Evening star., 1918-02-25
SEES LACK OF THRIFT.
IN SMALL CHECKERS
Bank Official Says Such De-
positors' Accounts Never
Grow Above E'Convenient'

Books of every bank and trust COM
pany in Washington show that deposi-
tors with small checking accounts, un-
der 500, are not thrifty. and do not
save anything, said Washington bank
official, in justifying the recent action
of the local bankers association in
voting to make monthly charge of so
cents on small checking accounts.
The official took issue with a letter
published in The Star Friday criticising
action of the local bankers associa-
tion. He said:
Charles E. Tracewell begins letter
to your paper, published in Fridays
Star, by a statement that the action OF
the local bankers association in levy
ing tax of so cents a month on small
checking accounts comes with peculiar
i'll grace at this time in the nations life
when every step should be taken to en- :
courage. and not discourage. thrift,
and he closes his letter with the state
ment that this tax constitutes perhaps
the greatest blow against thrift which
has been struck in the capital of our
nation at war.
Wrong Hypothesis.
'Mr. Tracewell is proceeding upon a
wrong hypothesis. but as he probably is
not in the banking business and does not
have the records of the banks to use i'll
drawing his conclusions, he is not to be
blamed.
THE books of every bank and trust
company in Washington show that de-
positors with small checking accounts
do not save anything. They are the peo-
pie who deposit their salary when it is
received, pay it all out but few dollars
within day or two after pay day, and
l<ft how IL hagy Cad
as a convenience in the payment of bills
and in keeping books for them. They do
not save anything, but live hand-to-
mouth existence. their accounts being the
same year in and year out. This state
ment is made after study of the matter
for over ten years.
Who Real Thrifty Are.
''The real. thrifty folks have savings
accounts and not checking accounts.
They pay cash as they go: run no bills,
and put away a part of their earnings
each pay day in an interest paying ac-
count. A savings account of s2o. upon
which the bank pays per cent interest,
is a profitable account to the bank and to
the depositor alike. checking account
of $l00, upon which the bank pays no
interest, is Improbable to the bank. and
standpoint.
Mr. TracewelI in his letter gives in his
own words the banks reasons and justi-
fication for the charge, when he attempts
to defend the thousands who, month in
and month out. will not average 500 a
month in standing deposits Surely he
does not mean to say that those whose
accounts never grow beyond the one hun
dred dollar mark are thrifty folks. And
vet these are the class of depositors who
constitute a third of all checking ac-
counts in the city whose accounts entail
upon the banks nearly 40 per cent of all
work done, and whose deposits do not
total per cent of the aggregate deposits
of the banks.
Has Vogue Elsewhere.
.Mr. TracewelI probably did not know
that the practice Of charging for check
ing accounts where balances fall below a
fixed sum has been in vogue in many
other cities for years, and the question
first came before the local bankers as
ISOLATION nearly ten years ago During
those years it has been considered several
times, but the local bankers would not
adopt it until it became imperatively nee
essary by reason of the increase in wages
Of employees and increased cost (nearly
donbled) in stationery and bank supplies.
1.-The banks do encourage thrift and
are spending thousands of dollars yearly
in advertising for this purpose. But their
experience shows that the folks with the
small checking accounts are not the
thrifty ones; they keep the bank account
only as convenience, it is Improbable to
the bank. and if they want the service
they should pay for It,"