Omaha daily bee., 1911-07-16


HXATH spondence of The Bee.)-Do you want to
1 wv open an account with Uncle Sam,
banker? You do it at several hun
hSN@ESSE dred places the union. A thousand
RSGNSGSJ or more banks will have been established
by the time this letter is published and
this number will be extended until 1t
the 600 and odd money order postoices throughout
the United States. The postal savings bank bill was
only last congress- and the business started
with 100000 This was to establish forty-eight
banks, each state having one When congress met
again in the spring more banks started. Forty
i've additional operation in April thirty
ak more added in June and from that time
they have gone ahead at the rate of fifty per week.
At the beginning of the year the forty-eght which
first started had taken in only about $75. 900.
but with the banks the deposits have quadrupled
and they will soon amount to million dollars
nore.
Two Billions of Hoarded Treasure.
Indeed, 1t is impossible to prophesy how much
money will come into the postofhces The amount will
into the hundreds of millions 1t do that and
still not affect the banking institutions which
today. The officials of the Treasury department who
keep track of the money in circulation and in the
banks say that there is enormous not
counted for which lies idle either in hiding or In the
pockets of the people. This amount is more than
two thousand million dollars. 1t is enough to give
800 to every familuy in the United States and
enough to buy the Steel trust and leave something
of the aggregate wealth of the nation and If it could
be collected together into pile, 1t would almost
pay the national debt twice over Take 1t out of
hiding and turn it into government bonds and we
should not have to borrow cent from outside ma
TONS and at the same time would have enough sur
plus capital to complete the Panama canal and dig
ditch big enough for the largest steamers from
the Great Lakes to the gulf.
Similar boards have existed in all countries, al
though nowhere to such an extent in We
the richest of the nations. and we have more
loose money than any of the others. Take for in
stance the Hindus where the standard so low that
you can hire for 10 cents a day, and where
many of the people figure how much they will
eat for supper in order to whether they will
have enough left for breakfast. That country is
known TO have hoard in gold or silver or Jewels
hid away under its floors, and since the British gov
eminent has established postal savings banks there
$500 600 have been taken and deposited and
the accounts in the postofhces are almost one mill
lion in number.
Uncle Sans New Banking System.
But how about taking of business like this
Think Of the work OF handling 10000 different
banks. each of which has hundreds of deposit &C
counts!
Think of the deposits and Withdrawals, of calcu.
lang the interest and OF keeping the accounts where
the loss of cent in the balance may set clerk
crazy, as is common in the banks of today!
These some OF the troubles that agtatinl
the other nations which have similar banks and ar,
costing them millions. 1t is in Great Britain wher,
big building at London is devoted to keeping tn,
books. The banks have been in operation there fol
twenty-five years. and the separate are on,
million In number while the total deposits equa
e7s1.ooo,oo0, The cost of the machine is such tina
understand the business is at a loss smilal
books kept in France, Germany and in nearly
every civilized country the face OF the globe.
This of the dnculties which faced Uncle
Sam when he took hold OF the problem. Our posta
savings bank business is bound to be twice large
that Of any other nation and should carry it
the way, Mr.. Theodore L. Weed, the chief cerl
pf the PosOfhce department and the secretary OF tn