The rule made some cities free, that is, there were no charges for collection made compulsory. Some cities were under a fixed charge of one-tenth of one per cent, and others under a fixed charge of one-quarter of one per cent. Upon April 3, 1899, this rule became obligatory, and if any member violated it, the penalty was $5,000 for the first offense; for the second offense it might be expelled from the association.[1] MR. LABORINGMAN: That is precisely the same rule we have in our Union, only our limit is not so high. We fine a member $5.00 for his first offense, and for the second offense we take away his card. By Jove, that is a hot proposition. And these are the very fellows who are always cussing us because of our Union rules. MR. LAWYER: I want to tell you something else, gentlemen, that combination among the banks is clearly in restraint of trade and in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. Anybody who wants to can bring those banks to time. MR. BANKER: Now, gentlemen, don't you perceive that this institution, step by step, has evolved its own laws, or rules of action, slowly developing its present system, and regulating and controlling the conduct of those outside institutions which enjoy its privileges? The story of this Clearing House is the record of all of them in principle. They are, each and every one of them, self-centered, self-contained, and a law unto themselves. The operation of the New York Clearing House is practically that of all the others. Its room is sixty feet square. Four rows of desks occupy the floor. Each member has its own numbered desk separated from its neighbors' by a wire net work. At one minute to ten o'clock the manager sounds the gong and all are instantly ready for the exchange which begins promptly at ten o'clock. At the expiration of forty-five minutes usually, but sometimes in thirty-seven minutes, and even in thirty-five minutes, every member of the association has in its possession all the paper drawn upon itself, which the other members have credited on their books, and has delivered all the paper drawn upon all the other members of the association in exchange which it has credited upon its books. Mr. Cannon states that the amount delivered by any member has never been exactly equal to the amount received but has come within one cent upon a single occasion. To complete the clearing transaction, it is necessary, of course, for those who owe anything to pay it to the Clearing House, and for the Clearing House in turn to distribute what is paid to it among those who are entitled to receive it.