The St. Johns herald., 1898-03-05
THRIFT IN GERMANY.
Savings Bank System in the Father.
 land.

land.
 In Germany the savings bank system
 Is managed by the municipal govern
 ments, instead of the national authori-
 ties, as in England, France, Belgium,
 Italy and other European countries.
 The system dates back for nearly a century, and, with the exception of some unimportant details, is uniform
 throughout the empire. German thrift
 IS proTerbial. There are no other peo-
 pie in the world who can do without
 luxurics and things that they do not
 actually need with so great a degree of l contentment. From the cradle the children are taught economy. It is as
 much a matter of education as the catechism. In some of the schools the | children are instructed to gather dur
 ing their play hours, and on their way to and from their homes, all such ap- parently valueless objects as old bottles, | tin cans, refuse metals, etc., which are sold to the junkshops and the proceeds 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 exceed
 the number of households. It Is often l the case that every child and every 1 servant in a family has his own ac- count at the bank, which, when 1t
 amounts to a certain sum, is with l drawn for permanent investment.
 The usual rate of interest paid by the
 municipal savings banks in Germany
 is 3 per cent, and, although their man. ageme is intrusted to the municipali- | ties, the banking inspectors of the gen.
 eral government exercise a supervision
 over them. There is usually a general
 office, with a director in chief at the
 city hall, whose principal duty Is to re- celve remittances from branch offices
 that gre 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
 g1lt-edged 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 financiers, bankers, merchants and manufacturers and men who are in the habit of handling money, acts as a sort of board of directors for the system.
 In Berlin there are seventy-nine branch offices, with 4S3,000 depositors out of population of 1,SOO,O0O, and the total deposits are little more than $4O,000,O00. In Dresden the savings banks show still larger utility in pro- portion to the population. Although the number of people in Dresden is only about One-ffth as many as in Berlin, there are half as many depoSitors in the savings banks, and the deposits exceed $22,000,000. In some of the other cities the proportion is much larger. In the town of Aix-la- -Chapelle, for example, with only 110,4S9 popu- lation, there are over 106,000 depOsi- tors, with credits of more than $20,- 100000. In Altoona, a city of 149, 9,000 people, there are over 13O,OOO depos- itors, with nearly $2O,OOO,OOO to their credit
 The late Emperor Frederick was a great believer in the postal savings banks system, and if he had lived it Is probable that 1t would have been adopted in Germany long ago.
 In addition to the municipal savings institutions, there has been a system of private associations, known as the Eberfeld banks, in Southern Germany, for the last Seventy-five or eighty years, which are managed on a plan very much like that of ordinary say ings institutions in the United States, with some Improvements. They are under the supervision of the govern ment, and are inspected from time to time by public officials. There is gen. erally a central office, at which de- positS are received and checks are paid, | and branch offices at various con- venient locations for reception of de- posits alone. The amount of deposits is limited by law to 5000 marks. The 1 rate of interest is fixed annually on January 1 by the board of directors, and formal advertisement is made of | that fact in the newspapers. At pres ent 1t is per cent. Under the rules of the bank not more than 200 marks can be checked out on any one day, four weeks notice must be given for the of 1000 marks and under, and six months notice of larger sums, the board of directors can suspend this rule, at their discretion.
 The first bank of this kind was es- tablished in Frankfort in 1883, and during the first year there were 294 1epositors, with credits amounting to S6,934 marks. At the last report there were 56,691 depositors out of a popula- ton of 229,OO0, with credits amount, ing to 3S,215,697 marks.
 How Do You Walk?
 Obstinacy is indicated by a slow, heavy and fat-footed style of walk ng, while miserliness may be suspect ed from short, nervous and anxious foOtstenS