Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-24
INDUSTRIAL. SAVING
PLAN SUBSTITUTE
FOR LOAN DRIVES
Bankers Convention Shows
Necessity for Keeping
Thrift Spirit Alive.

An industrial savings plan by
which the companies cooperate to
encourage thrift among the employees
was laid before the great convention
of the American Bankers Associat ton
which has met and ended it's sessions
IN Washington. The plan is really
substitute for the liberty loan drives
which greatly cncoura ged the work
erS to save. to lay by part of their
earnings for future needs. Incidental
ly. 1T has been tried with no little
success in Worcester. Mass, and be-
. cause of that has been called the
Worcester savings plan. John r.
Tinsley. general manager of a big
industrial concern in the MasSa chu-
sets city. discussed the plan before
the savings bank section of the bank
crS association and strongly urged
upon it the advisa bility of forming
committees in various communities
to take up with the employers of
large numbers of men and women the
establishment of similar plans for
the announcement of thrift.
During the war. according to Mr..
TinSlcy. one of the excellent things
accomplished was the building up of
thoroughly efficient organizations in
all the plants of the country for the
sale of liberty bonds and war savings
efficiently was this work done that
many of the establishments were able
to report 100 per cent subscriptions.
to the loans on the part of their en-
,ployes Two purposes were SERVED:
the first, to obtain money for the
prosecution of the war. and the sec
ond. to build up a spirit of saving
among the employees. When the war
ended, however. there was no further
need of these loan drives and no sub
stitute was provided.
In the opinion of Mr.. Tinsley. it
would be a mistake to allow the valu-
able lessons of thrift taught by the
loan drives during the war to slip
away. He undertook to devise a saw
ings system for the thousands of en-
ployes in the plants in which he is
interested. Also. the shop committees
which had handled the liberty loan
drives urged him to undertake such
work.
After consultation with the savings
bank officials of Worcester. the de-
tails of the plan were perfected and
the plan launched in an establishment
of more than 5000 employees. The re-
suits have shown that the workers
will support such a plan if it is
simple in detail and understood by
them. and sufficiently flexible, with the
backing of the companies.
The plan adopted consists in having
the men sign cards. authorizing the
disbursinG officers of the company to
deduct regularly so much a week from
their pay envelopes. The employe
states on the card the amount to be
deducted and the bank in which he
desires to have it placed. In order to
keep up the interest in the savings
plan, IL has been found advisable to
have new drives for additional
members of the plan every six months.
lasting for couple of days each time.
After campaign the cards signed by
the men are assorted according to the
banks named. The banks send repre-
sentatives to the plants. where the
men are signed up in accordance with
the rules of the bank in which they
desire to deposit.
After the first deposit is sent to the
bank pass books are made out, which
remain in the paymaster's office at
the plant. They are taken once
week to the bank for new deposits.
A slip is put in the pay envelope of
ca CHI employe once a week showing
the amount deducted and the total
that he has on deposit in the bank |
The men may see their books at any
timeA
The fiexibility of the plan is a great
help in making it successful. If a
man desires to increase his savings
he merely notifies his foreman. who
let's the pay roll man know. If he
desires to decrease the amount taken
from his pay each week he follows
the same course. If he wants to draw
out some money he signs an order
and the paymaster gives him the
money and the man does not even
have to go to the bank. When the
man leaves the employ of the COM
pany he is not given the money. but
simply handed his pass book and is
urged to continue his savings wher
ever he goes to work.
At present there are some 5000 en-
ployes in various Worcester plants
who have gone into this savings plan,
and only $50 of them have dropped
out In one plant 20 per cent of the
men have voluntarily increased the
amount of their savings. 1t waS
thought at first the argument might
be urged against the plan that if the
employers knew the savings of their
employees it might be hard for the
men to get an increase in wages. But
to this it was replied that the en-
ployers much prefer to have thrifty
employees than those living from hand
TO mouth.