Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-24

foreigners tender larger amounts than can be accepted
they usually refuse to open accounts at all. In 1n
stances of rejection they frequently go to the money
order windows and purchase foreign moneyorders.
Aside from the disadvantage of having these funds with
drawn from business there is serious phase of
the matter-the resentment aroused in the minds of
these friendly foreigners and the disheartenng effects
that their anced grievances have their associates
Confused thought and consequent lack of confidence
generally prevail among those who mostly in need of
the service. There have been nnumerabe cases where
depostors would not be protected at all because they
could not be protected completely.
am greatly pleased, therefore, by the action of the
House committee in charge of the postofce appropra-
ton bill in recommending the elimination of the present
restrictions and thereby permitting the postal savings
system to accept any amount rendered by depoSltor
although interest will not be allowed deposits stand
ing to the credit of any person in of 81 OO
This restriction will the double purpose of
modating depositors who seeking absolute safety
regardless of what their savings may earn and at the
time will discourage the transfer of nterestbear
ing accounts from private banks the postal savings
system.
l wish it understood that the Postofice Department
has from the very beginning discouraged any
ment that might awaken any just opposition on the
part of the banks. The apprehension the that
the Postal Savings System would draw large of
money from the channels of trade has been shown be
not only longer hostile but quite friendly. This
conclusively shown at the last annual convention
of the American Bankers Association in Boston, when
R. c. Stephenson, president of the Savings Bank
Section said in his address that bankers gratifed
to know that the system had not ntefered with the
banking interests, adding that there had been
plant anywhere tending to show that any considerable
amount of money had been deposited with the govern
ment that would have gone into the banks had the ss
tenn not been in operation.
AN interesting sdeight appears in the fact that the
postal savings system is strong factor in quoting
financial disturbances. Every bank failure in recent
months has been followed by heavy increases-bearng
the limitations in mindn deposits at postal savings
stations adjacent neghborhoods Under the statute,
postal savings funds must be deposited in qualified
banks in the locality where they originate, and any
solvent bank under national State supervision may
qualify depository by furnishing the required Sc
curity and receive its proportion of funds So the
panic-stricken depostor who withdraws his savings
from bank and deposits them with the postmaster
does not deny the business public the use of his
money when it needed most; for it turned at
to local banks frequently the very bank from
which it hastily and maybe unnecessarily with
drawn An alarmed public cannot be prevented from
making Withdrawals, and the more latitude the
postal savings system has in accepting deposits the
effective service it render in averting finan-
cial stringencies.
There today about 900 in circulation in the
United States, practically every dollar of which would
have been concealed abroad but for the postal
savings system. Statistics show that postal deposits