Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-12-05
u. S. SAVINGS BANK
POSTMASTER GENERAL FAVoSs
THE ESTABLISHMENT.
WOULD ENCOURAGE ECONOMY
Money Deposited in Postal Savings
Bank Would Be Absolutely Safe
and boarding Would Cease.

Washington, ID. c. Postmaster
General Meyer, in his annual report,
made public, urges the establishment
of a postal savings bank. The report:
In order to draw attention to the
enormous expansion and increase in
the business of the postofhce depart
ment, ! desire TO refer TO the year
1857, when the receipts Of the postal
service were SS,O53,952, the eXpendi.
lures sll sos ,05S and the deficit 49,.
454,lO6. Since then the receipts have
nearly doubled every ten years and
the expenditures have increased cor.
respondingly.
In the year 1897 the receipts had
risen to So, 6G5,4G2, the expenditures
to s94.077242. and the deficit to sll,-
4ll.779. Ten years later, June 80,
1907, the receipts for the fiscal year
had doubled, being slS3,5S5 ,005, with
expenditures Of $3.50, 23S, 2sS. The def.
icit. however, had dropped TO $685.
2S2. Consequently. II one may judge
by the figures Of the last fifty years,
every indication points to the proba-
hility Of the postal receipts passing
the s35OO0O OoO mark in 1917.
Would Encourage Economy.
I earnestly recommend the estab.
lishment Of POSTAL savings banks:
First. In order to encourage among
our people economy and thrift.
Second. In order TO afford a place
Of deposit free from any possibility OF
doubt or suspicion for vast sums of
money which might otherwise be
boarded and kept out of circulation
through ignorance or lack of couh.
denCe.
Wherever it may be, this money
has lost its proper functions and the
ceiyes no benefit from it, but even the
prosperity Of the country suffers and
may be eventually destroyed. Money
deposited in postal savings banks
would be absolutely safe, as the gov.
crument would be back Of il.
More than 100000 Of immigrants
landed in this country during the past
ten years. and it has been demonstrat-
ed that in the aggregate immense
sums Of money have been boarded or
sen away by these people, In many
instances II has been found that, for
want Of postal savings banks, money
orders are being bought, payable 70
the purchaser, good for one year.
Sent MfIIiors IN Europe
During the fiscal year ended June
~. 1907, the p~ostofice department
semi to European countries alone in
the form Of money orders SELL.
1884 OF this sum, SIS, 9sG,jl9Gl
went 10 Italy representing 459, 1875
money orders, averaging SAFE eachJ;
SlG.3G3 ,S9l.CG to Austria.H Hungary;
Sll, So, O2S.54 TO Great Britain, and
$7,25O,sj3Gg TO Russia. This money,
while II was accommodating, would
naturally have been placed for safety
in the postal savings banks. In fact
il has been brought 10 my attention
that money Of the immigrants, on &C
count Of its possessors being ignorant
OF our language and suspicious Of ouI
private institutions, is being sent
home in order that 1t may be placed
in the postal savings banks Of theiI
native countries. 1t is believed tina
this would not be the case, in man!
instances, II we had postal saving
banks in the United States.
On deposits made in postal saving.
banks a rate Of interest Of 2 per cen
per annum Is suggested, the deposit
TO be limited to $500 by any n per
ron.