The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-01
SAVINGS BANh .EIGLREs;
Those In France, Germany and
spuin Compared with Our own.

Those In France, Germany and
Spmin Compared with Our Own.
From the New York Sun.
A paragraph has been travelling about
to the effect that more than one-haf OF
the depositors in savings banks in France
are women, and that with 1000 such saw
ings banks in the French republic, hav-
ing on deposit $70O, 00O, 900, Ii has been found
necessary or desirable to reduce the max
imum amount of each deposition from $500
10 $500. There are more than 100000 de-
nositors in French savings banks; that is,
more than 100000 individual depositors,
for the total number of open saving bank
accounts is nearly 100000, but the as
sumption that a majority of the French
depositors are women is misleading, the
mistake arising from the fact that In most
French households 1t is the custom Of the
wife, rather than the husband, to superin-
tend what would be called in the United
States 1.-THE family savings bank account.
The custom is quite general in France.
as in Germany, where there are 5OO,OOJ
savings bank depostors, and where the
total deposits exceed $500 100000, to put
aside each week a sum ostensibly taken
from the household expenses, for what is
called in Germany der regentag." To
this custom is due the mistake into which
many persons have fallen of supposins
that there are SO many female depostors
in saving banks in these two countries,
which collectively have on deposit about
three-fifths as much money as the saw
ings banks of the United States.
There are in this country more than ] 600
savings banks the number OF deposItors
being in excess of 100000 and the total
sum on deposit in excess of $1,000 10000
nearly $500 a depositor on the average, the
highest being in California and the lowest
in North Carolina. New York state has
the largest number Of depositors, and
Massachusetts comes next. The total
amount on deposit in this state Is Tl5O0,-
0O0 of which $40O0000 900 is In the county
OF New York, Sis 100000 in Kings and $f0,
900 GOO in Westchester. Great Britain has
total deposits in her savings banks Of
about s550OOO,0OO. of which about $500. Co.,,
900 is in the savings banks of England
and Wales -
A contrary opinion prevails extensively,
but it is nevertheless fact there thai
there Is very much more money on deposit
in the savings banks Of Ireland than or
Scotland. During the past two years the
increase of deposits in the Irish savings
banks has been very marked, Austria
Hungary, Italy and Scandinavian countries
have all of them large savings bank de-
posits, and Switzerland has proportionate-
~ larger NUMBER OF savings BANK de-
positors than any European country, there
being ! 500, 900 in a country the total pop
ulation OF which was found by the lasi
census (June, 1890 10 be 29s6s4S In
other words, the number Of bank accounts
in Switzerland is more than 10 per cent.
of the number of inhabitants. and in a
like ratio In this country, there would be
$4,000, 900 instead of 5000 900. ,r.s.
In respect to savings bank deposits, as
IN most other particulars in which there
il emulation between the Inhabitants of
the various nations Spain lags far behind
with actually less money ia all sayings
banks Of The country than are TO be found
in one American state-Yermont. In all
considerations Of savings bank figures II
is well for the intelligent observer TO. re-
call that where, as Is the case in France
recently the maximum deposit Is limited.
the number OF separate accounts increases,
and, where there is no such limitation, the
number of such accounts is corresponding
ly reduced. New York savings banks fix
generally a figure beyond which an &C
count. except for interest, Is not permit
ted to go, and the rate Of interest paid
as all depositors know. Is less on large
amounts than on small ones