value.  If the system should be in use, the cashier signing the draft will not affix his signature to the paper until this imprint has been made in his presence.