Evening journal., 1915-05-17
POSTAL Savings
SYSTEM PLEASES
Plan Now Adopted to Open
Accounts By
Mail
HOW DEPOSITS
ARE TO BE MADE

Every person in the United States ~
years old or over may open an account
in postal savings bank after July J.,
according to an instructive leailet on the
postal savings system Just issued by
Postmaster General Burleson. This inn
portant extension of the service will be
made possible by permitting persons Nv
inc i'm communities so sparsely settled
as not to Justify the designation oil
their local postoiliccs as regular postal
savings banks to open accounts by mail.
Governor Dockery, third assistant
l1Dostmaster general, who has direct SUI
pervision of postal savings, was so i'm
impressed by appeals from all over the
country to open postal savings accounts
bv mail that he took up the task some
weeks ago of working out feasible and
safe method for meeting the demand.
Under the plan adopted by the post
master general for opening accounts by
mail an intending dcpositor, residing
where there is no regularly designated
postal savings bank, will apply to his
local postmaster. who will see that nee
essarv Identification data is prepared
and forwarded to nearby postoihce
authorized to accept deposits. The in
tending dcpositor will then be given
permission to forward his first and sub
sequent deposits by money order or reg
istered mail direct to the postmaster at
the banking point, for which receipts OF
certificates will be issued. He may with
draw all or any part of his postal saw
incs by mail and on demand together
with any interest that may be due him.
pepOsitOrs Protected.
The new leaflet points out that any
person 10 years old or over may open
an account in his or her own name;
that an account may be opened by
a married woman free from any con-
troll or interference by her husband;
that postofice officials are forbidden
In disclose to any person, except the
fepositor. the amount of any de-
posits; that Withdrawals may be
made without previous notice; and
that the government guarantees 10
repay all deposits on demand with ac-
crued interest.
The leaflet will soon be printed in
% foreign languages, for Distribution
through local pOstoffices. The Tor
eien-born citizen has taken very
kindly to postal savings, and liter
ature in his own language will be
of great assistance to him. In a re-
cent article Postmaster General Bur-
Lesson commented on the foreign
born depositor as follows:
UPWARDS of 100000 depositors now
have accounts in the postal savings
system. and they represent every
nationality on the earth. They also
represent almost every known occu-
nation-professio men, theatrical
people. mechanics, laborers. fisher
men. mack peddlers, etc. But the
majority are wage-earners, ana OF
this class the foreign born largely
predominant. A census OF deposltors
taken by the Postofice Department
shows that approximately 40 pei
cent. 600 OO0) of the depositors arc
foreign-born citizens, and they owr
more than so per cent. of the de-
rosits-splendid evidence of the con
fdence of our newly-acquired citi'
7ens in the ability and good faith o.
their adopted country to tulhli us
obligations. -
There is another reason which lee
immigrants, unfamiliar with our ian
guage and business methods, to turf
to the government to safeguard thell
humble savings, and that reason Il
the disastrous experiences many o
them have had by the failures o
bogus private banks" officered BY
swindlers of their own tongue, WHIT
have pHeyed mercilessly upon thel
loneliness, and credulity.
All Records Broken.
Postal savings receipts have broker
all records the past year. During tn
eight months prior to April 1. Their
was a net gain in deposits of $4,000,
300, as against a gain of SS'00O,0OO TO
The same months the year before
Thousands of new accounts have beeI
opened, and the millions made NJ
largely OF hidden savings have beol
turned back into the channels o
trade Just at time when there wa
PRESSING demand for every dollar.