The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-22

WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. 19.-It is
not well known, perhaps, yet fact new
ertheless. that Uncle Sam is paying a
higher rate of interest to his sailor boys
than on the last bond issue. And hnw
many have an idea to what this interest
amounted the past year? Almost $4,000!
This Interest," per CENTS paid on de-
posits, and only to enlisted men. officers
with straps are excluded. Any soldier,
not retired, may deposit his savings with
any paymaster in sums not less than So.
This he may do at any time, but once
depositing it must remain until expira-
ton Of enlistment. Each deposttor is
furnished a book, in which each deposit,
with the name of deposition, date, place
and amount, in form of certificate, is
entered at time of deposit, and signed
by the payrnaster and company COM
mander. Company commanders are re-
quired to keep a record of every dep Sit
and on same day deposit is made must
report The same 10 the office Of the pay
master general, Washington. The pay
master each month sends to the same Of
flee an abstract of deposits, where COM
PARSONS are made and discrepancies cor
rected.
This privilege of deposiling has p oven
a veritable boon to the soldier boys, for
it not only provides an admirable means
OF security for their surplus money, but
IS profitable. Besides, it encourages them
to save their earnings.
During the past year the record of de-
posting has been remarkable, but it is
1T VII T,o
far from reached For the fiscal year,
ending June 80, over 1000 was deposit
ed by. The troops at Manila alone. This
amount has astounded the war depart
ment Indeed, with the increase of the
amy, this feature of soldiers deposits
has caused the department to open its
eyes in wonder for the great record Of
last year promises to be vastly eclipsad
Expectations for Manila alone run as
high as $i,500000, which will mean 100000
iuterest-and many expect the amount Of
deposits there to reach nearly $2,OO0,00O
One reason for this anticipated increase
is that there are more soldiers of the
depusitng class than last year. That is,
there are more regulars" And even the
new volunteers may almost be included
in the same category, for they realize
that they are in for at least two years,
term of service would be brief conse-
quently had no desire or incentive to de-
post For this reason the deposits were
almost exclusively confined to regulars. y
Therefore, under the new status, 1t is not
difficult to perceive that the amount of
deposits will increase to a great degree.
In some companies over half the mem
bers are now depositing, and it is believed
the fever will spread, at least in the
Philippines and other distant possess
SONS, until in the near future almost
every member will be a depositor. The
benefit of this to the soldier can readily
be seen, but it means a heap of interest
Yet there will hardly be any complaints
on that score.
There IS a new condition of things, how
cTer, which may have a tendency to de-
crease the amount of deposits. Last con-
gress provided for what are known as
ailotments, which enable a soldier to ar
range so that a certain amount Of his
pay each month can be paid to his wife,
or parents or whomsoever he may nomi-
nate. This will prove a great conven-
ience to soldiers, especially those having
dependants at home, and may, as init
mated, lessen the amount of deposits
The records of deposits are kept in the
Office of the paymaster general, and entail
more labor than can be fully realized.
In fact, the limited number of clerks in
charge are literally swamped. Said a
Clerk on this work: You have no idea
TO what extent this feature of soldiers
deposits has grown. Before the late war