The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-05-28


People-An Automatcic. Elastic
Currency Needed-The Presidents
Great Policies for UpIift of Farm
ers and Conserving the Nations
Resources, the Highest Statesman
ship-The People Should Demand
That He Serve Them Again.
washington Post.)
Former Senator Marion Butler was
seen by a Post reporter yesterday
and asked If he did not advocate a
system of postal savings banks when
he was in the Senate, and what he
thought of Senator Carter's bill to
establish such a system.
Yes" he said, Il prepared and
introduced a bill providing for
system of postal savings banks, and
the bill was finally reported favor
ably by the Senate Committee on
Post-offices and Post-roads. and / un-
derstand that Senator Carter's bill
follows the general lines of my bill"
When was that report made?"
my bill was reported in 1899,
and is Senate Report No. 1904, Fifty
fifth Congress, third session. Before
preparing the bill l introduced a res
olution, which was adopted, requir
ing the Secretary of State to COM
municate with diplomatic representa-
tives of our Government in every for
eign country, asking a report on the
nature and operation of systems of
postal savings banks, postal tele-
graphs, telephones, and parcels
posts.
Reports of Foreign Systems.
Exhaustive reports from every
country having such systems were re-
ceived, and my bill was prepared in
the light of the experience of these
countries. The committee report
contains liberal extracts from the re-
ports from these countries"
DO you think the existence of
postal savings banks would be help
full in relieving or preventing a mon
ey stringency?"
"Unquestionably. If the money
that is to-day boarded in stockings
could be brought into circulation,
such a stringency would at once be
re lieved. Until we have a system
of postal savings, there will constant
ly be many millions of dollars hoard
ed, and when the least scare occurs,
then this situation always will be
Aggravated by a greater withdrawal
of money from circulation. But peo-
pie are not afraid of the Govern
ment, and a financial scare would
not cause them to withdraw deposits
from postal savings banks"
Secret of Frances Prosperity.
| when in France last summer,
studied the financial system of thai
country, and especially it's prosper
Gus system of postal savings banks
| There are about five million people
who have deposits in France, and the
average deposit is little more thar
$50. If we had such a system here
we would have more than ten mil
lion depositors, and even if the
average deposit should be only $50
it would make the sum of $50,00O,
1000 I feel safe in saying there il
more money than this large sun
boarded in small amounts in thi
country to-day"
Are there any other reasons il
favor of postal savings banks?"
Yes, even if the establishment o
: postal savings banks would not b.
materially beneficial in preventing o
relieving such stringencies, yet ther
are abundant reasons why such
system should be established in orde
to encourage our people to save an
, teach them the habit of saving. Thi
is what has made the French peopl
the thriftiest on earth. We make a
:. much money as the French people
:. but we do not save, we are a waste
= full people.
r Stringency an Impossibi1ity.
France to-day is the soundes
country financially on the globe, an
its people are generally most pro
lperous. 1t would be impossible fo
f them to have there a financial stril
gency such as we have had here.
81 think Congress should devils
g some plan to provide an elastic fe;
a ture to our currency system that wi
r supply just the amount of addition
currency necessary to handle tt
crops and meet such a financi
: stringency, and one that will aut
20 matically retire the same when Il
;e occasion is passed. But if this shou
not be done, or until it is done,
the Treasury Department had fro
five hundred to one thousand mi
K lions of dollars on deposit in post
it savings banks, which is to-day hoar
j. ed in stockings, it could effective
70 relieve such a situation as we ha
recently gone through, or break al
ls corner in the money market tn
ne would ever arise. If the Cover
ment will only establish postal sa