The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-06-22

~ paragraph mas Deen travelling about to
the effect that more than one-half of the
depositors in savings banks in France are
women. and that with 1000 such savings
banks in the French republic having on de-
posit 800 600. 900, 1t has been found necessary
or desirable to reduce the maximum amount
of each deposltor from $500 to $780, There
are more than 4,000. 600 individual depositors.
for the total number of open savings bank
accounts is nearly 10000 but the assump-
tion that majority of the French deposit
ors are women is misleading, the mistake
arising from the fact that in most French
households 1t is the custom O. the wife
rather than the husband to superintenG
what would be called in the United States
"the family savings bank account"
The custom is quite general in France, as
In Germany, where there are 100000 saw
ings bank depositors and where the total de-
posts exceed $500 900 900, to put aside each
week a sum ostensiby 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 supposing that there are so
many female depositors in savings banks
In these two countries, which collectively
have on deposit about three-fifths as much
money as the savings banks of the United
States.
There are in this country more than 1000
savings banks, the number of depositors
being in excess of 100000, and
the total sum on deposit in ex-
cess OF $1,000 900. oO0-nearly s4CO a de-
position on the average, the highest
being in California and the lowest in North
Carolina. New York state has the larges.
number of depositors, and Massachusetts
comes next. Tho total amount on deposit
in New York state is $7150O0,O0O. of which
$4OO,Oo0O0O is In the county of New York,
S115,OOO.O00 in Kings. and s1O.O0000O in West
chester. Great Britain has total deposits
in her savings banks of about $3.50, 900 900, of
which about $500 900 is IN the savings
banks of England and Wales.
A contrary opinion prevails extensively,
but 1t Is nevertheless fact there that there
Is very much more money on deposit in the
savings banks of Ireland than 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 deposits. and Switzer-
land has proportionately larger number
of savings bank depositors than any Euro
pean country, there being 1000 600 in a coun-
try the total population of which was found
by the last census (June, 1880 to be 1855 SiS.
In other words, the number of bank ac-
counts in Switzerland is more than so per
cent of the number of inhabitants. and in g.
like ratio in this country there would be
360OO,0OO instead of 100000.
In respect to savings bank deposits, as in
most other particulars In which there is
emulation between the inhabitants of the
various nations. Spain lags far behind. with
actually less money in all savings banks of
the country than are to be found in one
American state-Vermont. Tn all considera-
tons of savings bank figures. it is well for
the intelligent observer to recall that where,
as Is the case In France recently. the maxi
mum deposit is limited, the number of sep
arate accounts increases, and. where there
Is no such limitation. the number of such
accounts is correspondingly reduced. New
York savings banks fix generally a figure
beyond which an account, except for inter-
est. IS not permitted to go. and the rate of
interest paid, as all depositors know. is less
on large amounts than ON small ones.