The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-01-17
SAVINGS, hanks are bound to have two reserves,

savings banks are bound to have two reserves,
the one called the fonds de dotation,' and
/ the other the "fonds de reserve" The first
consists of the subvenion voted by the mu
nlcipal council, which is inaienable, and must
he deposited with the Caisse de Depots ard
Considerations, and the second reserve pro.
ceeds from the retention OF a fourth TO hall
per cent. from the interest allowed TO deposi
tors. This latter fund may be disposed OF by
the council of management, in case the eX
penses of the savings bank exceed their prot
| its. The minimum deposit of a French say.
| ings' bank is one franc and the maximum
| 000fr. All sums over this last amount are
invested in French threc.percents for account
of the depostors, free OF charge. The depos-
its must be paid integrally within twenty'lour
hours OF receipt by the savings banks INTO
the Calsse DIES Depots and Consignatons, ana
he sums required for disbursements and de.
posturs' drafts are withdrawn from the Calsse
DIES Depots and CONSIDERATIONS, according to
a statement OF requirements sent into the
Caisse DIES Depots. This mode of operation
necessitates notice on the part of deposltorS
DESTROYS of Withdrawing their funds, The
savings banks receive interest for the sums
paid into the Caisse DIES Depots and ConslgnG-
lions, but the CaisSe dies DepOtS Is only respon-
Isible for deposits while they remain IN It's pos
session. The government guarantee, there
fore, exercised through the Caisse DIES Depots,
is not direct but indirect, The Minister OF FL
nance exercises II surveillance over the saw
ings banks, through the instrumenlalIty OF
the revenue collectors who are bound to eX-
amino into the condition Of the savings banks
of their districts every three months, and 10
report thereon to the Minister. The commit
tee of management of the savings banks are
on their side bound TO furnish annually to the
Project of the department, detached state
ment of Their annual operations. 1T results
from the outline we have given that the great
feature of the French savings bank system Is
government supervision, added to municipal
responsibility. AS municipalities in France
are gulltlcss of the sin of reputation, the re-
sponsibiity is real one. Let us now see
what part of this admirable system we could
import INTO our own. Municipal response
bility unhappily would not be considered In
the United States as invariably nrst-claSS
guarantee, and we could not do away with in.
Idiyidual initiative, to which, with all its short.
comings, our country owes its prosperity. We
could, however, adopt the French plan of
stringent government control. Were our saw
Ings banks as carefully lcgislatcd for and su-
pervised by government officers as our nation
al banks, the risks to which American deposl-
tors are at present subjected would he mucn
reduced. 1t must not, however, be supposed
that French depositors have never trembled
for their balances; they have passed through
two crisis but have come ont unsch,hcd. Inc
first was in 1913, when the French government
Of the day forced the savings banks into liqui-
dation, and turned all savings bank funds INTO
rentes in the name of the holders. The sec
ond crises was during the Franco German war
when depositors were forbidden to withdraw
from the banks any sums exceeding 5otr per
month This, of course, created great lncon-
venlence, as a year before the war the deposits
in all French savings banks aggregated Gio,-
600 OOOfr., held by nearly two millions of de
positors. Still, us no money was really lost
by French depositors IN savings banks, depos-
itors had no real ground for complaint, and 1t
may be said that the system is truly admlra.
BILE which, despite of internal revolution and
foreign war, eflectually guaranteed the savings
of the poor. French governments and French
people may have faults, but the thrift OF indi-
viduals and the financial probity of their rul-
ers form great and noble national character
istlc.-IHe 1mericaH RegiSter, Paris, France.