Putnam patriot., 1915-02-12
Hearing on States Guaranty Of Savings
 Banks Deposits
Bill Advocated by Windham County Rep,
 resentatiYes

Residents of Windham county were heard Tuesday by the committee on banks in behalf of bill which pro- vides that ,the state shall make good any deficit in deposits which may ap- pear whenever a savings bank in the state shall liquidate.
 The bill was championed by Repre-. sentative Backus of Thompson, who intimated that he wns it's father.in-law while Representative Back of Killing ly was its father. Mr Backus said that the people in his vicinity had had several unpleasant experiences, the episodes being the trouble wlfA the savings bank in Thompson ,therhomp- son National bank, which moved out of town, the tie-up in the Savings bank in Putnam and the failure of tine Savings bank in Southbudge, Mass, which was just over the line from Thompson The result of these expe- Fiences had been to increase the de. posits in the Postal Savings depart. ment of the post offices. The growth of these, he said, convinced him that depositors were more anxious to know that their money was safe than they were to get high rate of interest.
 He said that the small tax imposed by the state on deposits in all savings banks in excess of $50,000, which is only IA of per cent, might be in- creased without protest from the de- positors if the depositors felt that their money was safe.
 MT. Brooks of Torrington, of the committee, asked if the depositors in the Putnam bank had lost their prin- cipal and if their deposits were wholly tied up and ur. Backus answered that il was not likely that they would lose the deposits. They could borrow on their pass books by paying , per cent. interest, but that was an expensive process.
 c. H. Potter of Woodstock favored the bill, saying that he represented 300 depositors in the matter. He told of the hardships which had resulted in Putnam through the suspension of the bank there Widows and minors had their funds tied up in the bank, ne said. He said he was the trustee of the estate of minor and was borrow ing money at per cent. in order to keep her in school and he thought II would be worth while to increase the tax on savings bank deposits if thereby the safety of deposits was assured.
 In response 10 a question, Bank Commissioner Fred F. Holt said that the tax on savings banks yielded B704,- o0o last year. He said he was opposed to an increase and was opposed to the principle of the bill under discussion inasmuch as it would lead to. the state guaranty of state banks and of trust companies which were also ander state supervision. The trouble in Putnam, he said, was due to the fact that it was one-man bank and the man invested too largely in railroad bonds instead of in real estate as he 1as urged to do. Walter D. Daskam of Stamford was also heard in opposition to the bill and the hearing was closed with the under standing that Representative Back will be heard upon 1t later.
 Senator J l.. Parcell was heard for bill which provides that the bank  commissioners shall print once in five years in fpamphlet form a list of un- claimed deposits in savings banks and the savings departments of national banks and trust com panies.