The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-09-13
Savings Banks in the South.

In reviewing the needs of the "New
South" a thoughtful man soon sees
that general system of savings banks
is one Of the most important. The fact
that there are so many new ones now
in operation shows that the prosperity
Of that section is on a solid foundation.
While agriculture, and that Of a special
kind, remained the chief industry, the
scattered population, unframed in hab-
It's of thrift, felt no need of savings
bank; pennies and nickles were de-
spised, and dimes hardly counted worth
Of manufacturing, giving regular week
ly or monthly payments, and with the
increase Of mechanics from the North
and East, came a demand for safe
place of deposit for surplus earnings.
That this demand is being met speaks
well for the sagacity of the men who
are leading the forward movement in
the South, but that very much remains
to be done cannot be doubted by one
who has looked over the field.
The great enterprises ofthe country
at large are carried forward to a con-
siderable extent by the accumulated
savings of the workingmen. If one
doubts this let him go to the savings
banks of this city, with their 10000
depositors and over $4,000, 5000 of de-
posits, and find how many thousands
and millions of dollars have been
loaned to build factories, stores, &C.,
| and how much to railroads to build
| their lines how much TO the city Of
Baltimore for paying streets, laying
water mains, &c. The money
put in savings banks is not withdrawn
from circulation and boarded in their
vaults. On the contrary, it is to a
considerable extent taken out of secret
hiding places and put into circula-
ton for the most useful purposes. The
banks must lend the money out in some
way to earn interest on it, and that it
must be put to the best uses is appar-
ent from the care which must secure
the safety of the principal as we'll as in
terest. 1t is commonly thought that
New England contains the best savings
banks, but in quiet way Baltimore
| has developed some institutions which,
for careful, conservative management,
and attention to the needs of their
constituents, rank with any in the
country. The Savings Bank Of Balti-
more, commonly known as "The Old
Bank being the oldest here, and the
third chartered in the United States,
dating back to 1878, and now having
some 100000 of deposits, deservedly
| stands at the head. Next comes the
Eutaw, then the Central, Metropolitan,
Maryland, German, Provident and
Hopkins Place, all well managed and
doing much good. All except the
Provident are run in one way, with
one place of business open in the mid
die Of the day, all of them practically
in the center of the city.
The Provident has departed radically
from this plan, and the success it has
met with shows the wisdom of their
plan, and the desirability of similar in
stitutions in the South. Hence, we
give some facts of interest regarding its
| working.
Instead of confning its place of busi-
ness to the center of the city, it has; in
addition to its central Office, seven
branches in outlying sections of the
city. Instead of only being open in
the middle of the day, when working
people are confined totheir employment,
its branches are open on Saturday
evenings after weeks work is over and
the weeks wages received. Instead OF
declining to receive deposits less than
one dollar, it provides for all by receiv-
ing as small sum as ten cents or as
large as. any one will offer. To enable
the clerks to receive deposits Of small
sums more rapidly than can be done By
the usual way of writing receipt in a
book, the officers have devised
scheme of stamp deposits, similar in
some respects to the English postal
system. BY this plan cards are given
to small depositors, and adhesive
stamps of 10, Is and 25-cent denomina-
tions, Autographed in wording to form
a receipt from the bank for the amount,
are attached to the card for each deposit.
j When the cards are full the amount
represented by the stamps is entered in
regular pass-book and another card
begun.
A book opened at one branch can be
deposited upon at any other, and drawn
from at the branch where opened, or at
the central office during the week,
when the branch is not open. The &C.
count books, following system Of
their own devising, are unusually we'll
adapted to accurate work. The same
interest is paid as at other banks, un-
der the same rules. In short, there is
no advantage given by any savings
bank that they do not give, and the
conveniences of location and business
hours given by them art peculiarly
their own. That these advantages are
appreciated, the fact of the bank hav-
ing 5000 open accounts in less than
two years from its organization con-
clusively proves. At two of the
branches the business has grown so
large that two nights are required to at
tend to it, Mondays as we'll as Satur-
days and at the one in the south
e / l. fy.oro