The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1918-06-22
THE POOR MANS INVESTMENT.
w. S. S. Like Money in the Bank,
with Uncle Sam the Banker.
Editorial in New Orleans Item.

Editorial IN New Orleans Item.
The less money NAN has, the |
smallei. his wages and his margin of
iliVing. the more he can afford to in
vest in VIZ. Savings and thrift stamps. |
| This form 81 investment has no.
received the publicity to which it is
entitled, or its attfactiveness as a
poor mans investment would be bet
ter known.
The reason thousands of people |
did not invest in a $50 or 500 Liber-
] ty Bond was not that they could
not-at least on the instailment plan
but because they were afraid it,
due to some unforeseen emergency,
the time should come when they
needed the cash they had invested in
the bonds, they could not market:
their bonds for what they we're worth.
! This feeling was given substance by
the very deplorable fact that Liberty
Bonds are objects of open gambling |
/ in the money market, a scandal the
government should make impossible
] by drastic legislation.
/ The war savings and thrift stamps
offer the purchaser absolute guaran-
tee he can cash in on any part Of
them, or all of them, at exactly what
he paid for them, plus whatever IN
terest has accumulated at the rate
Iof three per cent, at any time he
finds himself in need of money he in
vested in them This guarantee is
made by the government. 1t is re-
deemed by the government, through
the postmaster. No bond-broker or
middleman enters into the sale or the
redemption of the thrift stamp.
This guarantee is a part of the
contract under which the govern
ment sells the stamps. 1t tells the
purchaser exactly how much his
stamps will bring at any postofice
each month from now until the date
of their final ,redemption-January,
1923. If he holds his stamps until
then he collects interest at the rate
of four per cent compounded, which
tamounts to about q u per cent. All
of this compound interest is added
the last month December, 1922.
This is done as an inducement to the
purchaser to hang on TO his stamps
until date of maturity, rather than
leash in on them earlier and get only
three per cent interest
4 For example, a Wage-earner buys
.I$IO0 worth of thrift stamps, which
represents the sum and total of his
savings. He does so m good faith,
IIexpecting to keep them until they
mature January, 1923. and then re-
deem them at face value, plus four
Iper cent compounded. But q year
4 from now he meets with an accident.
There is doctors bill, maybe fec
Il for an, operation there is time los.
| He must have some ready money
say $50 master
! with whom he has Registered his
thrift stamps, for which registra
|tion there IS no fees charged1 two
weeks notice he can cash in on $50
worth of stamps, plus three per cent
Interest. If it is only $25 ready
money he needs, he need only cash IN
on $25 worth.
I In other words, thrift savings are
like postal savings. They are exactly
like money in the bank-and Uncle
Sam is the banker; so there is no
danger of any failure or bad book-
keeping. They are the only govern
ment security yet issued which Uncle
Sam agrees to redeem at any time
prior to their maturity at face value,
Mus whatever interest they have
earned. They arc national debt IN
the hands of the public which the
|Igovernment guarantees to pay at
Iany time the public presents the bill
| But to induce the public to hold the
bill five years, the government OF
fers to pay four per cent compound
ed interest on 1t.
Il The people with small savings, the
widow and orphan, the poor man,
those who are living on a very small
margin. have in the war savings and
thrift stamps the greatest, safest,
fairest, squarest investment and
method of saving that has ever been
presented to any people by any gov
ernment, corporation or individual.
It is an investment backed by the
hest security in the world, paying
higher interest if held until maturity
than the Liberty Bonds, redeemable
at the local postoffice Of the holder at
any time prior to maturity with IN
|terest. equal to that paid by savings
Ebanks-an investment that cannot be
:peculated in. by brokers to the m
Jury either of the government or the
II Individual, which cannot be scalped
by any money shark, or deprecated
Il by any legislation. Each sale carries
with It the printed contract cf the
United States government with the
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