The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-02-25
The Postal Savings Bank Craze.

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is one of the planks in the Peoples party
platform, and that party is the modern
pioneer party of government reforms.
Thelpostal savings bank plank found its
way into their platform because, doubt
less, the term has a catching sound and
the subject had not been deeply consid-
cred by its promoters. There are a great
many intelligent, sincere people advocat-
ing the postal savings bank, among them
Senators Butler and Mason and Post
Master General Gary.
Both free silver men and gold standard
people are advocating the establishing of
postal savings banks. So it is plain the
economic status of the postal savings
bank is not we'll understood. But such
banks will not be established while the
present regime remains, not because the
postal savings bank would in any way
impose barrier against the money trust,
or injure it the weight of hair. Such
banks are in existence in all the old lead
ing monarchies of Europe, where the gold
trust regns supreme. The opposition they
will meet with here is that which accounts
any step towards creating any kind of
government fiscal agent, is a possible
menace to the gold trust. The people
might want to go step further by reason
ing, if postal savings bank managed by
the government is good thing for the
poor, why would not government banks
for the use of every body be better
thing? The goldbug trust is afraid
of this question and not of the postal
savings bank Per Sc.
The principle underlying the postal
savings bank is repugnant to just finan-
cial system, if the creation of such banks
could under present economic conditions
be of any real benefit to the masses of
the people, which we claim could not.
The large sums paraded OH paper that
make up the aggregate of postal savings
bank funds do not represent one in
thousand of the laboring class; only those
who are fairly we'll to do. The first and
paramount object of government that
proposes to have any care for the labor
ing class is to devise ways and means by
which they may retain, whether to save
or to spend, very much more of the
wealth they create, rather than to estab-
lish repositories for safely keeping that
which they are robbed Of by force of
unjust monetary laws.
The first duty of the government toward
the toiling, producing class is the crea-
ton of, aud putting in circulation more
money, so that prices may be raised and
the producers of wealth thereby be en-
abied to retain more of it in their hands.
This is what is needed ten thousand times
more than safe places to put the money
they never have and never can have
under present monetary conditions.
At the present time and under present
conditions the talk of postal savings
banks is little else than demagogic clap
trap on the part of politicians, or SEN
timental regard for the poor, void of any
philosophical basis to rest on, of shallow
students of the monetary question.
What is the underlying principle of the
postal savings bank Simply that gov
ernment may collect or receive at its post
offices the nickels and dimes of the wage
earners, or some of them who are the
most favored by circumstances. On these
small sums low rate Of interest is paid
by tie government. In European coun-
tries there is a perpetual government
debt saddled on the people. This govern
ment debt is held by the rich aristocracy
and is perpetual tax on the industrial
class. TIC government by the postal
savings bank makes the mest favored or
most thrifty among the wage earning class
small benefciaries of this perpetual in
terest. while their money is used in defray-
ing the expenses of government, among
which is paying back the depositors lit
tie interest out of their own money. If
they, the poor, as we'll as those in better
circumstances, had justice done them by
government there would be no public
debt to consume their earnings. The
postal savings bank advocates claim that
this participation in the public debt by
benehciaries of it makes them patriotic,
guardians of law and order and of the
State. They would be very much better
guardians of the State and i'll every way
better citizens or "subjects"-as the case
may be--if the load of tax were lifted
from their shoulders and they enjoyed
more of the wealth they produce.
The United States government, or the
genius of it, does not propose to be per-
petual national debt government, and if
it enters into this kind of bank business,
would have to go INFO the stock market
and become party in competing with
the bulls and bears of the street. With
such financial beauties as Eckels, Carlisle.
ct. al.-honest Iagoes, every one of them
the u S. Treasury, like the temple at
Jerusalem, would soon become den of
thieves.
The policy of this government of ours,
or rather the intention of its founders, its
genius, is not to be dabbler in debt and
an interest grabber and payer, but the
gold trust Of Europe, through their agents
in Congress and the White House, are
laboring hard to keep it so, attes laying