422 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE 
which under such circumstances is said to sell “ex-dividend.” 
Sometimes, however, in strong bull markets, when stock prices 
are rising swiftly, the price of the given stock may rise suffi- 
ciently to offset the amount of the dividend. In such a case 
the subtraction of the dividend would not be revealed in the 
~urrent price of the stock. 
Functions of the Cashier.—The cashier of a brokerage 
firm is in many respects the practical executive of the office and 
supervises its entire routine. It is he who borrows money on 
the firm’s stock, either at the banks or on the Exchange, who 
deposits money at the banks and checks it out again, and who 
oversees the receipt and delivery of the firm's daily stock 
balances. It is natural that many cashiers ultimately become 
partners in their firms, and that many governors of the Stock 
Exchange have in their younger days served their apprentice- 
ship in the cashier’s cage. 
The Bookkeeping Side of Stock Brokerage.—But we are 
getting far afield from the office of Jenkins & Co. at 500 Wall 
Street. While Blank and other customers of the firm have 
been ordering the purchase and sale of securities, the book- 
keeping or accounting department of the firm has not been idle. 
We have already seen that a copy of every order received by 
the order clerk is dispatchéd at once to this department, where 
a prompt record of every customer’s account is kept. Thus 
Blank can obtain an accurate and detailed statement of his 
account with the firm any time he asks for it. Few visitors 
to Wall Street have any conception of the importance or the 
amount of bookkeeping which Stock Exchange work necessi- 
tates. But for the army of bookkeepers which invades the 
financial district early each morning, and does not leave until 
the accounts of the various houses are completed for the day, 
the whole system would at once break down. Even a moderate- 
sized brokerage house must employ a large bookkeeping force