The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-14
CHRISTMAS CLUB
VERY SUCCESSFUL
American Trust Will Dis
tribute $4,000 to Members
ARE 1000 ACCOUNTS
One of Few Clubs in South-1914 Club
Begins January and Deposits
Are Expected to In
crease Materially
ARE 1000 ACCOUNTS

Tomorrow the American Trust and
of $4,000 to the members of its Christ
mas club. The Christmas club was
started last April and Assistant Cash
Ter E. B. Crawford said yesterday that
he considered 1t a very marked sue
cess.
After the books of the club were
opened in the spring long lines OF
young folks with small amounts for
deposit were seen from time to time.
Some began by depositing only cents;
others started with 5 cents. others still
with 25 cents. and so on. Yesterday
there were 1000 accounts in the Christ
mas club. A large proportion of the
members increased their deposits ac-
cording to fixed schedule and when the
amount reached S5 the bank paid in
terest.
Each member will receive a check for
the amount due him or her Especially
designed checks will be filled up and
mailed. In the upper left hand cor
ner of the check is beautiful Christ :
mas design-a wreath of holly sur
mounted by bells fastened together
with ribbon. The check reads: "Ameri
can Trust and Savings bank. Christmas
1919, club, Birmingham, Ala December
15. 1918. Pay to the order of -,
s. blank dollars, with best wishes
for Merry Christmas and prosperous
New Year. -------- cashier. For pay
ment of account No -" Some of
the checks Will be for as small an
amount as 5 cents, but large number
of them call for amounts ranging be-
tween s25 and $50.
+. IL. Winship, manager of the Amer
lean Trust savings department, sends
q letter under date of December Is.
to each member. which reads in part as
follows:
"Cur check is inclosed, payable tc
your order, covering the amount due
you from our 1913 Christmas club. Our
Christmas checks, when properly in
dorsed. will be cashed by the stores
throughout the shopping district for
members who wish to make purchases.
and 1t will not be necessary to bring
the checks to the bank in order to re-
ceiye the money Your deposit card
may be kept by you IL you desire.
MANY club members have succeeded
so well that they have more than
they wish to spend for Christmas. This
money is saved up capital that can be
used as the beginning of a larger saw
ings account Placed in a regular saw
ings account and on an American
Trust pass book you can add to ii
weekly, just as in the savings club.
and have the per cent interest cred
tied twice year in July and January.
Deposits are received at any time in
any amount from 81 upward. Metal
home safes for small coin are gladly
&c.. TN do.
itors."
The American Trust Christmas club
for 1914 will begin January and As
sistant Cashier Crawford says that
Judging from the success of the 1913
club organization, which was expert
mental, coupled with the fact that the
1914 club will run practically the ell
tire year. the result this time IL months
hence will strike a very high record
and there will, 1t is believed be a to-
tai club fund for distribution of not
less than 100000.
Christmas clubs in northern bank $
have been extremely popular for some
years past, but the American Trust has
one of the few in the south. A club was
started in Montgomery, but the meni-
bership was small.
"Yes, we are more than pleased with
the success of our first years Christ
mas club experiment" said e. b. Craw-
ford. 'It has come fully up to ex-
pectations. There are two excellent
features of this sort of enterprise. One
is that boys and girls, and even many
adults, accumulate by weekly savings
more Christmas money than they have
ever had before, but the more far
reaching benefit that comes from the
clubs work is the habit of thrift which
is developed. A great deal of small
change that Is wasted can easily be
saved by this systematic and attract
i've method"