The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-12-15
$4,000 PUT OUT
BY BENNINGTON
COUNTY BAhK q
Christmas Club Checks Distributed
to Patrons This Morning
BEATS LAST YEARS FIGURES
Plan viii Be Continued and Per
Cent Interest viii Be Paid
Next Year.

Twelve hundred checks aggregating
over $4,000, the annual distribution
of the Bennington County National
banks Christmas club, were delivered
by the local mail carriers this morn
ing. A goodly portion OF this amount
will be in circulation during the next
few days and Bennington merchants
will soon begin to realize what the
Christmas club plan means to Inc
prosperity of the community at this
season OF the year.
The Christmas club plan, that of
saving toward a particular end, is a
comparatively recent one. Several
years ago, 1t is generally understood
the manager of payroll department
in factory in New Jersey instituted
week by week saving plan out Of
the earning of the employees at their
request. Approaching the increase
in thrift through this experience and
realizing how this splendid plan
could be enlarged by a general adop-
tion, he started the system through
cue the banks of the country. AS a
result of this little experiment in a
factory, there are several thousand
banks across the country, today that
are operating the clubs for the well
fare of their communities.
The Bennington county National
Bank was the first bank in Benning-
ton to introduce this progressive plan
into this community In 1913, the
first club paid out $1,000 to a few
hundred depositors. AT the close of
the third year it now pays out $4,000
to 1899 persons IL Bennington and
vicinity.
The advantages of the Christmas
Club have been so strongly impressed
upon the officials of the Bennington
County National bank that they have
this year decided to pay interest at
the rate of three per cent on all
Christmas club deposits.
The experience OF the Bennington
County National bank during the
three years that the clubs have been
conducted is that the plan has not
only collected a considerable sum OF
money to be expended during the
weeks before the annual holiday sea
son but that the disposition to save
money has been given an impetus
that could have been created in no
other manner. Families that never
before pretended TO save money, that
could not be persuaded that it was
possible for them to put by something
from their weekly wages, have taken
out cards in the club and carried
them through the year. In numerous
cases the Christmas club has laid the
foundation for a banking account or
has been the basis of a savings ac-
count to which will be added the
checks that were distributed this
morning.
Although this bank already had Z
different classes last year, it has ad-
ded two more classes to its next
years schedule in order that the
people of the community may take
advantage OF every form of the club.
It has the increasing and decreasing,
classes in addition to the steady pay
ments. The smaller class starts at
cents each week and increases 2
cents each week. the last payment
being 81. Those who wish may start
at 81 and have the smaller payments
come at the end of the year. Cards
are supplied for this purpose. It
also has a class starting at cents
and increasing each week by cents.
In like manner, the payments may be
reversed, starting at $3.50 and de-
creasing cents to the minimum.
These classes have both been very
popular and have met the needs of
Bennington people who might have
found it difficult to make steady pay
ments when employment has been
irregular In addition their will be 5
steady payment classes ranging 20,
so. 81, SO and $5 per week.
The 1917 Christmas Savings club
will be made up of the following nine
classes:
Glass 2--Starting at 2 cents the
first payment and increasing each
week by 2 cents. the total paid in be-
ing $3.50 for fifty weeks.
Glass 2 A--Starting at $1.00 the
first payment and decreasing each
week by cents, the total paid in be-
ing $63.75 for fifty weeks.
Glass 5-Starting at cents the
first payment and increasing each
week by 8 cents, the total paid in be-
ing 63.75 for fifty weeks.
Glass 5 A-Starting at $500 the
first payment and decreasing each
week by cents. the total paid in be-
ing S69,75 for fifty weeks.
Glass 25-The first and each success
sive payment being 25 cents, the total
for fifty weeks amounting to $3.50.
Glass 50-The first and each sue
cessive payment being 80 cents, the