The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-06-06

NEW PLAN FOR UTILIZING SMALL
SAVINGS OF THE PUBLIC.

To
poslt-Cain Of 1000 Sew Deposltors
Ia Month.
II IS a matter Of record that In no |
eouuuy IN the world are the publie's
cash savings and available capital 80
consistently utilized for the service Of
the money market MS Ia America. 1t |
needed the currcncy-hoardng panic OF
1893 10 snow the American public what |
revolutionary change would be
brought upon our financial system by
a return of the plan of keeping cash
savings In old stockings and IN chin
ney pieces-a practice still prevalent
in many quarters Of the European Con-
tinent The almost universal use Of
checks begins the saving IN the eircu
latlng medium, and a highly developed
clearinghouse system saves, in the pro
portion Of 100 to A. the necessity Cor
cash transfer in settlement Of bank
balances.
Where the check is little used or not
at all, the savings bauk steps in, and by
its offer of three and one-half to four
per cent. for use Of wage-earner's
surplus petty cash, diyerts the circu-
lating medium, to the extent of $500
100000, from the pockets of the citi-
zen to the great money markets. There
still remained, however, a sum enor-
nous IN the aggregate, though divided
into Insignificant portions, which failed
to reach even the dime-sayings insti-
tutions, because its owners were UNI
willing or too careless to undertake
frequent trips to the bank to deposit
it. If they kept it by them. it was
likely to be spent. The securing of this
fund for productive uses has long been
an object Of study with bank managers,
and the interesting problem is now in
a fair way to being solved.
Family banks" so-called, have late
ly been introduced by several of the
large city savings banks. The theory
is that by sufficiently ingenious ar
rangements, petty savings which would
otherwise escape the money market
may be obtained by visits of agents
Of the bank at the house Of the de-
positor 1t was estimated for the Even
ing Post, this week, that from 5000 to
5000 new depositors had been added in
that way in a few months. Its pro.
jectors stated their belief that the plan
represents the best means yet devised
for encouraging thrift among wage
earners. The scheme is very simple,
and consists simply in giving out minia-
ture safes on payment of $3.50 by a
new deposition This represents the
value Of the safe, and is credited imme-
diately to the person opening the ac-
count.
The safes are distributed by means
of a house-to-house canvass, and pass
books issued at the time that the initial
deposit is made. Then a collector who
holds the key calls once a month and
opens the safe, entering the value of it's
contents on the pass-bOok of the de-
positor. The collections range all the
way from fifty cents to $780, and rep
resent perhaps the savings of two or
three members of a family. The chief
advantage of the scheme lies in the
fact that it permits the deposit Of the
smallest amounts, the safes being con
structed in such a way as to prevent
the withdrawal of funds once depos-
tied. Banks that have adopted tie
plan say that depositors thus secured
remain on their books for years and
prove profitable customers. Since sta
tistics show that it costs savings banks
on the average 81 for every new Gus
toner secured, the new plan is eco
nomical, notwithstanding the original
outlay of $4,000 or $4,000 for safes.
Such a system of auxiliary banks is
rapidly gaining favor with trust COM
panies at the West. A person familiar
with their use said: "These little banks
are accomplishing great things. Their
success is based on the theory that a
penny saved is penny made, and the
way they are growing in favor in
dictates that they are filing long-felt
want ] believe that the idea is thor.
oughly legitimate, and adds to the use
fulness Of a savings institution by pro
Yiding for the accumulation of chance
funds. That is what we most need
for the average person never realizes
that laying aside ten cents a day al
four per cent. interest amounts to
$171 in five years That is computed
on the basis CT 3-8 working days.
"Then, too the scheme is available
for all members of a family, and en-
courages young people to save during
the formative years when the habit Of
thrift, once formed, remains generally
through life. If people wait to accu
nulqta S5 ar $40 before maxine q saw