The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1878-07-18
POSTAL SAVINGS 7BANEs.
Speech Of Col. WA. 4. Phillips, o. Kansas
in the Hoxse, Jsne I3, 1878.

In recent speech In the House an able
Representative gave the following listo.
ry OF the postal savings bill and its aim.
and Objectr:
MIR. Speaker, in the bill have the honol
TO submit to the House, I present the worn
of many gentlemen. We do not claim
originality in the idea OF converting t.It
popular savings into a public loan through
the post-office. In the most civilized o
modern nations it has been introduced FOL
considerable number Of years, and wher.
ever introduced has been 50 eminently
successful as to exceed the expectations o
it projectors.
II / had the honor to introduce the first
bill on the subject, claim no merit for it
The bill present you is offered on The
better and broader ground that it has beer
the offspring Of great research and labol
ON the part Of many persons, who stroye,
with the light already thrown on the sub.
ject, to frame a system adapted to oul
country, circumstances, and our people.
1 earnestly hope that the measure viii
neither be antagoniZed nor hindercd by the
iealousies OF individuals or the jealousies
of committees. The country has right
10 expect something better than this from
us, and for my part 1 would cheerfully sur
render any personal Identification l may
have with it, if could thereby secure the
fundamental principles OF the bill adyo-
cate. In presenting it to you and in ana
living it, l shall endeavor to do 50 with
entire frankness and candor.
The bill in its history has been modified
and printed time and time again, as new
salient features were developed. 1t was
deemed wise to let 1t go to the press, that
it might be submitted to the crucible OF
popular criticism. The bill, with all its
general and special features, as first ma
turcd, was telegraphed by the Associated
Press as an item OF general interest to
most of the papers in the country, and
wherever it was sent it aroused a universal
interest, and while it evoked some hostile
criticism l venture to say that no scheme
of finance ever submitted to the country
has met with so general and so generous
an approval On this subject think every
man in this House understands that the
country has expected wise and prompt
action from US, and that We will offer to it
some suitable system OF postal savings
banks.
The ILL has three general features. First,
it makes every oney-Order Office place
of collection for the small savings Of the
people; second, it provides for funding the
money i'm a bond, which will enable us to
call in large portion OF our foreign debt,
bearing high interest; third, it provides,
by the plan of convertibilty into currency,
for the possibility OF such loan and its
safety in not locking up the active re-
sources Of the country. All the rest is
incidental.
The first but by no means the most i'm
portant feature is the local savings-bank,
for which purpose We use the mOney-order
offices. These already have all the regu:-
site machinery. This branch Of the
subject has been beset with many
difficulties, and has been supposed
TO be beset by many more which do not
really exist 1t is gravely argued that
government ought not to create savings
banks, as it is not Legitimate function OF
government. II is a legitimate function OF
government To invade the domain OF the
common carrier and express agent and
carry letters and packages all over the
country Every civilized government does
that 1t cannot be done half as well or
safely, indeed it may be assumed that ii
could not be done at all, by private com
panies or individuals. Remote regions
would be cut of from mail facilities. The
mails would probably be well carried be-
tween New York and Philadelphia. but we
never could tell when private companies
would put up the tariff. We never could
tell when the company would become in
solvent. Instead OF a broad, universal,
benelicent system, we would have the
management Of the mails subject To caprice
and vicissitudes Of private enterprise and
private avarice. l do not hesitate to say,
sir, that there is no branch OF the public
business SO near the. people: no branch OF
the public service SO eminently useful;
there is no branch OF the public service
where the public gets so much for SO little
money. II is indeed an invasion OF the
Gogernment into the domain OF the letter
carrier and express companies, but an in
yasi,n that confers honor and dignity upon
the Government and countless blessings
upon the people.
When the ney-order system was
established n was also stigmatiZed as an
invasion on the legitimate business Of
banking. Banking has two Legitimate
functins-for l hold that issuing paper
money was never q legitimate function Of
private banks. Their legitimate functions
are. iirst. to receive deposits OF the accu-
mutations or savings Of depositors, and,
holding sufficient amount IN meet cur
rent calls, make investments or discounts
with the remainder. The second function
is to issue bills Of exchange. letters VI
credit. drafts, or carry on the business OF
the country by checks, certificates Of de-
post. and drafts. Tho latter is by far the
most complicated part OF banking, and that
more complicated part has been trium-
phantly achieved by our money-orier
system.
The most humble money -order Office in
Oregon, where the salary, may not be more
than S225 per annum, draws on the same
tiay on the humblcst or the greatest money
order Office Of Maine. Michigan. Missis-
sippi, or Georgia and the whole machinery
is so perfect that we scarcely ever hear Of
a successful fraud or forgery. The bank
accounts of all these Offices and Of all these
transactions are kept in the Post Office
Department and in the Treasury. In pri-
yate bank business in the same line the
losses from fOrgeries and frauds and defal-
cations are a. hundred to one In COM
mon banking transactions the public must
trust to the integrity of private hank OIL
-1. hax ~ a
safe and legitimate business. Occasionally
for some grievous offense hank officer is
sent to the penitentiary, but you en- count
al the convictions on your fingers, while
the real offenses against a rigid business
morality are as numberiess as the leaves
OF the fosost. In the postal money order
hanks the element ~ prOfft is stricken out