The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-04-03
Postoffice Sayings Banks.
BY CONGRESSMAN LOUIS E. McCoMAs, OF
MARYLAND.
copyrighted, lSS6.l

OuI SON NCi HlLlCil0 OuSiIG w dhOlu liiC
poor people of all sections, who may
bring their savings to any one OF the
1855 money order post offices, the fa-
cilities of our postal system and the
security of its vaults. Post Office
saving banks are no novelty. They
are no longer an experiment. Mr..
Whitebread introduced a bill in Par
lament in 1907 to establish them in
Great Britain. Finally in 1861 such
a statute was enacted and on Septem-
Der Is, 1861, three hundred post offices
in the United Kingdom assumed the
functions of sayings banks for the
people and ABS persons deposited sums
averaging one dollar apiece. In 1865
in 7756 repositories there were $685.
707 deposits and the total amount due
depositors was about two hundred
and twenty three million dollars
(944,773,773).
Worldwide EXTENSION OF THE
SYSTEM.
The colonies haye rapidly followed
this successful example, Canada Vic
toria, Queensland, Cape Of Good Hope
New Zealand, New South Wales,
Cape Colony, Mauritius. India, Straits
Settlement, Gibraltar, Tasmania,
West Australia, South Australia and
Jamaica, each have adopted post
Office savings banks. Europe gradu-
ally followed the lead of England.
Belgium in 1870, Italy in 1876, Meth
erlands in 1881, France, Austria and
Hungary in 1888, Sweden and Nor
way in 1884, established the post Office
savings system.
From France, her colonies, Corsica,
Tunis and Alglers have already adOp-
ted it. Finland and Hong Kong, re-
mote from each other, have recently
simultaneously adopted post Office
savings banks, and our republic lags
far behind which has enjoyed the
benefits of postal savings repositories
for eleven years.
While we stand still, Germany,
Russia and Switzerland are about to
establish the postal savings banks,
and the project is being carefully con.
sidered in Portugal, Denmark, the
Argentine Confederation. San Saliva
dor and Hawaii. ...r.s
With all our boasted privileges, a
poor man cannot to-day deposit a
dollar of his savings in the vaults OF
this government, but Belgium boasts
that no one Of her citizens need walk
two leagues to place his earnings in
the safe keeping of his country. Can
ada in 1884 had &C, ,6S2 depOstOrs with
Sl3, ,245, ,552 to their credit, and even at
the antipodes, the seven Australasian
colonies have 365, 1928 depositors with
an average of three and halfpounds
sterling to their credit,
THE SYSTEM IN THIS COUNTRY.
Our Postmasters Generals-CresWell
Jewell, Tyner, Key, Maynard and
James-have urged the establishment
of postal savings repositories. Mr..
Horace Maynard, of Tennessee, in
1873, Mr.. Upton, of Illinois, in 1877
Mr.. Waddell, of North Carolina, in
1878, Mr.. Lacy Of Michigan. in 1880
and the writer in 1aS6. have intro
duced bills for this purpose. In the
47th Congress Mr.. Lacy made IA
vorable report from his committee
That report is convincing and eX'
haustive. Gen. M. La Rue Harri-
son, who has studied this subject fol
years, and is the highest authority
respecting it, has repeatedly urged
its importance.
THE McCOMAS BILL.
The bill now peuding provides tina
money order post offices only can bt
authorized to receive deposits nj
single deposit can be less than ter
cents, nor more than one hundred
dollars. No more than one hundred
dollars can be deposited by one per
sons in thirty days. No person.
deposits can exceed five hundred dol
lars. Money deposited must be i'm
mediately forwarded by the postmas
ter who receives it to some depository
to be invested by the secretary of tn
treasury in interest bearing securitie
issued or guaranteed by the govern
ment, or, as II last resort, approved
state securities. The expenses of tn
system are to be first paid out of tn
business. The account of each de
pOsitor is to be kept at the centra
depository at Washington. The in
terest on all sums, on deposit tW
, months or more, is to he credited no
= exceeding two per centum. All with
drawals are by check under authorit.
, of the postmaster general, who ais
/ certifies deposits. The receiving post
r master furnishes pass books, Adhe
sive ten cent postal stamps, pOsts
, cards whereon to aftix them to tn
IL a. I