The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-10-30
Postal Savings Increased by
Leaps and Bounds.
There Is Now ON Deposit at
Topeka $50, 900.
MANY NATIOnALlTIES IN LIST
Present Open Accounts Are $50
in Number.
Gain in Deposits Striking in the
Entire Country.

The war in Europe is proving a 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 feverish de-
positors at postoffice pay windows
anxious to again return their savings
TO the bootleg and bodybelt deposit
tories whence they came before in
trusted to Uncle Sam.
At Topeka a steady increase has
been shown each month since Septem-
Der 20. 1911, when the savings depart
ment was opened, but the increase has
been particularly heavy since the be-
ginning Of the war.
Record at Topeka.
! w. o. Rigby, postmaster, gave out
some interesting figures today con-
corning the local postal savings bank.
Since it's establishment 500 accounts
have been opened. and there are ESQ
with $4,000 on deposit. Bonds issued
since the opening of the department
! amount to $4,000.
| Foreign born depositors represent
sixteen countries. They are distributed
as follows among the nations or races:
Mexico, 2; Russia, Z; France, 1; Ger
many, 5: Sweden, s; Scotland, 2; Italy,
2; England, IA; Ireland. 2; Wales, 1;
Canada. l; Austria. L: Denmark. l;
Belgium, L; India, l.; Nova Scotia, 1
negroes, 9.
Steady Growth in United States.
In speaking of the effect of the war
upon the postal savings account the
United States postal authorities in an
article written for today's release have
the following to say:
Two important results have followed;
thousands OF people. largely Of foreign
abroad. are now patrons of our postal
savings system; and enormous sums of
actual cash have been released for COM
merc1al uses among our own people at
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 i'm
portant gap between the tfn-can deposit
tory and the factory paymaster. On July
here and abroad and the transmission of
money across the Atlantic was safe and
expeditions. there was approximately 49,
100000 of postal savings standing to the
credit of about 3SS.000 depositors. Since
then over $4,000 600 of deposits have been
J added and the number of depositors has
increased enormously.
= Gain Is Striking.
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 entire fiscal year
1914 Scores of offices have done more postal
| savings business since the war has been
going on than was done by them during
the previous existence Of the service. The
increases are confined to no special To-
calities, 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 relatively big increase Chicago
reported a larger gain in the past three
months than for the previous twelve
months. More than 1000 new accounts
were opened during the period. bringing
, the number of depositors in that city up
to over q 900.
The unexpected increase in postal-sav-
ings business has not only added greatly
to the general administrative duties of
the system, but has brought up many new
and interesting problems which have
! called for the careful personal considera-
! ton of Postmaster General Burleson and
Governor Dockery, third assistant post
master general But their task has been
lghtened somewhat by the promptness of
| depository banks in furnishing additional
security to meet the abnormal deposits.
A number Of the very largest banks in
| the country, which have heretofore de-
clined to qualify as repositories for postal
savings funds are now among the eager
| applicants for them.