Milford chronicle., 1915-05-21
U. S. SAVINGS BANKS.

Every person in the United States ten
wears old or over may open an account
in a postal savings bank after July Isl
according to an instructive leaiiet on Tue
/ Postal Savings Svatem Just issued by
Postmaster General Burleson. THIS I'M
nortant extension of the service VIII be
made possible by permitting persons nv,
ING in communities so sparsely setteu
as NOT to Justify the designation of their
/ local post Offices as regular posJal savings
banks to open accounts by mau.
/ Governor Dockery. Third Assistant
Postmaster General, who has direct super
vision of postal savings, was so impressed
bv appeals from all over the country 10
omen postals savings accounts by mai
that he took up the task some weeks ago
of working out a feasible and safe metnod
/ for meeting a demand we'll illustrated III
a letter from a Saline County Missourian,
who resides many miles from postal
savings bank.
"Having few hundred dollars saved
from fifty years of hard and asslduous
labor and skimping economy OF the Pail
of nv wife and myself, we concludea 10
deposit it in the Postal Savings Bank oi
-. We wrote to the postmaster at
that Dlace and received reply to the erect
that none but patrons of that office could
deposit in that Office which is very as
appointing news to us. Our little laill,
is not large enough to support us anu
land is so high that it is impossible ior
us to buv more with what little we nave
sa,ed and we are so old that we can
labor much now and we would be so glad
TO lev by at least enough to put us away
in decency.
Under the plan adopted by the POST
master General for opening accounts oY
mail an intending depositor, resldlnS
where there is no regularly designated
nosfa1 savings bank, will apply 10 MS
local postmaster who will see that neces-
sar, Identification data is prepared ana
forwarded to a nearby post ofhce aulioI-
led TO accept deposits The intending
deposltors will then be given permi sslon
tn forward his first and subsequent de-
posits bv money order or registered man
direct to the postmaster at the banking
points for which receipts or cerunSt'es
viii he issued. He NAV withdraw all or
any part of his postal savings by man
and on demand together with any inter
est that may be due him.
The new lealet points out thal any
person ten years old or older. may open
an account in his or her own name tnaI
an account may be opened by a MARI
woman free from any control or inter
ference by her husband; that posi- once
officials are forbidden to disclose 10 any
person, except the depositor the amount
of any deposits; that Withdrawals may
be made without previous notce' ana tilS
the Government guarantees 10 repay a.
deposits on demand with accrued inter ese ~
The leahet will soon De printed III Z Z,
foreign languages for distribution tniousi
local post offices. The toreign-ooIn Sl'i
zen has taken very kindly to postal saw
ings, and literature in his own lang uas'
will be of great assistance to him. IN
recent article, Postmaster General bur
Lesson commented on the tore1gn-Dorn ae
positor as follows:
0TTnwards of 500 900 depositors nov
hove accounts in the Postal Savings Sys
fem and they represent every nationality
ON the earth. They also represent al
most every known occupation PROBES
sional men, theatrical people, mechanics
1aborers. fishermen, pack pecdlers' etc
But the majority are wage earners' an'
Of this class the foreign born largely pre-
Dominate. a census of depositors takel
bv the Post Office Department shows ina
approximately 40 per cent (ZOO, ,OUO) o
ne depositors are foreign-born citizen
and they own more than so per cent O
the splendid evidence OF tn
confidence Of our newly acquired citizen
in the ability and good faith OF thei
adopted country to fulfill its obligations
'"There is another reason which le
Immigrants, unfamiliar with our languag
and business methods, to turn to tn
Government to safeguard their humol
savings and that reason is the disastrou
, experiences many of them have mad D
1 the failures of bogus private banks
officered by swindlers of their own tongu
who have preyed mercilessly upon thei
: Loneliness and credulity."
Postal savings receipts have broken a a
records the past year. During the eigl
months prior to April lst, there was
= net gain in deposits Of Sl9, 900, ,OOO,
d against a gain of IS, 100000 for the sam
d months the year before. Thousands
9 new accounts have been opened and II
= millions made up largely of hidden sa'
: ings have been turned back into the cnai
nels of trade just at time when thei
! To- dollar.