The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-04-02
RELOCATE SAVINGS
MEASURE TO TENDER
|hERC|ES OF ENEMIES

4 WASHINGTON. D. c.. April L.
John Wingate Weeks, of the firm of
Hornblower and Weeks; bankers and
brokers, vice-president of the First
National Bank Of Boston and presid-
ent of the Newtonville Trust COM
! pany. is the Cannon-appointed chair
man of the committee on post office
! and post roads, and In such capacity
turned his sympathetic ear" towards
the advocates of the Postal Savings
Banks bill appearing before the COM
mfttee. I'LL. ...>>.. IT
Weeks and his stenographer appar-
emily constituted the necessary quor-
UNI for no other, congressman APP
peared to listen to the testimony Of
fered by legislative committees of the
American Federation of Labor. the
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen,
.Firemen, and the Postal Savings
Bank league. And, as far as the in
terests of the private banks were
concerned, Weeks was amply able to
protect them, sandwiching the evil
dence favorable to postal savings
banks with statements framed to suit
the most corpulent bank president.
my theory u.s." interjected Weeks.
that if such an experiment as postal
savings banks is ever tried it should
be commenced on a very small scale
in order that it may not interfere,
with some great vested interest of:
capital-or labor " ...>:
The chairman twisted his head up-
on fat, bull neck towards the labor
members present, and added, II
merely want to call your attention to
the fact that postal savings banks are
not economical: Tell. he asked,
If the government postal savings
banks should pay but 2 per cent,
what would the. depositors do who
ares now receiving per cent from
private banks?"
The answer of the A. of L. repre-
sentative, Arthur E. Holder, made
clear that high rate of interest is
| of secondary consideration as COM
pared with safety in the eyes of the
working people. 49,.
! Taking another tack the chairman
! propounded this ticklish question:
| What is the A. F: of LIS position
| in regard to the governments going
! into business?'
IT can speak for the machinists,"
answered Holder, "they are absolutely
in favor of the government building
! its own warships."
| Measure Is Proven Popular
| The audience smiled at this parry
and thrust, and Weeks hastily added
another question: =
How much actual consideration
does a convention Of the A. F. of L
really give to such a matter as postal
savings banks?" :"
mot only in its last convention,
but in the four preceding ones, the
American Federation of Labor has
asked for postal savings banks-it is
the most popular measure, with the
people now before congress" con-
cluded Holder: .'>* g. =:
With the air of driving the last
nail into the coffin Of the Postal
Savings Bank bill, Banker Weeks
wound up the hearing with this
statement: '"& ...~-
ut is not economical-workine
people would lose two hundred mill.
ion dollars in interest annually"
The smiles that lit up the faces OF
Weeks listeners, as they were pre-.
pairing to leave the room, told palmer
than words, that they all understood
why the banker legislator was SC
touchingly solicitous in behalf of the
toiling masses of this country. One
of the advocates of postal savings
banks who did not get chance tc
give his views during the hearing
was overheard speaking to his com
panion as they were walking in thu
lobby as follows:
''Working people would lose TIVE
hundred million in interests-losins
2 per cent. Banks would lose ter
billions of dollars annually. All
that's it," -