The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1914-11-06
BOOM IN POSTAL SAVINGS
Since War Started In Europe Postal
Savings Accounts Have Increased.

The war in Europe is proving big
boon to postal savings In this country.
From the very day hostilities opened
across the seas postal-savings receipts
began to increase by leaps and bounds
and Withdrawals fell off, a result
quite contrary to the predictions Of
many well-informed persons who, In
their imagination, saw lines OF fever
nh depositors at post office pay VIM
dows anxious to again return their
savings to the bootleg and body-belt
depositors whence they came before
Entrusted to Uncle Sam. But the fore
casters failed@to reckon on the abso-
lutte confidence of the American citi-
zen, regardless Of the flag that first
met his eyes, in the ability and pur-
pose OF the government to carry out
Its obligations. not only among the ma
tons of the earth, but with the humb-
lest citizens of our land
Two important results have follow
ed; thousands OF people, largely Of
foreign birth, accustomed to send
their savings abroad, are now patrons
of our postal-savings system; and en-
Ormous sums of actual cash have been
released for commercial uses among
our own people at a time when the
need for every available dollar is
pressing.
The growth of postal savings in the
United States has been steady and
healthy and the system has filled an
important gap between the tin-can de-
pository and the factory paymaster.
On July /, when affairs We're running
smoothly here and abroad and the
transmission of money across the At
lantic was safe and expeditions, there
was approximately $43,000,0OO OF pos
tai savings standing to the credit of
about 3SS,000 depositors. Since then
over $10,000,000 of deposits have been
added and the number of depositors
has increased enormously. This I'M
precedented gain is the more striking
when it is considered that the net gain
in the last three months is larger than
the gain for the entire fiscal year 1914.
Scores of offices have done more pos
tal-savfngs business since the war has
been going on than was done by them
curing the previous existence of the
service. The increases are confined
to no special localities, but have been
In every nook and corner of the coun-
try. New York City alone made a gain
in September of more than a million,
while Brooklyn showed relatively
big increase. Chicago reported a larg-
er gain in the past three months than
for the previous twelve months More
than 1000 new accounts We're opened
during the period, bringing the num-
Der of depositors in that city up to
over $1,000
The unexpected increase in postal
savings has not only added greatly to
the general administrative duties of
the system, but has brought up MANY
new interesting problems which have
called for the careful personal consfd-
GRAFTON of Postmaster General Burle-
SON and Governor Dockery, Third AS
sistant Postmaster General But their |
task has been lightened somewhat by |
The promptness of depository banks in |
additional security TO meet
the abnormal deposits. A number of
the very largest banks in the country.
which have heretofore declined to
qualify as repositories for postal-say-
ngs funds, are now among the eager
applicants for them.