The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-03-18

nJISu PCSTALSANINGS BANK
page Discusses the Postal Savings
Rank--- Municipal Affairs---Western
~ orth Carolina as II Health Resort.
& Especial Cor STATE CHRoNICLE
sssN sW YORK. March l5-The project to
li!>h postal savings banks is a thing
1E orth thinking about and making up our
nds about in North Carolina; and Of
ding ont what the people think about it.
II i, an axiom of course that savings
i ks are the best possible promoters Of
lift The great mass OF the people Of
;ti incomes save little in Il ose parts of
a country where there are no savings
But whenever a man or woman or
II has bank account, the first thing
ONES into mind when spare dime
Il lar comes into the hand is to deposit
y An accumulation of small deposit,
- soon makes a respectable little SUM
81 4 RAINY day. The habit of depositing
1eets the habit of saving. The general
- mcut for savings banks in North Car
3iIt IS not new or an unknown thing IF
oaIr,e and everybody Is agreed upon their
Nlue The preliminary steps that have
t least twice been taken in Raleigh to Sc
M such an institution there are familiar
u your readers.
#iut the question of the Governments
Gtablishing savings banks is another ques-
don The project is to make every post
1Eice-or every money order office-t de
pository of savings. A man may open an
,ccount at the pOstoffice as he would at any
other savings bank. He would get credit
60r every dime and dollar, be insured Of
rnaI rate of interest-say 3 per cent
md for this as well as for the security of
(he principal the United States Govern
ment would be responsible. 1t would be
1bsoIutely safe, Of course. That safety is
(te first great argument in favor of the
1fO cct The second great argument is that
his scheme would make it sure that Il
wings bank should be within everybody's
zach. There is yet no such institution III
Xorth Carolina. There would be several
1ozcn at once upon the cOnsummatOn Of
lis plan. These are the two chief argu
nentS that are used by the friends of the
seoposed scheme, and they have been very
lRcibly presented this past week before a
committee at Washington,
fhietiy by gentlemen from New York.
mother argument they have used is pa
Riotic argument. Every man of whose
wings the Government was the custodian
6DulJ feel keener personal interest in
#On the other hand it has been argued
1eainst the plan, that the Government
oaght not to undertake any business that
q or could be done by private enterprise,
nd hat the business of conducting savings
hanks has been done by private enterprise
Whenever the e has been demand for them.
His argued also that the savings of any
npecial community which are now generally
ingested by savings banks in local securl-
ties and local enterprises would under
6oy ernment management be taken wholly
aWay from the community, and the use of
the money at home would be lost. This
Last argument is fairer to look at than it
prove5 to be after a little pricking. But
II is worth thinking about.
The subject is not a new one, but 1t just
now gives promise of receiving more at
tent0n than it has hitherto received, and
tkere is a chance-how good no one knows
It'll the discussion has gone further-ot
i6 taking definite shape sometime soon
lis one of the things, therefore, that peo
IL who keep up with current discussions
ought to inform themselves about and tC
o1press an opinion on. Open your columns
tn YOUR energetic contributors and see
What is thought of it. Your columns, by
the way, yet have almost monopoly as
avenues of public expression in North Car
DINA What you-the editor-say ma.
b intensely interesting and overwhelm
ingly important; and what your fellow
EDITORS say is of the same nature. But
Il you wish the opinion OF reader-Wha
tie people say IN your columns Is by ;
Iong shot the most interesting reading tina
IT'S into type in current discussion III th
6tate Take that civil service issue of th
GaRoNICLE, for an illustration. All you
Maders know already what you think an'
What | think about it-which IS OF yer,
unch less Importance than we are ilkel
III imagine. So, too, the readers of tn
ptland Neck Democrat and the Whining
tn star know what the editors of thos
popers think about (which, | am free t.
confess is of the greatest Importance. Blu
lis only from the CHRONICLE that ca
ind out what 100 representative men i
INHERENT parts of the State think abou
it-men who think and are ready, be
canse it is part of every thinking man
dutv, to say what they think. 1t seems t
rs interesting to great many folks, toe
See that the Boston Herald, the NeN
York Times's Washington correspondent
And other far-otf newspapers and newsps
per men have thought it worth writin
bout.
The municipal government Of New Yor
isa parallel politically to the moral col
dition of things in SodOm and Gomorraf
MOI only are the Aldermen bribable-ths
isthe smallest item in the long list of Co
rupton There is rOttenneSs from top
bcttom The police levy protection
tax on gin mills and evil institutions {
III kinds for the money thus got, the
nd off their hands. That is the startin
noint. The conclusion of the sickenin
tory is that every department of tn
1overnment is in harmony with ever
0fher department to protect one anothe
III evil doing and in getting gain from evi
1oers An Alderman has been shown t
Fl a receiver of stolen goods. The cit
ottorney has not presented him, thong
o4idence of his guilt was plain. This ha]
Rens to be the latest turn that accident
exposure has taken, and it al happel
eecause the good citizens OF New lol
How themselves to be so engrossed Wi
nsiness or pleasure that they do not a
tend to the plain and easy and simple d
ties of citizenship. The different polite
ectlons and parties make their trad
II every election time and thieves of OF
Pltlcal faith form alliance with thlev
W another faith and while men are figh
@g about party differences, the rogues
parties are living in clover.
| have cut the following from the late
nmber of the Sanitarian, a magazi
nbshed to advance the cause of go'
nmblng, good drainage, good ventil
0n-good health in general. 1t is by
Dston physician about Western Nor