The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-03-31
use OF THE
PEOPLES SAVINGS

Journal of Commerce: The extent
to which the invested capital of this
country is derived from the savings
Of people of small or moderate means
is not generally appreciated. Few OF
the millions of the people to whom
this capital actually belongs realize
the extent of their interest in the in
vestment, and the Importance to them
of maintaining it's value. They sell
dom think Of the effect upon them
selves of its impairment or Of injury
to the business upon which a steady
return from it depends. The last re-
port of the Comptroller of the Cur
rency devotes considerable space to
facts and figures relating to deposits
in savings bank and their investment,
a full statement of which will be
found in our financial section today.
1t is unfortunate that the best class of
savings institutions should be so I'M
evenly distributed over the country,
and it is to be feared that the postal
savings system will prevent it's
healthy spread for the encouragement
of thrift n the better security of
the vast fund of capital supplied
through them.
According to the C~omptroler's fig
ures of the aggregate deposits of all
kinds on June 4, 1913, amounting to
$17,475. zoe, 200, considerably more than
one-third, or Sc, 972, 069, 227, consisted
Of savings deposits. not including
S211.445,6S7 held subject to- check
without notice. The latest complete
statistics for the number. of accounts
are those of 1911, when there were
17,500.0 600. This is nearly one for
every family in the United States as
an average. There are many duplica-
tons of accounts by the holding of
more than one by the same person
and sometimes OF several by members
Of the same family; but it shows how
widely spread and finely divided this
vast sum of capital is. BY means of
the multitude of individual accounts
and the constant streams of small
savings flowing into about 1000 in
situations, this mass of capital is made
available for large investment. The
increase since 1890 is shown in. a
table in the Comptroller's report. The
figures relate only to strictly savings
institutions, not including deposits or
savings accounts in commercial banks,
The number of these institutions in
creased in thirteen years from 921 to
1878, the number of depositors from
4,258, 1893 to 10, 766, 936: and the amount
of deposits from $1,524,S4 500 to ST.
727,4O3,950. The average for each
depOsitor increased from $35S.03 to
$439.07 and the average per capita
of the population Of the country from
$24.35 to $4S.56.
This is an indication of progress in
the general well-being which is
ground for hope and confidence for
the future; but it's significance for the
productive industries Of the country
and the means Of distribution and ex-
change Of their fruits, is what fails
to be generally appreciated, 1t does
not show merely what the people save
upon which to draw with a moderate
increment for their needs, but what
Is supplied by this means in the way
of capital for Investment. Much
of it goes into loans upon real estate
mortgages and thereby assists in pro-
viding buildings and improvements.
Much goes into bonds of national,
state and local governments, helping
to provide for public works and i'm
provements and making important to
those who thus supply the funds their
effective and economical expenditure
and the maintenance Of public credit.
That concerns the safety of their saw
ings. Nearly $500, 600, 900 of these
savings are invested in railroad bonds,
500, 900, 900 in those of public service
corporations and little less than $780,
100000 in other bonds. not classified