The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-09-28
A THRIFTY PEOPLE.
MILLIONS OF MONEY LAID BY FOR A
RAINY DAY.

Tho Saving Mans Dollar. and How He
Houses II in Boston Banks-- watching
the Crowd on Busy Day-Deposits and
Dcpositors-
At the beginning of the year Of grace
1883 there were fifteen savings banks in
Boston, having in charge about S08,000,-
900 belonging to nearly 825, 900 depositors.
Since the first of the year two more saw
ings banks have been established In the
city, so that these figures are under
rather than over the facts at the present
moment. 1t may truly be said that In no
city In the country, or, for that matter.
In the world, are savings banks more
conservatively, honorably and safely con-
Quoted than in Boston. These local banks
have, as a rule, had public confidence, and
their reputation leaves nothing to be de-
sired. An officer in one of the savings
banks informs the writer that the major
portion of the depositors are women.
When asked why this is so he gave it as
his opinion that the women are not so
much given to making Investments" as
the men. They prefer to put their money
In a reputable institution where they
know 1t will be SAFE" and where 1t will
draw certain interest.
Post yourself In q convenient corner at
one Of the leading savings banks ON
busy day and watch the crowd. AS an
opportunity to study humanity this could
hardly be excelled. At the noon hour the
depositors come by dozens, some to leave
money and some to take 1t. Those who
leave the money seem to have the best of
1t, II one may judge by their faces. A
man always draws on his deposit with an
air Of regret, or, at any rate, there are
few cases In which this will not hold
true. At the head Of the line there is q
little old woman who is not at all at her
ease. The line behind presses upon her,
and she does not relish being hurried,
although 1t is evident that she will be
nothing loath to leave the place once she
has completed her transaction. She has
come, 1t appears, with an order from her
son. who has an account here and who is
at home Ill, and she wants $40. But the
order is not properly filed up, and the
teller tries to explain the error and inform
her with as much courtesy and pains as
time will permit, that she must 60 home
and have the mistake rectifed before she
can have the money. This she does not
understand, and you can plainly see that
she entertains her suspicious" Of the
bank. "It's her Jim's money, an she's q
right to it when he tells her to come and
get It," and she half threatens to 'have
the law on the place" If the cashier will
not stand and deliver.
Time is being wasted, and the crowd
becomes inpatient, and, finally, some one
In the line assures the old lady that the
matter will be "all right" If she will
follow the advice of the cashier. So off
Of about 80 or 85, looking quite prosper
GUS, and holding bank book IN which a
number Of bills are snugly reposing.
You can't deposit any more money,
sir, your account Is full" says the re-
ceiver.
mo more money! Why, what do you
mean by that2 Thought banks would
take as much money as you'd give 'em." !"
1--WE are not permitted TO allow any one
to deposit more than 1000, and your &C.
count has already reached that amount. I
find" fHNN'i'A
unjust draw it out thena"
ooh, no; you can allow it to remain un.
til, with interest, it accumulates to the
| though you may let the money remain
here, 1t will draw no more interest"
"Queer business, that" cxclairns the
| prosperous man, who thereupon takes
| himself off.
This may seem queer business" to the
| person who knows nothing of savings
banks, yet 1t may be explained by the
fact that sayings banks were not intended
for well to do people, but for folk of hum
bic means OF course, if you are fortu-
nate enough to have 1000 in one bank,
| you can go to another bank and open an
account, but If the officials have any rea-
son to suspect that you are a man Of
| means they may question you very close
| ly, and, If they are not satisfied with your
replies, they are at liberty to reject your
financial offering altogether.
Here comes mother asking If she will
be permitted to deposit money In her
child's name, although the child Is only
two or three months old. She finds that
she can do SO, and she is delighted.
There are a great many calls at the say.
ings banks for purposes of this sort. Pa
rents, also, frequently deposit small sums
on the anniversaries of their children q
birth, and they allow the money to re-
main In the bank and accumulate until
the children "come of age" Executors
often use these banks to deposit the
funds Of an estate during the two years
the law allows them for settling up af
fairs. Religious and charitable organiza-
tions are exempt from the 81 900 restric-
tton. The average rate Of interest paid
year was 4.06 per cent.
Two lines of people como streaming into
the bank, one line going to the receiving
teller and the other line to the paying
teller. Men, women, boys and girls make
up the crowd. Sometimes, especially OF
Saturdays, whole family will troop into
the place while dad" draws something
for the marketing, or for clothing the
young ones; or perhaps there Is family
celebration of some kind on foot, anc
they all want a share of the spoil. Boyt
are generally very proud when they make
their first deposits, They already begir
to feel like capitalists, and they are gen
orally pretty faithful to their savings.
Clerks, bookkeepers, office boys sales
girls, newsboys. bootblacks. young ex
quisites whose fathers have given then
some pocket money on condition tina
they will put by certain sum ever,
week, mechanics. masons, teamsters
young maids and old ones, old men ant
old women. all or the most of them bear
ing marks of their respective trades O
oallings, and some Of them the tools q
their trades, come into the bank. and fal
In line. 1t is easy enough to distinguish
the habitues, so TO speak. from the ney
comersI the first go about their bushes
In a very matter Of fact fashion, and tn
others fdget. Rsk all sorts of irrelevan
questions. and are often as nervous whe
eigning their names az II they We're sign
ing their own death warrants. The poore
and middling classes most generally pa
tronize the savings banks because th
sums they have on hand are not sufflcien
to warrant them in taking the trouble I
invest in real estate, or In other wayi
There are thousands of widows who's
names are on the bank books, some 9
them treasuring the remnants of insu
ance money, or little dividends, or govern
ment pensions, and others bringing the
weekly earnings.-Beston Herald.