Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1908-10-02
POSTAL SAVINGS BANKS
Machinery Of Congress Aireaoy
Started for Postal Savings
Bank Law.
a Safe and Sane Plan for the Con-
venience Of tho People and the
encouragement Of Thrift

1--WE favor the establishment OF q
postal savings bank system for the con-
venlence of the people and the encour.
agement Of thrift
This Is the declaration Of the Repub-
iican national platform. ana postai say
ings banks will without doubt be atl'
thorized by law and established as
part Of our financial system by inc
action Of Congress at it's coming ses'
sion, which will be convened In Decem-
ber Indeed, much has already been
accomplished towards the enactment OF
this law. At the last session of Con-
gress bill was carefully prepared
which met with the approval or the
Postmaster General. and was reported
upon favorably by the Senate Commlt'
tee on Post Offices and Post ROADS,
This bill Is now on the Senate calendar
and can be acted upon as soon as Con-
gress is convened
The scope of the proposed law Is SET
forth in the committee report. which Is
in part as follows:
Committee Report.
The purpose of this bill Is to place
at the disposal of people Of small
means the machinery of the Postof,ce
Department to aid and encourage them
to save their earnings. The subject OF
postal savings banks or repositories Is
not new in this country and 1t may DC
truly said to be quite familiar to the
people of Europe and the British COLON
les. The propriety of establishing
postal savings banks became the sub
ject Of discussion in England as early
as 1907. Every objection to such use
of the postofiice facilities urged in TINS
country was vigorously pressed IN tne
long-continued discussion of the subject
in England.
For over fifty years private savings
institutions waged bitter opposition 10
the growing sentiment in favor OF postal
savings banks, but notwithstanding
such opposition in 1861 an act OF FAR
lament was passed entitled An act
to grant additional facilities for de-
posting small savings with the security
of the government for the due repay
ment thereof" That the alarm OF prl'
yate institutions was ill founded Is
amply proven by the recorded fact that
the private savings banks Increased
their capital by more than ten millions
of dollars in the first fifteen years fol-
lowing the establishment Of postal say
ings institutions.
That the postal savings institutions
proved SUCCESSFUL is satisfactorily at
tested by the fact that no backward
step has ever been taken in England on
this subject and by the further fact
that in rapid succession the lead OF
England was taken by other countries.
The primary purpose of these inst1'
tutions is to encourage thrift and a
saving disposition among the people or
small means by placing ut their dis
posal in every part of the country
ready facilities for the depositinG OF
small sums with absolute assurance OF
repayment on demand with Il low rate
of interest on a limited aggregate
amount
Postal Savings Banks Needed.
In certain parts OF our country saw
ings institutions are sufficiently numer-
GUS to accommodate the people, but
such areas are quite limited, being con.
fined to New England and New York.
It is alleged that by reason of the num-
Der and location of savings banks there
is one savings account to every two OF
the population of New England, where
as in all the country outside New In
gland and New York the average Is
only one savings account to every 1o7
of the population. Taking such figures
to be approximately correct and recog.
MIXING the fact that the people Of all
sections of this country are pretty
much the same in habits, inclinations
and purposes, it must be obvious to the
| most casual observer that the people
| Of the South, the Middle West, and the
| West do not save their earnings as dc
! those Of New England from the mere
want of secure places in which deposits
may be made.
TO those who feel inclined to believe
that the establishment Of postal say
ings repositories will involve an ele
ment of paternalism it seems quite SUI
| ficient to suggest that the machinery O.
the PostofIice Department is now in ex
! istence and will continue to exist with
out diminution Of expense whethe
\ such repositories are created or no
| and that the establishment Of thes
repositories for the benefit Of tn
pecple will not involve one farthing .
l loss to the Post Office Department, blu
| will probably, Oh the contrary. prov
more than self-sustaining. Very Sigh
computation will clearly demonstrate
that the postal savings depositors Cal
not burden the Post Office Department
with any additional deficiency.
& s' C.-or. puhlicitv Law Zoos