The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-19

postmaster General Gary devotes consid-
cradle space in MS annual report to the adj
vocacy of postal savings banks, and many.
perhaps most, of the newspapers of the
country have fallen in with the idea The
Journal has already expressed it's doubt as
to the wisdom Of the scheme. and. at the
present stage of the discussion, sees no rea-
son to change its views 1t believes postal
savings banks are not demanded by the peo-
pie, are not needed; that the plan would be
found difficult of operation; that it would
cost more than it would be worth either to
the government or the people, and would
probably result in scandals and losses that
would bring discredit on the system and on
the government.
The postmaster general bases his recon-
mendation on the assumption that there is
a large amount of savings in the hands of
people who have little or no confidence in
ordinary securities or in banks and other
monetary institutions organized by private
citizens. He thinks the great bulk of this
money would be deposited in postal savings
banks, and could thus be brought into cir
culation. There is no assurance that he is
right in either supposition. It is by no
means certain that there is a great amount
of money boarded by the people for the
reasons he states. Americans are not
boarding people in the sense that European
peoples are. Those of them who save for
the most part deposit their savings in some
of the many ways provided. Comparatively
few of them distrust banks and all other
monetary institutions. The number of peo-
pie in this country who hide money in CHM
neys, lock 1T up in chests or bury it in the
ground is not great. Those who do these
things are so few that they are the laugh
ing stock of their neighbors. They are not
numerous enough to justify the establish
ment of postal savings banks for their ben
eft. Besides, there is no certainty that they
would patronize the savings bank. man
who distrusts banks and money institutions
of all kinds would be very apt to distrust
the government also, especially when the
visible representative of the government
was some Tom, Dick or Harry recently ap-
pointed postmaster. man who thinks a
chimney or an clubhouse is a safer place for
money than a national or state bank is not
going to deposit it with John Smith simply
because John writes P. NJ. after his name
The main argument offered by the post
master general in favor of the scheme is
that it has succeeded well in other coun-
tries. He cites the fact that in Great Brit
ain 100000 depositors have upwards of
$3.50, $1,000 in savings accumulated during
thirty-five years, and that the system is in
countries. That is no argument in favor of
it's adoption in the United States. The So
cial and financial conditions in this coun-
try are entirely different from those of
Great Britain any European country. 1t
does not at all follow that because postal
savings banks are needed and successful
there that they would be here. No other
country in the world has anything like as
many banks in proportion to its population
as the United States With 1900 national
banks, thousands of state banks and private
banks, about one thousand savings banks
and six thousand building and loan associ-
atoms the people of this country are far
better provided with means of depositing
their savings than any people of Europe.
And they know how to avail themselves of
these means. According to the last annual
report of the controller of the currency,
$3.50 national banks had individual deposits
amounting to 1,66S. 4l35OS. The same report
shows that in 1856 9SS savings banks in
twenty-eight States had 5,O65. 494 depositors
and deposits amounting to $l.s07. 156.277. The
deposits in state and private banks were
much larger while 559S building and loan
associations had 1.745. rs shareholders and
total net assets OF 4ls.s4722S. These figures
do not indicate that any considerable num-
Der of people In the United States have so
little confidence in banks and other none
tary institutions that they put their savings