The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-05-25
CtN NAIL MONEY
TO POSTAL BANKS
After July First Accounts May BE
opened by Any Persons Over
Ten Years Old.


announced an extension Of the postal
savings bank system which will per
nit every person in the United States,
over 10 years of age, to open an ac-
count after July l. Tnis extension OF
the service will be made possible by
! allowing persons living in sparsely
settled communities to open accounts
by mail. The t-ird assistant postmas-
! ter general, who has entire charge of
the postal savings branch Of the post
Office department, has been so i'm
pressed By appeal from all over the
country to open additional postal saw
ings, banks that some weeks ago 'ae
took up the task Of working out plan
! for extending the system.
Under the plan adopted by the
postmaster general for opening ac-
counts by mail an intending depositor,
residing where t-ere is no regularly
designated postal savings bank, will
apply to his local postmaster who will
see that necessary Identification data
! is prepared and forwarded to a near
by postoffice authorized to accept de-
posits. The intending depositor will
J then be given permission to forward
/ his first and subsequent deposits by
money order or registered mail direct
to the postmaster at the banking
point, for which receipts or certificates
will be issued. He may withdraw all
or any part of mis- postal savings by
mail and on demand together with
any interest that may be due him.
The new leafet points out that any
person ten 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 control
or interference by her husband; that
postofice officials are forbidden to dis
close to any person, except the depos-
itor, the amount of any deposits; that
Withdrawals may be made witlou pre-
vious notice; and that the government
guarantees to repay all deposits on de-,
mand with accrued interest.
The leafet will soon be printed in
22 foreign languages for distribution
through the local postofices. The for
eign-born citizen has taken very kindly
to postal savings, and literature in his
own language will be of great assist
ance to him.
In recent article, Postmaster Gen
eral Burleson commented on the for
| eign- born depositor as follows:
Upwards OF 100000 depositors now
have accounts in the postal savings
! system and tley represent every ma
tionality on the earth. They also rep
resent almost every known occupation
professional men, theatrical people,
mechanics, laborers, fishermen, pack
peddlers, etc. But the majority are
Wage-earners, and of this class the
foreign born largely predominant. A
census of depositors taken by the post
Office department shows that approXi-
>mately 40 per cent. of the depositors
are TO, eign-born citizens and t-ey own
more Than SO per cent. of the deposits
-splen3id evidence of the confidence
Of our newly acquired citizens in the
ability and good faith of their adopt
ed country 20 fulfill its obligations.
There is another reason which led
Immigrants, unfamiliar with our Ian
guage and business methods, to- turn
to the government to safeguard their
humble savings, and TIA reason is the
disastrous experiences many of them
have had by the failures Of bogus 'pri-
vate banks differed by swindlers of
their own togue who have preyed
mercilessly upon their loneliness and
credulity."
Postal savings receipts have broken
all records the past year. During the
! eig- months prior to April 1 there
was net gain in deposits Of $19,OO0,-
! 600, as against a gain Of $S,0O0OO0 for
the same months Of tne year before.
Thousands Of new accounts aave been
opened and the millions made up
largely Of hidden savings have been
turned back into the channels of trade
just at time when there was pressing
demand for every dollar.
Beth Eden Charge.
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