The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-12-25
ADVERTISING UNCLAIMED DE-
POsITs.

mirably combining business and benevo-
lence. They were primarily designed
for the poor; to provide place where
the small earnings of the working peo-
pie could be deposited securely, giving
them a moderate return for the use of
their money. Aside from the patrons,
only the active working force engaged in
the administration of the funds and
books of the bank are supposed to de-
rive any benefit, and they simplyfair
remuneration for services rendered. The
directors receive no pay, and are pre-
sumably animated by philosophical
ness-a willingness to sacrifice some
thing to promote the well-being of the
community. The trust is sacred, repre-
sentative of the struggle and self-denial
of toilers, and only peculiarly atrocious
william identifies himself with savings
bank to enrich himself to it's detriment
by specializing with or manipulating it's
funds, or by any other form of dis
honesty. Robbery is robbery, but to rob
the poor attaches the stigma of deeper
guilt to the crime.
Unclaimed deposits folm feature of
savings bank enterprise to which it is
desirable to direct attention. Their Gus
tomary retention by banks without any
reasonable effort to identify real owners
or their heirs we hold to be censurable.
A variety of reasons can be conjectuIed
why depositor prefers to keep his ac-
count at bank secret; but whether or
not his preference in this particular is
justifiable, the bank has no moral right
to retain his money after a lapse of years,
particularly when little diligence
would establish the fact of his death.
The directorate naturally and properly
feels pride in the prosperity of bank,
and rejoices in splendid showing of
surplus and deposits. But no injus tice
should be done any depositor in improv-
ing the reputation of bank. Its record
should be unassailable.
In order that the purpose limited at
can be accomplished we would impose
no expensive and burdensome duties
upon bank; that would be objection
able. The injustice, this word is scarcely
too severe, can be largely remidied by a
statute requiring the publication at
stated periods of the names of deposit
tors and amounts of their accounts
where no deposit has been made, money
drawn or book presented for say ten
years. This would be the easiest and
most effective way of imparting informa-
ton of great value to the rightful owners
of unclaimed deposits.
This idea is not altogether unfamiliar
to the public. 1t has been tried success
fully in Massachusetts,. The legislature
of 1887 enacted law providing that
within fifteen days of the last business
day of October, 1887, and every fifth
year thereafter, the treasurer of every
savings bank should return to the COM
missioners of savings banks a sworn
statement containing the name, the
amount standing to his credit and the
last place of residence of every deposit
tor who shall not have made deposit
therein or withdrawn therefrom any
part of his deposit, or any part of the In
tsrest thereon, for period of more than
twenty years next preceding" Provis-
ion was also made for the publication of
amounts exceeding $25 in the newspa-
pers nearest to the town or city in which
the bank was located. The only amend
ment we would suggest is that ten years
be substituted for twenty. A decade is
long enough to let deposit lie dormant
without giving it any attention. That
such a statute would be the means of di-
recting great deal of money into the
hands of its legitimate owners who are
ignorant of their rights is highly PRADA
BILE. 1t is well to note the operations of
this law in Massachusetts,, which we are
enabled to do through the investigation
of Boston Herald reporter. He sum-
marizes the result as follows:
Answers were returned from the ia
savings banks and institutions in the
State, and the result was printed in a
supplementary report of the commits
,sioners that appeared in 1888.
They found that 104 of the institutions
said they had no such deposits, but that
the SO remaining reported 1.727 I'M
claimed accounts, aggregating the hand
some total of s619, 935.49. Further, the
publication pricked up good many
rusty and sometimes rustic memories
and within sixty days 1886 books of de
post, aggregating $122, S64.52, nearly
one-fifth Of the whole, both in number
and amount, were presented for entry
A further reduction of 20 deposits
amounting to $50, 2O6.37, to the credit Of
Judges of the Probate Courts, cut the
total down to ,465 deposits, aggregatinl
$466, $4,000.
Just what the result has been since
the first two months isn't known, anC
the exact figures will not be officially
stated until October, 1892, when the mex
list of depositors is published according
to law.
Still there is some public curiosity tC
know how many depositors have beer
found in the last three years, anC
whether the total in 1892 is likely to b.
greater than in 1887.
The Provident Institution for Savings