The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-21
GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANKS.
A Workman Asks Why They Should
Not he Established.

To the Editor Of the Globe
Dear Sir: The recent failures of so many
Of The banks of this city and Minneapolis,
and the distress and hardship suffered by
the poor people who had all their savings
deposited in them. have induced many Of
our people to ask themselves and their neigh
borS the question, why couldn't the people Of
the United States have government savings
banks as they have in England and Canada?
No one appears to be able to give a salts
factory answer to this question. and | would
respectfully ask the G | o e, for whose opn-
ions on financial matters | have great re-
spect, If you can give good substantial rea-
son why the poor people of the country can
not have the privilege Of depositing their
small hoardings in government savings banks.
The only sure road to prosperity and wealth
is formed by saving a portion Of our income
however small and laying it by to be used
some time in The future either to invest in
some profitable business or to insure us
against want when we are no longer able to
earn. 1t is folly to expect the people to save
unless they have absolute confidence in the
banks in which they place their deposits.
This they can never have under our present
system.
The government savings banks Of Canada
are so simple and yet so satisfactory that it
is beyond the comprehension of every honest
man who IS unacquainted with the expedients
Of politicians why such a system could not
be established and produce like satisfactory
results here The Canadian savings banks re-
ceive any amount the depositor may wish to
pay in, but do not pay interest on any sum in
excess Of $500. They do no banking business
outside of receiving deposits and providing
for Withdrawals. The money, when received
from depositors, is turned over to chartered
banks and goes into circulation again as it
may be required in the ordinary channels Of
business. The government thus stands be-
tween the poor people and the dishonest and
incompetent banker. This system has pro-
duced excellent results The people are tn-
duced to save, for they know that il they de-
post small amount in the government saw
ings bank they can go back at any time in
the future with the absolute certainty that
they can get it back with its accrued inter
est.
1t will, Of course. be argued that the condi-
tons existing in this country and IN Canada
are different; that Canada is a borrowing
country and the United States is not. This
IS true to a certain extent, but it is also true
that the. United States has a public debt Of
nearly 81 COO 0G0, Geo. Would it not be much
better to owe this money to our own people
and pay them interest on 1t than to pay it,
do now. to foreign creditors? England
has public debt as large. or larger, than the
debt of the United States, but am not aware
that they owe dollar Of it outside Of their
own country.
One great advantage which would be sure
to follow the establishment Of government
savings banks Is that the safety deposit
vault, the old stocking and the cracked tea
pot would be dispensed with as repositories
for the surplus earnings of the people. There
is no cause which contributed so much to the
financial depression of the past few years as
the fact that the timid and cautious among
us have been boarding their money and thus
limiting to a great extent the available work
ing capital Of the country. l am sure / am
quite within bounds when I venture the as
sertion that at the present moment there
must be at least $780, COO 600 Of the currency
Of the country boarded away and Withdrawn
from circulation. To decoy this capital from
its hiding place 1t is only necessary TO estab-
ltsh banks of deposit whose credit would be
as good as the credit Of the United States.
If measure of this kind were enacted into
law 1t would do more to establish that con-
fidence, which Is the life blood of all COM
merce, than all the schemes for monetary
commissions either national or international,
which can be Matched by The politicians for
the next decade. This, at least, is the way
the situation appears to
A Workingman.