US735665A - Traveler's draft. - Google Patents

Description

4 sums-sum1.

PATENIED AUG. 4, 1903.

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r. L. GRAY. TRAVBLBRS DRAFT.. APPLIOATIONIPILBD SEPT. 2

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hallal PATENTED AUG. 4, 19.03.

P. L. GRAY. TRAVELERS DRAFT.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1902.

Dnwus Signature.

{Signed} (lazwyff) l Employ".

'/$ Zayf/i /ga 771e Company.

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EMPLOYERS STATEMENT.

Unlawful use. nl a Travellers Guuauhei Draft" will make offenclercnmnallyliable.

'7 /Le Campany N0 MODEL.

PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903.

F. L. GRAY. TRAVELERS DRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1902.

'TRAWLERS GUARMTEED DRAFT.

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y P.L.GRAY. TRAVELERS DRAFT. APLIOATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1902.

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lz marea'.- A @ma @Mu y UNITED STATES Patented August 4, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRED L. GRAY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

TRAVELERS DRAFT.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent No. 735,665, dated August 4, 1903.

Applioationlled September 26, 1902i Serial No. 124,914. (No modell-l I T @ZZ-whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FRED L. GRAY, of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Travelers Drafts, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for enabling travelers, such as commercialttravelers or tourists, to procure cash funds in different localities. i

The object of the invention is to provide a system or 4means whereby such parties may procure the necessary cash at different points of their travel without being required to' deposit in advancey thefull amount of the funds required for "the contemplated journey and without being required .to visit particularlyspeciiied banksor similar institutions in order to procure the cash.

Under the system herein described the draft may be made applicable either for the use of professional traveling men when drawing on their employers for expense money 'or for tourists in drawing on the bankin which their personal fundsl'are deposited. Under `the system hereinafter described thedraft is to bearon its face the indorsement of a responsible surety-bond company of national reputation, so that when drawn for a sum within a stipulated limit by its lawful holder its lpayment when cashed in accordance with a simple condition relating to the time of the cashing is guaranteed to' a. large number of cashers of various classes throughout the In carrying out this inven.

United States. v tion fifty-two of these indorsed blank drafts having ineifaceable consecutive dates, such as by perforating dates one week apart, are

' to be bound in one book.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure Il is aviewof an open book embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a face view of the inside of a, front cover of the book and its detachably connected duplicate statement-sheet, this form being designed for the use of commercial travelers. Fig. `3 represents one Iof the blank-draft leaves detached from the book and enlarged. Fig. Li'represents a face view of the inside vof thecove'r of a book designed for the useoftouris'ts,

the duplicate statement-leaf that would accompany said cover beingomittedr. i

. acts.

The draft-leaves l0, printed in blank in an ordinary form, are preferably bound in a book, there-being fifty-two of said drafts, one for each week of the year. The `several draft-leaves have ineffaceable dates applied thereto, so that in accordance with certain directions hereinafter referred to said drafts cannot be cashed more frequently than one a week` As shown in Figs 3, one end of each draftleaf has a guarantee section, the guarantee being that of the surety-bond company or other equivalent corporation which undertakes to protect the cashers of the drafts against loss. The guaranteeportion or section of the draft is providedwith a blank space for the signature of the traveler and also the limit of amount for which said draft can be made, said section also giving the information as toplaces where the draft may' be cashed, such as at any hotel, bank, trust company, or stores ofA certain classes, asindicated'in Fig. 3. Said Fig. 3is enlarged in order to accommodate the printed matteror information carried by the draft-blank.

Permanently connected with the book-certain records must be carried, and in order to insure permanency of connection and also for convenience I aix'this matter on the inside front cover of the book in whichv the drafts are bound. Referring to Fig. 2, the matter which is imprinted on or affixed to vthe inside front" cover-is represented in; the section'll. On this section is printed, first, an acknowledgment'to be signed by the user or traveler that the book is the propertyof his employer and also .an acknowledgment that the use of the drafts is to be construed as representation that he has authority so to do. These constitute integrity or reliability statements by the user. gMoreover, the acknowledgment-that the use of the drafts is to be construed as a representation thatthe holder has authority to dov so constitutes a` statement that the person-who fills out and cashes the drafts isfully authorized to perform those Below such statements -certain identification-spaces arel provided, said identification being for apersonal description. of the user or holder,and belowthem spaces for the signature and residence of .the drawer. Said Y, section 11 also" carries a certificate by the ems.

. antor.

lthe cashfor such drafts.

shown the cover-section of the integrity and cover-section l1, as by a line of perforations, so that the-'leaf l2 can be removed from the book. The leaf 12 carries statements which are in all essential respects substantially duplicates of the statements carried by the section l1; but the leaf or page l1 also carries a 'note to the effect that when the book has been filled up for use the duplicate leaf or page 12 is to be removed and sent to the guar- I have thus far described a book especially designed for use by commercial travelers. Substantially the same form or systemV may be employed for ordinary travelers or tourists who wish'to draw upon their individual banks and yet have little or no diiculty in securing In Fig. 4 I have reliability statements, the printed matter be ing'changed from .the form shown in Fig. 2 in order to describe the user and refer to his bank. In this case instead of an employers statement there is provided a statement f-or a third party or witness. In kother respects .the form shown in Fig. 4 is substantially the same as that in 2. l

While Fig. 4 shows the matter to be printed on the inside cover of the tourists form, it is to be understood that it will be accompanied by a detachable leaf bearing matter in duplicate of that shown in Fig.V 4 and the addition of a note such as that shown at the bottom of the leaf or'section 1l in Fig. 2,

I will now describe more in detail the plan which renders my invention of particular use to and how it is to be -used by travelers or tourists. .A

It'being understood at the outset that no actual transfer of funds covering the credit desired is necessary, but that it is based solelyon the assumption of the subscribers integrity or reliability, it-'should be stated that in order to be successfully operated on a large scale it is necessary that the system be properly safeguarded. To this end I fortify `it by certain receipts, acknowledgments,

agreements, and certificates, and provide a 'convenient and reliable method for obtaining and recording the same -i'n the document which is permanently 'affixed to or carried by the inside front cover of the book in which the drafts are bound. This document constitutes a continuing reminder to the subvscriber of the restrictions under lwhich he is permitted-tense the book, and the foot-note fortheindorsing'company at the bottom is likewise a constant reminder of the penalty attaching to 'any unlawful use of the book. The physical description of the subscriber which also appears here proves of aid in estab'- lishing his identification and also renders the use of the book by other than its lawful holder extremely difficult. It will'be seen, therefore, that a necessary condition to the practical working of the scheme is that certain information of the foregoing character should be recorded in some place independent of the draft itself, yet where its relationship thereto maybe readily'seen. The most convenient and generally suitable location for this purpose is the inside front cover of the book in which the drafts are bound.

In many cases, as where the service is ap plied for by wholesalers to cover alarge corps of scattered traveling salesmen, it would be impracticable for the indorsing company or the guarantors to make direct delivery of the book to its user, and it is therefore desirable to'have an arrangement whereby third parties may act for each in the matter. These in the case of tourists and other occasional travelers will be the companys local yagents throughout the country, bankers, rive., and in the case of professional traveling men the agents of the delivery will be their/employers. This demonstrates the utility of the duplicate acknowledgment and the agreement of drawer and the employer or witness, as the leaf 12,-attached to and folded in against thel original section 11, which itself is securelyl and permanently aiiixed to the 4inside front cover before the book -leavesthe guarantors possession. The duplicate is to be detached at the perforated line and returned to the company, serving at once as a receipt for the book, an acknowledgment of thel condition under which the holder agrees to use it', and

a certificate from some third party who acts bothas witness to the holders signature and the agent of delivery, thus showing to the guarantors satisfaction that each draft which it has indorsed has been signed in the marginal space provided therefor by the identical person whose honesty it is guaranteeing.

Thisiemoves the likelihood of the book fall' ing into the hands of a wrong person,-Who might easily under some circumstances sign both cover and draftswith his own name, fill in his own personal description, and subse quently use some of the drafts for fraudulent purposes. The necessary and direct connection between each of the guaranteed drafts and the book or cover within which it isA bound will thus be readily apparent.

Bydatingthe drafts with consecutive Weekly dates before delivery of the book containing the years supply to the subscriber and by ineifaceable dates, such as perforated letters and iigures, a subscriber cannot falsify the IIO dates or secure an unduly large sum by cash. v. ing aplurali ty of drafts within the same week.

In view ofthe language of the contract of the guarantee it is obvious thatl the' subscriber cannot obtain money on the strength of the same more frequently than oncea .Weekif he .cashes the drafts regularly as they become A payable, and at least he will be unable to cash tWo drafts at the same time under this guar antee. To attain these advantages, the particular printed language appearing on the face of the draft when filled in with naines and amounts is supplemented by the application of the mechanical feature of the ineffaceable consecutive dates.

The particular utility of the invention will be understood from the following:

First. The subscriber is not compelled to deposit in advance the f ull amount of funds required for a contemplated journey, as he would have to do under the ordinary let- .ter-of-credit system and similar systems of travelers checks. Frequently a traveler is entirely unable to estimate beforehand what amount he may require, and under such circumstances it would be a particular hardship A- to be required to deposit a sum equal to the largest possible amount which he may need. Under the present invention the guaranteed draft is issued the same as an ordinary fidelity bond, solely on the confidence in the honesty of the drawer or traveler or the person whose integrity is virtually insured.

Secondly. Under this system a practically unlimited latitude is aorded for the cashing of any draft, as Will be seen by referring to the guarantors statement at the end of the draft shown in Fig. 3, While under all other systems, so far as known to me, somespeciallydesignated bank, express office, or hotel are the guaranteed cashers. These under some circumstances are frequently not readily accessible. l

Thirdly. This system oers a further advantage in that it furnishes a continuous annual service obtainable by means of a singletransaction.

It vis to be understoodv that the present invention is not limited to theparticular phraseology of the contract of guarantee on the draft itself or to the specific language appearing on the section 11 and its duplicate. While the language employed according tothe illustralong as it embodies the substance thereof as defined in the description hereinbefore given.

I claim- Y l. A travelers'draft-book comprising a se'-` ries of removable leaves bearing matter constituting draft-blanks, each having matter" constituting a guarantee of its4 payment, said book also having blank spaces designated to receive apersonal descriptionan'd the signature of the holder. x

2. A travelers draft-book comprising a seriesof, removable leaves bearing matter constituting draft-blanks, each having matter constituting a guarantee of vits payment,said book also having a permanently-connected l statement as to the reliability of the user, and

a certificate to be filled in by a third party.

3. A travelers draft-book comprising a series of removable leaves bearing matter constituting draftblanks, each having matter constituting a guarantee of its payment, and having a statement as to the reliability of the user permanently carried by the cover of the book, said statement being adapted to befilled in by the user.

4. A series of connected leaves bearing matter constituting draft-blanks having ineaceable consecutive dates.

5. A series of connected leaves bearing matter constituting draft-blanks having in effaceable consecutive dates and each bearin g mat-y ter constituting a guarantee of its payment.

G. Aseries of connected leaves bearing matter constituting draft blanks having perforated consecutive dates.

7. A travelers draft-book comprising a series of removable leaves bearing matter constituting draft-blanks having perforated consecutive dates and having the'inside of its cover provided with a permanently-connected statement as to the reliability of the user.

8. A travelers draft-book comprising a series of removable leaves bearing matter .cohstituting draft -blanks, each having matter constituting a guarantee of its payment, a statement as to the reliability of the user, permanently connected with the book, and a removable section substantially a duplicate of the last-mentioned statement.

9. A travelers draft-book comprising a seriesof removable leaves each bearing matter constituting a commercial paper blank and bearing a guarantee of its payment, said book also having blank spaces designated to receive a personal description of the holder and' bearing a statement that the holder has authority to use the drafts. v

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence Ofanto witnesses.

FRED L. '.GRAY. Witnesses:

A. F. BECKER, F. J. MARTIN.

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