The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-07-12
POSTAL SAVINGS
OF WIDE INTEREST
w. E. Cochran, POstOffiCe In
Spector of Denver, Explains
New System.
MEETS DEMANDS OF PUBLIC
NEW LAW PROVIDES MEANS
FOR SMALL DEPOSITS.


Inspector Ia charge of his district de-
livered an address on Postal Savings
/ Banks" at the recent convention OF the
Utah Postmasters association at Og-
den. His discussion follows:
| while savings banks were eafab-
iished little more than a century ago.
/ the first postal savings bank system
was put In operation in England in
/ 1851. Since that time the system has
been Incorporated into the postal serv-
/ ice OF every great nation in the world
| except Germany. and n great many Of
| the smaller nations, the United States
being the last in the field. With ref
erence to Germany, IL should be noted
that the place of the postal savings
| bank is filled by a system OF municipal
banks which render the postal savings
The savings bank system is perhaps
4 more highly developed and more ex-
tensively utilized in the eastern part
/ OF our own country than In any other
/ place in the world. Statistics show
/ that one-half of the entire population
| of the state of Connecticut and one
! third Of the population OF the state of
New York have savings bank accounts,
| so that IL other portions of the coun-
/ try were as well provided with saving
/ facilities there would be no demand,
| and perhaps no iustifica ton for the
| establishment OF postal savings banks.
/ But that there Is such a demand is
| shown by the fact that In the year end
/ ing March 81. 1908 eight million dollars
was paid at first and second class post
| offices alone for United States money
| orders. and this money was not only
| without interest, but cost 80 cents
/ hundred. simply for the purpose of hav-
/ ing the money securely kept Seventy
| live million dollars Is sent out of the
| country annually by means OF interna-
| tiOnal money orders: nineteen millions
/ OF this amount goes to Italy. and while
| a cOnSidera BILE proportion of this money
/ IS RENTED Tor the purpose of paying
/ the passage OF relatives of the remit
/ tiers 10 this country. IL Is known that
ment in the savings banks OF foreign
countries and the use of the money is
thus lost to US.
Movement Forty TenrS ola.
The enactment OF the law to estab-
/ lish postal savings repositories in this
country marks the completion Of a
/ movement that was begun nearly forty
years ago. Postmaster General Creswell
having recommended the adoption OF a
/ system of postal savings banks in 1871
In 1873 the Honorable Horace Maynard
then representative from the state of
Tennessee. introduced the first postal
savings bank bill in Congress. Mr.
Maynard was afterwards postmaster
general. and did not fail to urge in that
capacity the policy which he had at
/ tempted to establish while a member Of
| Congress. Since that time nearly all
the postmasters general have recon-
/ mended in their annual reports that
postal savings banks be established
Postmaster General Meyer. however
was more active i'm this direction than
any Of his predecessors, and Il was
| largely the result OF his efforts that a
/ plank was put into the Republican ma
| tlonal platform In 1908 demanding the
/ establishment OF such a system. The
/ Democratic national platform also gave
/ a qualified Endorsement to this project.
| The present postmaster general in his
/ last annual report says:
! 1t is believed that they would prove
/ here. as they have elsewhere OF ines
/ Unable benefit not only to those who
| directly use them. but also 10 the gen
eral community. including banking in
He says further. That in the four
years Of 1906 to 1909 inclusive. United
/ states postal money orders payable IN
! foreign countries were issued in the
vast sum Of S312775.OoC: that so per
| cent Of this amount was transmitted to
Austria, Great Britain, Hungary Italy.
| Norway and Russia. and that without
doubt IL constituted chiefly the surplus
| earnings Of our newly arrived immi-
grants and foreign born laborers. That
an American postal savings bank would
/ go far to stop this outward tide Of
/ money and keep at home the earnings
/ of our people. both native and foreign
born, there can be no doubt
Urged ny Roosevelt.
'The adoption Of postal savings
| bank system was strongly urged by
President Roosevelt I'm his message to
Congress in 1908. and by President Taft
/ in mis- message In December 1909
President Taft also made the postal
savings bank bill the subject Of a
speech at Milwaukee, Wis. on Deem
Der II. 1903
1T is estimated that about one hill
lion dollars in cash is kept out Of cir
culation by being boarded and that
more than half OF this amount win be
restored to circulation when the pogta1
savings depository system is in sue
ceSsful operation. President Taft in
his Milwaukee speech. already men
toned. states that those savings banks
viii furnish Us five hundred or six hun
dred millions. and that is a very tidy
pile to have around for the govern
ment TO use legitimately in order TO
carry on any financial operations
President Taft. governor Of the Phil
ippines. established a postal savings
system in those islands in 1906 In
1909 there were 1910 accounts. nearly
5000 OF which were opened by Fill
pinOs. But. on the other hand. we
forced into liquidation a system OF pos
tel savings. banks which had been in
successful operation for fourteen years
when the postoffices i'm the territory
Of Hawaii were taken over by our
postoffice department in 1900
The great English statesman. viii
liam 4. Gladstone. in reviewing HIS
record near the close Of his political
career, made this statement twenty
seven years after the British postal
savings banks had been established:
The postoffice savings bank is the
most important institution which has
been created in the last fifty years for
the welfare Of the people and the state.
consider the act Of 1861. which called
the institution into existence, as the
most useful and fruitful of my long
career
Details of system.
"But the convention will probably
be more interested in the details of the
system under which we are to operate
than in any prolonged discussion of the
benefits OF postal savings banks. The
law provides that the system shall be
controlled by a board Of trustees con-
sisting Of the postmaster general, the
secretary. Of the treasury and the at
torney general, who shall make such
regulations for the conduct OF the
business, and establish the repositories
at such postoffices as they may desig
nate. IL provides that a savings ac-
count may be opened by any person of
the age OF 10 years or over. but that
at least 81 must be deposited 10 open
the account. In order that smaller
amounts may be accumulated for de-
post. a postal savings card to cost 10