Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1908-11-29
Americas. Ga, Nov. 29th, 1905.
POSTAL SAVINGS BANK IN GEOR-
GA.

The Worlds Work publishes an
illustration showing the differences in
the appearance of the map of Geor-
gia when the present savings bank
facilities are considered in COMPARE
son with the accommodations that
viii be provided the saving public
when the postal savings system is
introduced by the Federal govern
ment. In the map showing existing
conditions a few dots are adequate to
tell the story Of the apparently meagre
facilities the people enjoy in this
important respect, while the other
map, with a dot for every postofice,
naturally looks as though Georgia
were as full of savings banks as it
is of cotton fields.
There seems to be no doubt that the
incoming administration is going to
endeavor to redeem its pledge to the
people to give them safety in de-
posits, and convenience in depositing,
through the fundamentally of the
postoffice savings department. This
was the Republican plan in opposi-
ton to the guarantee of deposits Of
fered by Mr.. Bryan. Judge Taft and
his advisers realized that the country
demanded something and they claim
ed that their scheme was immeasura-
bly, superior to the insuring of de-
posits by the establishment of a
guarantee fund
The Worlds Work goes exhaus-
lively into the subject 1t estimates
that hundreds of millions of dollars
withdrawn from circulation and
boarded would become an active fac
tor in the business prosperity of the
land if there were an absolute guar
antee of safety and a greater con-
venience in depositing. In the Sou
thern states the average distance
men have to go to reach any bank
is placed at SO miles, which is prac-
ticaIly prohibitive to large number
Many, of course, are much greater
distances from any bank When the
government converts its thousands of
postoffices into savings institutions
every man, woman and child will be
within comparatively short dis
lance of a guaranteed bank where
some representative of the family goes
once or twice a week for other pur-
poses. The government will limit
deposits to under $500 and pay two
per cent interest. In the cities where
to per cent is paid the postoffice
will hardly do much banking bust
ness except among the extremely cau-
tious who prefer smaller rate Of
interest with absolute safety at
tached.
1t will be interesting to watch the
development of of the postal sGgings
system in this courtny 1t has been
predicted that it will mean a great
shrinkage in the deposits in the old
line savings institutions and in the
regular banks. No one can predict
with accuracy on this score. The
desire to deposit money in a bank
of some sort may be tremendously
stimulated by the government system,
and in the end the existing financial
institutions may find their deposits
increased rather than diminished In
any event the government is not
going to store the savings of the peo-
pie in the vaults at Washington, and
as it is proposed for it to leave the
money on deposit with local banks, at
2 1-2 per cent interest it may be that
that bankers will prefer dealing with
the government, as one depositor, to
dealing with a horde of small deposit
tors as now.
One thing is apt to follow the es-
tablishment of the system, the in
culcation of the saving habit. In New
England where savings banks are in
every town and village, there are de-
posits of billion and a quarter dol
lars, more than in all of the rest of
the Union excluding New York If
it has this effect in the South it can
not come too soon.