Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1914-11-11
War Increases Postal Savings.

The war in Europe is proving big
boon to postal savings in this coun-
try. From the very day hostilities
opened across the seas postal-savings
receipts began to increase by leaps
and bounds and Withdrawals fell off,
Il result contrary to the predictions
OF many well-informed persons who,
in their imagination, saw lines Of, fe-
verish depositors. at post office pay
windows anxious to again return
their savings to the bootleg and
body-belt repositories whence they
came before intrusted to Uncle Sam.
But the forecasters failed to reckon
or the absolute confidence of the
American citizen, regardless Of The
flag that first met his eyes, in the
ability and purpose of the Govern
n,ent to carry out its obligations, not
only among the nations of the earth,
but with the humblest citizen in our
land.
Two important results have follow
ed; thousands Of people, largely Of
foreign birth, accustomed to send
their savings abroad, are now pat
rcns of our postal-savings system;
and enormous sums of actual cash
have been released for commercial
uses among our own people at time
when the need for every available
dollar is pressing. sz:s.'% - @
=. ~ az ~.
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
depository and the factory paymas-
ter. On July /, when affairs were
running smoothly here and abroad
and the transmission of money across
the Atlantic was safe and expeditions
there was approximately $4,000, 900
OF postal savings standing to the Gre
dit of about 388,O0O depositors. Since
then over $10,000,000 of deposits
have been added and the number of
dcpositors has increased enormously.
This unprecedented 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 en-
tire fiscal year 1914. Scores Of Of
fees have done more postal-savings
business since the war has been go
ing on than was done by them during
the previous existence of the SER
vice The increases are confined to
no special localities, but have been
felt in every nook and corner of the
country. New York City alone made
gain in September of more than a
million, while Brooklyn showed a rel
atively big increase. Chicago report
ed larger gain in the past three
months than for the previous twelve
months. More than 1000 new ac-
counts were opened during the period
bringing the number Of depositors in
that city up to over 81 900.
The unexpected increase in postal
savings business has not only added
greatly TO the general administrative
duties of the system, but has brought
up many new and interesting prob
lens which have called for the care
fLl personal consideration of Post
master General Burleson and Govern
or Dockery, Third Assistant Post
master General. But their task has
been lightened somewhat by the
pronlptness of deposition banks in
furnishing 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-savings funds, are now
among the eager applicants for them.