The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-28
POSTAL SAVINGS TO DATE.

doubtedly safe place would he furnished
by 1t for the savings deposits in small
amounts of lsboring men, has been so
ments that it now appears to be eX.
clusively bonding proposition for the
| United States-a scheme 10 keep the
! Government forever in debt without the
remotest possibility of ever paying up
its obligations. Not only so, but as
finally framed up this so.called savings
proposition will compel the Government
to pay constantly higher rate of in.
terest on it's bonds than ii has been
doing for good many years.
The Government agrees to paw to the
postal savings depositors per cent on
their savings deposits. This was on the
theory that the Government could take
The money and lend it TO the banks at
small advance of interest so as to cover
the cost of handling the deposits. If
the Government should lend 10 the
banks at, say 2H per cent or 2la per
cent per annum, 1t worlt make Itself
whole in the transaction But the in.
congruity of Congress saving To the
small depostor that it was not safe
TO deposit in the banks while at the
same time it is contemplating the same
thing, was manifest, and so the PROPOSE.
tion was sprung that the Government
should keep the money and issue bonds
on it at a rate of 2H to 2l9 per cent
interest. In this way the Government
would be tied up in debt in perpetuity,
and would he obliged to pay greater in
terest on its obligations than hereto.
fore
The House Committee on Postoffices
and Postroads appears, however, to
have agreed upon sort of double
barrclcd proposition. First, the Govern
ment will take the money of the depos-
itors and put it in the banks of the vi
cinity in which the money is received,
these banks to pay interest on tho same
at not less than pa per cent; then
the trustees must withdraw per cent
of the total deposits to be held as a
reserve in the custody of the Treasurer
of the United States. OF the remain
ing % per cent of the deposits, the
trustees may at any time withdraw half
for investment in the bonds or other Sc
curities Of the United States, leaving
Az per cent on deposit in the banks
for n working balance, and also a fund
which may be withdrawn by direction
of the President for investment in
bonds or other securities of the United
States, when, in his judgment the in
terest of the United States so require.
That is one proposition. 1t allows
unless otherwise directed by the Presi-
dent-47I2 per cent of the deposits TO
remain in the banks, per cent to be
withdrawn in the custody OF the ma
tional treasurer, and Az per cent TO
be invested in the first place in United
States bonds. This is clearly an i'm
provement upon the Senate bill which
required all the deposits to be invested
in United States bonds
A new feature reported by the House
Committee is that the savings depos-
itors may at their. own volition transfer
their deposits and take in place of their
deposit checks, bonds Of the United
States in denominations of $24 or mul-
tiples thereof or 500 or multiples
thereof, bearing interest at 21a per
cent. These bonds may be issued to
refund outstanding bonds subject to
call, or ''for the purpose of replenish-
ing the treasury, In which case the is
sue of bonds under authority of this
act shall be in lieu of like amount
of bonds issuable under authority of
law other than that contained in this
act These bonds also to be avail
able to take up postal savings funds by
the trustees Of the system.
Under both these propositions the
United States would be shut ont from
issuing 2 per cent bonds as heretofore.
The smallest rate contemplated in this
law is bonds at "a per cent, and the
exchangeable bonds Will draw inter
est at 2la per cent. The. purpose of
the latter evidently is to induce the
depositors to transmute their savings
into Government bonds Undoubt.
edly these schemes introduce new
complications into Government loans
and entirely pervert the origi-
nal idea of postal savings
bank system. There is no ques-
tion but that savings bank system
which would take this sort of turn
would be adverse to public policy and
oppressive TO the interests OF the tax
payers. 1t has been the pride of the
United States that it was able to float
per cent bonds while no other nation
in the world could do it. But now
Congress is asked In this bill to make
it impossible for ever more to float
Government issue of bonds at less than
PA per cent theoretically, or practically
21a per cent. 1t is needless to say that
this sort of proposition gives weapon
to the opponents of the original postal
bill which is as effective as it was un-