The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-28
Of American Bankers AsSOcia.
tiOn Reports Against Them.
Do NOT NEED THEM.
There Are Also a Number of OBJ
jectiOns Filed.
Would Tend to Centralize the
Nations Capital.

s1onS of the American Bankers asso-
| citation proper. which meets here in
! thirty-ourth annual convention, will
not commence until Wednesday morn
ing, sectional meetings began today.
At 10 o'clock this morning the saw
/ ings bank section of which Lucius
Peter of Chicago is president, met in
| the Brown Palace hotel. This after
noon President August Blum of Chi
| cago called to order in the Brown Pal
ace hotel the clearing house section.
After prayer by Rev. Louis A.
Banks, W. F. Ravenscroft of Denver
| welcomed the delegates to the savings
/ bank section. This was followed by
! the annual address of the president,
! reports of the secretary and commit
| tees and addresses.
One of the most important reports
was that on postal savings banks.
| Open discussion followed this report.
In the clearing house section COM
mittees reported, following which ac-
ton was had on the recommendations
| OF the executive committee. Several
| formal addresses were delivered at this
meetiSg and general discussion had on
suggestion offered in responses to the
call of cities.
Both the savings bank and clearing
house sections elected and installed
new officers before adjourning
/ Usual are opposed IN
| the report of the committee on that
subject, consisting of P. Leroy How
ard, Myron T. Herrick. c. LaRue
Munson, Francis r. Morrison. Chas.
f. Sprague, Lucius letter and Will
liam Hanhart, as secretary.
The report is as follows:
The Report.
To the President and Members of the
Savings Bank Section:
Denver, Sept. 2S, 1908
l. 1t is our opinion that unless i'm
peratiVely demanded by public needs
the functions of the United States gov
ernment should not be extended to the
spheres more properly occupied by
state governments. or by corporate or
individual effort.
.. The savings system of the ma
jority of the states, with the modern
facilities for transacting business BY
mail. are adequate to the needs of the
people, and the safeguarding of their
deposits. 1t is evidenced by the record
of this association that it is the con-
stant endeavor of the banking frater-
nifty to improve these conditions in the
remaining states.
s. Although, in our opinion, no great
detriment will result to the existing
savings bank system from the estab-
lishment of postal savings depositaries,
inasmuch as the present facilities are
superior to any that could be afforded
by the government, or to those of the
countries where postal savings banks
now exist, yet the previous expert
ences of the United States government
in conducting banking institutions, and
notably in connection with the Freed
mems Savings and Trust company, do
not encourage us to believe that the
proposed postal savings system would
be managed more wisely or with better
success than the existing savings IN
stitutions.
l. We think it preferable to educate
the newly arrived foreigner to Ameri-
can methods rather than to accommo-
date our methods to his inexperience.
Point to the Record.
5. We point with pride to the record
of the savings institutions of the Uni
ted States. While the figures for 1907
are not yet available, during the year
1906 the aggregate net loss to deposi-
tors was the trivial sum of 100000, be-
ing three-ten -thousandths of 1 per cent
on a total of three billion five hundred
million dollars in savings deposits,
whereas, the proposed government rate
of per cent would have deprived the
depositors of at least so million dol
lars in interest in the same year.
g. We submit that our savings in
stitutions have performed a great SER
vice throughout the United States in
developing the country. A large pro-
portion of the deposits in these instl-
tutions is invested in first mortgages
all of which investments have greatly
assisted in the upbuilding of the vari-
Gus communities.
Z. we hold that the history of the
financial institutions of the United
states demonstrates that in safety and
in adaptability these institutions are
developing as the country develops,
through a process OF evolution, and
that the record of the past is suffi-
Gent guarantee for the future that our
facilities will SfaodiiU
grow to meet all the requirements of
the country.
The Observations.
s. While we believe the basic OBJ
jections we have urged against pos
tai savings system are unanswerable,
we further submit that the bills now
pending in congress for the creation of
that system should not be enacted into
law, because specifically wrong in the
following particulars. to which many
others could be added.
A. The exemption of deposits from
legal process is vicious, as it would
provide a depository for funds of the
dishonest and the fraudulent, where
they could place their money, draw in
terest on it. and be free from attach
ment, which would prove a serious
menace to the business interests of the
country.
B. In the use made by the govern
nent of the funds coming into it's pos
session though the postal savings de-
poritaries, the provisions of the bills
do not assure a wide and equitable dis
tribution of the funds deposited nor
prevent the Capitalization of the peo-
pies money, which belongs to and
should be retained in their respective
communities.
c. No provision being made for
time notice for Withdrawals, the gov
ernment might at times be seriously
embarrassed, to the great detriment OF
the general business interests of the
people.