The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-10

ment OF Justice. All three OF these
men have been lawyers In their time.
The treasurer OF the board Is Lee
McClung. OF Tennessee. who was as
sistant freight traffic manager Of the
Southern Railway when made treas
urer Of Yale University five years ago.
President Taft appointed him Treas
urer of the United States as successor
of the late Charles Treat. AS treasurer
OF the new postal banking board he
will keep on hand as reserve, 5 per
cent. of the postal savings deposits.
The board must require OF the banks
intrusted with the remainder Of this
fund some security supported by tho
taxing power necessary to insure
prompt payment of the deposits on de-
mand. The board must always have
SIS percent. OF the postal savings funds
in the banks as a working balance.
but can withdraw 80 per cent, for In
vestment in United States bonds
Converting Savings Into Bonds.
A scheme by which small depositors
in the postal banks may. within this
margin. convert their savings into
2 1-2 per cent. government bonds of
$40. $40, $50. $50 and 500. as we'll as
multlples OF $500, is provided. BY such
small beginnings hundreds of thou
sands of our people. old and young.
in town and country. Will learn to
transact business with tho postal
banks as easily as they now deal at
the neighbortng stores. and these pos
tai banks will be a constant invitation
to accumulate savings and cultivate
habits Of thrift. Having thus con-
tracted the banking habit and having
accumulated more and more. they will
learn Of the greater returns which the
outside banking concerns will offer
them. Thus the postal savings banks
will become feeders to the other bank
ing Institutions. That has been the eI,
perience in Europe where the orig
inal depositors in postal banks at first
distrust the private banks. but soon
lose this distrust after learning from
the postal banks how banking is really
| carried on.
VIII Bring out MILLIONS Hoarded.
| The postal banks are expected to
! bring out millions now boarded by this
| element which distrusts banks. Three
| billions of dollars are In the United
| states to-day, but only one billion OF
| this vast sum is In the banks. The
other two milllon--an average OF s22
i per person-is In the pockets of the
I people or in various hiding places,
I. such as in stockings, boots or books;
behind picture frames. under carpets
| and floors, Or 10 secret puTldl pAdceS.
Many people lock their money away
, in safe deposit vaults rather than In
trust 1t to the banks, and over $s-
100000 year Is being invested In
postal money orders. for which fees
must be paid rather than being placed
A in banks, which pay interest All OF
the money orders included iii the estl-
mate are bought purely for saving
purposes. "A million and a quarter has
Il thus been invested In the Panama
Canal Zone since we have been AZ
4 work down there. Americans livine
near our northern border have beer
4 patronizing the Canadiai postal bank:
u because their own country depr!veG
them of such conveniences, and sew
eral European nations advertise the1
postal banks In this country. In orde
= to attract deposits of American money
In four years our country has bee.
. drained of ss13,O00.o00. sent abroa
in money orders alone by Immigrant
distrustlng our private banks. Mos
, OF the money viii hereafter remain 4
this country
We have been slow In adopting tn
postal bank scheme. which was tn
n invention of Charles w, Skies, booK
keeper in a Yorkshire bank, Englan
III Sh!a In aAa Re