Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-10-06
GERMANY's SAVINGS BANKS.

w lllidu II. SulIiS WHITES lTOu DGTliD
to the Chicago Record that in Germany
the savings bank system is managed by
| the municipal government, instead of
the national authorities, as in England,
France. Belgium. Italy and other Euro
pean countries. The system dates back
for nearly century and. with the ex-
! ception of some unlmportant details, is
uniform throughout the empire. Ger
man thrift is proverbial. There are
no other people in the world who can
do without luxuries and things that
they DO not actually need with so great
degree of contentment. From the
cradle the children are taught economy.
| 1t is as much a matter of education as
the children are instructed to gather
during their play hours and on their
way to and from their homes all such
apparently valueless objects as old bot
! ties, tin cans. refuse metals, ETC., which
are sold to the junkshops and the pro-
ceeds deposited to the credit of the
child in the nearest savings bank. The
same spirit that inspires this economy
has caused the number of depositors in
the savings banks of the empire to ex-
coed the number of households. 1t is
often the case that every child and ev-
cry servant in the family has an ac-
count at the bank, which, when it
amounts to Il certain sum, is withdrawn
for permanent Investment.
The usual rate of interest paid by the
municipal savings banks in Germany
is per cent and, although their man
agement is intrusted to the municipal
authorities, the banking inspectors of
the general governments exercise sup.
ervisiOn over them. There is usually IA
general office, with director i'm chief
at the city hall, whose principal duty is
to receive remittanceS from branch of
fees that are established in every ward
These funds he invests in government
bonds or In securities of equal value.
The latitude of investment is much
greater than is allowed the postal say
ings bank authorities in England and
France. The funds may be invested in
gilt lodged real estate mortgages and
even in the erection Of buildings, but
before this is done the proposition must
be submitted to the committee of the
common council which has jurisdiction
over the savings banks. This commit
tee, which is composed of practical fin
ancierS, bankers, merchants and manu-
facturers and men who are in the hab-
it of handling money, acts as sort of
board of directors for the system.
In Berlin there are 80 branch offices
with 4S3 600 depositors ont of popula-
ton of 100000 and The total deposits
| are little more than $40, 900 900. In
Dresden the savings banks show a still
larger utility in proportion to the popu-
latiOn. In some of the other cities the
proportion is much larger. In the town
of AK la Chapelle, for example, with
only Tic, 4S9 population, there ave over
LOG, 600 depositOrs, with credits of more
than $50, 900 600. In Altoona, a city of
49, 900 people, there are over $780, 600 de-
posltors, with nearly $20,000,000 to
| tnelI CI0UlG.
This illustrates the extent and the
! value of the service; but there is great
deal of complaint from the agrarians
that no provision is made by the gov
eminent for receiving the saving OF the
farming population and an agitation
has been going on for some years in
favor of a transfer of the municipal
system to the postal authorities and
the adoption of something like the
French system. The Kolnische lei
tung of a recent date contained an in
! terestlng article on this subject in
which the advantage Of such transfer
was set forth at length and the necessi-
ty of making provision for the farmers
as well the mechanics in the cities and
the larger towns was demonstrated in
forcible language.
1t cannot be Denied the writer
says, that hundreds of thousands of
people in the empire would gladly lay
| by part of their wages every month if
they were not prevented by insufficient
opportunities. An imperial postal
b! sayings system would be of the great
est advantage, particularly to the agri-
cultural classes, for there is a postoffice
within convenient reach of every farm
er, the postal system is everywhere
trusted, and would not only furnish a
convenient opportunity for deposits but
an easy method of payment
The late Emperor Frederick was a
great believer in the postal savings
bank system and had he lived it is prob
able that it would have been adopted in
Germany long ago.
The Populist candidates and the
| ;c.A I. Il