Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-01-12
PENNY SAVINGS SYSTEM
TO BE ESTABLISHED IN BRAT
TLEBoRo PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Movement in Charge of the Educational
Committee of the Woman's Club
How the System Is Carried on ana
What It Has Accomplished.

may be bought with the dollar thal
the penny. The purpose of the system
is thus educational as 1t tries TO snow
that money goes farther when spent II
large than in little sums,
1t is both an attractive and practlca
method of teaching thrift. The system
/ has been in operation IN the puDii'
schools in many towns and cities of TIN
! United States for 20 years, established
usually through the efforts of charitable
organizations or women s clubs whose
| experience has forced upon their atten
ton the fact that lack of wise econ
omy and forethought often brings destl
tuition to people of means as well as II
the chronic poor. All honor to the hon
est, thrifty, self-respeeting people VINO
have solved the problem of living hap
PLY upon small meansl
It is mostly through these people that
we learn what standard ought to be
held up to others who, with the same
means. if not more, have made a CORE
spending failure in life. This marked
contrast between the thrifty and the
thriftless is seen not only among people
of small means but in all ranks OF llfe'
1t is because of this contrast and all 1t
signifies that the savings system has
been undertaken in the public schools,
for if in childhood habits of thrift are
cultivated, when the age of maturity
is reached, the habit of saving and Of
thrift will already have been acquired.
And as "Youth is the sowing end of
the harvest time" let ms work with the
children. Our savings banks are good
and many of our children already have
bank accounts, but the banks do not
reach children or parents who cannot
make permanent savings, whose spare
money is in cents not dollars and whose
self control is in equally small quanti-
ties.
But it the opportunity to save~even
the occasional penny is brought TO this
class they gladly avail themselves of
it. 1t has been observed that the chill
dren of the poorest parents, often par
ents who at one time or another are
helped by the town, are the ones who
spend the greatest number of pennies.
Many of the poor, whether found in
city or country, are the greatest spend
pennies which represent their all are
not enough to get the better things. and
so they spend one, two, five or ten cents
at time on worthless trash. Through
the penny savings system the children
from this class are shown that pennies
may accumulate to dollars if not vast
ed and very often they can save enough
for school clothes and other things that
are worth while The associated chart
ties of Someryille, Mass, say that the
question of shoes for that city has
been almost entirely settled by the
penny savings system.
Many of the parents of these chill
lren are reached by the influence of the
system in the home, and some of them
If their own accord begin to save, 60
ng for the first time to a savings bank
% lay by a little for rainy day.
Wherever the penny savings system has
,een introduced into schools the results
AVE far exceeded expectations, In Bel |
ows Falls last year 2S7 scholars took |
nut deposit cards and the total amount |
# money brought in by them was
66l05 More than half of this |
$393.7S, was put into the saw
ngs banks of that village. In Spring |
ield. Mass, where the system has been |
n operation - or Is years the amount F..
objected last year from the sale of /
lamps was $5,40711 and the bank de-
osits were S3.096.57. In towns and .
tiles where the savings system is used
he cashiers of banks say they issue
ank books in greatly increased num-
ers and that many more adults deposit
han ever before. They attribute the
ntire increase to the influence of the
emmy savings system used in the
chools.
But the good accomplished can not
e made a matter of statistics; the gain
one of character. We cannot begin
20 early to help children to form habits
f thrift and self denial by restraint of
ppetite and self indulgence, teaching
lem that if they go without the use
'ss and often harmful things now in
he future the better things of life may
e theirs in return for the self denial
ley exercise today. The child who is
pending his pennies for cheap candy,
lewing gum or for tobacco in some
,rm is not simply losing his money
nd injuring his health, but acquiring
habit of self indulgence which grows
ronger each year until in later years
hen the will power has become weak
led by these childish indulgences he
easily led astray by the worse attrac-
ons held out to him.
Many children through the system are
imulated to earn money, many learn ,
give up gum, candy, pickles, etc,
I'd boys who from 10 years up have
zen using tobacco stop doing so, while a.,
e older girls give up the cheap iewelry
ID other frivolous things in dress.
One teacher. an earnest advocate of /,
e system, says she sees great i'm
ovement in her children, that number !,
Drk is now interesting and easy, and +
e children are more alert, that boys
ce so stupid they hardly knew enough "
go in out of the rain, as she expresses q
now in the briefest time possible
lrch up to the desk, lay down the ex- n
t change for "two fves and one. - "
Ike their stamps and give place to the a
xt in line. The children are enthusi
tic where the system is tried and the II
,chers always respond heartily to p
ything that promotes the welfare of b
cir pupils, and so will do all in their
wer to make the system success. .
hen the children save their money in i,
IS way it is to be hoped they will be e,
lie and wish to deposit the amount n
part of it in the savings bank but D
~ can do as they wish and it is also e.
'ir privilege to withdraw their money 1c
any time for anything they OF their
rents desire. g,
How the System Is Carried On. U
The Brattleboro Woman S club being "
pressed with the success of the sys. pr
q in other schools in our state and OF
'hing that the subject of thrift and
right use of money might be made a.