Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-09-19

New York Financial Chronicle.
The savings bank is purely one ofdeposit.
Everything should yield to the necessity of
being always superlatively safe and in a
condition to sustain runs and even this is
not all, because the run is an injurious
process, and it is a hurtful thing for bank
The desirable condition is that the strength
of the banks be 90 great and so apparent that
there shall cease 10 be any runs. The
savings bank should invite deposits, but
should not compete for them. To pay in
terest is secondary function, the primary
one being to induce saving and take very
faithful care Of what is saved large accounts
are undesirable, and small ones are those
for. which the bank exists; hence, interest
should always be kept under the actual
average market rate The law at present
recognizes these rules and has adopted
Them, especially in restricting the interest
rate, for out Of trying to pay too much the
dangers generally arise Although State
guardianship has been sadly inefficient, the
law is now so much improved that there
is reason to except long term of prosper
ity for the banks under it; but there can be
none, here or elswhere, until all attempt to
prevent them into business to which they
are not adapted is abandoned. If the
Chicago failure induces reform in the
western use Of savings bank; it will be turn
ed to practical good; if not, then further
price must be paid for that.
Probably this failure may strengthen
somewhat the hands ef those who favor the
project of postal or some other form of
government savings bank, and it would
not be surprising to see the subject brought
up at any session of congress. To state
the arguments against any such attempted
remedy is almost superauous. Everything
which looks towards setting the govern
ment to do anything new must be con-
demned, on general principles, and because,
notoriously and confessedly, government
does very badly what it now has in hand !;
so much so that reforming itself has been
for the last ten years party shibboleth.
Shall government which does its own
work of managing its revenue and expen-
ditures and executing its own laws 50
weakly and badly that to reform it is
admitted to be the one great problem of the
day, have thrust upon it the further work
branches from the governmental body,
instead Of adding new ones, is the thing TO- 10
be done. But aside from that, the proposed
remedy does not suit the disorder. The
thing has been tried once, Government
undertaking, with paternal care, to keep
the first earnings Of "the wards Of the
nation" as free men; and at least until the
dismal story of shame and meanness, as
united with hypocricy and fraud in the
case of the Freedman's Savings bank-a
central government tree with branches
extending everywhere-is forgotten, it
ought to to be impossible for anybody to
arise in Washington and propose that
government, under any sort of scheme,
take charge of the peoples savings. Such
work is an unfit one and will never be
successful, even if the civil service should
be reformed before it is undertaken. 1t
would diffuse and dissipate responsibility,
invite fraud, introduce another wheel into
the political machine, and would contain
no security for the depositor unless gov.
ernment guaranteed the deposits, which
would be equivalent to turning the treas.
ury into savings bank, just as the green.
back intiationist would make it permanently
a bank Of issue without any redemption
The treasury has already quite enough
for the wisdom of any one man in taking
care of its own legitimate business and get.
ting ready to keep its last undertaking on
its long over. due notes. If any govern
ment connection with the small savings o,
the people is wanted, all which can use
fully be granted exiets already in the new
A per cent. bond, which can be bought by
anybody who has $50 at a time. This will
yield very nearly as much interest as any
savings bank ought to pay it is instantly
convertible, is perfectly safe, and is a pri
vate bank which admits no distrust, pro
vided the required form is CHOSEN or saf
place of keeping is found. This is al
the government savings bank that is needed
and for all else the states must be trustee
to take care of their own banks.