Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-05
STAMP SAVINGS BANKS.
A SYSTEM OF SMALL SAVINGS THAT
IS POPULAR IN DETROIT.

m Appeals Especially to Young Children,
but Men and Women Are Also Among
the Stamp Book Depositors-How the
Method Is Conducted-A Boon to Many.
ssThe saving stamps have let us into
an almost new and profitable field OF
business says Edwin F. Mack, cashier
of the Citizens Savings bank. "lt has
increased our business more in eight
months than we were able to do by other
methods in five years. The beauty of
the arrangement is that it reaches class
of people who ordinarily have no busi-
ness with any bank. When it is consid-
cred that we get this new business at the
rate of less than one-half a cent on the
dollar, and that this expense is more than
covered by the actual operation of the
system, we are pretty well pleased.
ssThe cost of the stamps is only one cent
for fifty, the cost of the books is very
small, and the expense of getting the
stamps in the hands of depositors is also
very slight To offset this we have the
use of the money from the time it is re-
ceived for stamps until the stamps are
turned into us as record Of deposit. The
persons buying the stamps let them ac-
cumulate for weeks and even months
before having the amount entered on
their regular bank books. We get in
terest on this money for that time with
out charge, and as this amounts to sew
-eral thousand dollars the profit is quite
an item.
HOW IT WORKS.
ssOf course we are not philanthropists,
but we take much satisfaction in know
ing that the system is inducing large
number of people to save money who
never did before. We have agents in
many of the large factories, and the
young employees after getting their pay
buy few stamps, while otherwise they
would spend every dollar of their wages
They would not come down to the bank
and open up an account with the small
amount. But after they have a little
start with the stamp process they very
frequently come to the bank with a five
dollar or ten dollar deposit. We have
some depositors with hundreds to their
credit who made fifteen and twenty
cent starts. These are the ones that are
liable to be the big customers of the
future, and we are very glad to have
their early trade.
''The corner grocerymen, who are our
agents, tell how the system works. For
instance, a woman goes in with 81 to
buy groceries, and has five, ten or per-
haps twenty-five cents left, which she
invests in stamps. She leaves her book
with the grocer and he cares for the
stamps. The children, if they have no
books Of their own, are instructed to in
vest part of the small change in stamps.
Her husband. instead of spending his
small change for cigars, lends helping
hand by placing few stamps in his
wife's book.
like the merit cards which you and l
used to get at school. Each Sunday we
got little card and when we got dozen
of those we got large card, and so many
of those deserved still larger and more
brightly colored card. The delight of
accumulating these cards you can well
remember. 1t is the same with the chill
dren and these stamps. They hustle
around until they get twenty stamps to
fill a page and are much tickeled when
they can make the first entry in their
handbook.
"We have ninety-fve agents in this
city and agents in Saginaw, Port Huron
and other cities. Of our thousands of
depositors a large per cent. of them are
children, but as many of them brought
their parents with them we are well
pleased"
HIGHER DENOMINATIONS.
"The stamp saving system has proved
to be very good thing for u.s." said E.
G. Bowman, cashier of the Detroit saw
ings bank. "Unlike any other stamp
system of savings, our stamps are of diff
ferent denominations and different
classes of customers are accommodated.
For instance, we have cent, 10 cent, %
cent and so cent stamps, and 81, So, S.
and $40 cards. That is to say, when a
card is filled it has these respective val
nes. Our customers have learned this,
and those who make enough money so
that they frequently can deposit 25 cents
at time do not bother with cent
stamps, which require so much licking
and 'pasting.' We were somewhat sur
prised ourselves to see the popularity of
the larger denominations.
''Of course the working of the system
is pretty well understood. We have 125
agents at present, and the stamps are
placed in their hands. 1t requires sew
eral thousand stamps a day to supply
their demands. The depositors place
the stamps on card, and when this card
is full they get credit on their bank
book. We make the feature incidental
to our banking business, and think it ad-
mirable because it enables us to reach
every class of people who may be induced
to save money. 1t has largely increased
our business, not only by the depositors
who use the device, but the people who
come with them. Fully rs PEI cent. OF
the depositors are children, and, OF
course, their accounts are small but
very frequently their fathers come to
the banks where the children are doing
business"
While the reporter and Mr.. Bowman
were in the basement of the banking
building looking over the record of the
stamp business, the cashier called atten
ton to several wooden cupboards which
he said contained all the saving banl