The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-31
For the Good of
 the Community

CAVINGS deposits in the state banks in o Alabama increased about 50 per cent from November 4, 1918, to Novem- Der l9, 1919, the total reported on the lat 5 ter date being S18,714, ,282, which is S6,- 692,699 greater than the year before.
 This increase was made despite the SUD- posed extravaganza of the people. Never before in the history of the country has there been such period of lavish buying as during the year 1919. Not only have the people bought lavishly, but they have bought the best grades of goods and cloth ing and jewelry.
 Recent inquiries made by magazine brought responses from clothing and fur nishing goods dealers, both men and women, and jewelry dealers to the effect that only the high priced goods wera salable, especially during the pre holi- day season
 Birmingham jewellers stated that dia- monds were in greater demand than ever before and that stocks of watches of the higher grades were exhausted long before the season ended.
 The same was true of all other kinds of jewelry, silverware and such articles as jewellers usually carry in stock.
 Men and women bought only the higher priced clothes, furnishing goods and shoes, and in the furniture line the same condition prevailed.
 Notwithstanding this fact, the banks were able toDreport increased savings ac- counts and an increase in the number of savings depositors.
 Alabama does not rank very high in respect to the number or amount of sav- ingS accounts. In fact she stands almost at the bottom of states. Only one other southern state reports a smaller amount of such deposits.
 Life insurance companies, also, report large gains in the number and amount of policies written during the year 1919, the increase being about IT per cent.
 On the subject of savings accounts The Manufacturers Record in it's issue of March 25, says:
 In view of recent statements by many bankers berating the people of the country for alleged ex- travagance and thriftlessness in claiming that there IS l1tLe or no saving gong on, IL IS exceed ingy interesting and important to be able to quote from sources of authority figures to show that there has been great increase in savings through out the country. This is shown not only in the savings represented in bank deposits, but also in the savings represented by new life insurance policies. While returns are not complete for the year 1919, the accompanying tables, representing returns from twenty-eght states, show that there has been very large gain in savings deposits For instance the northern states, now available show, as compared with a year ago, an increase of more than 8.7 per cent, the southern an increase of over 14.7 per cent, and the western more than PIP per cent increase Thus the increase of de- posits in these northern states was more than & $380, 1000, 900, in the southern it was over $106- 000,000, and in the western over $297 100000. =
 Brokers, however report that individual hold CTS of Liberty bonds purchased during the war are disposing of them. One local firm states that during a period covering several months last summer and fall their purchases of Liberty bonds from individuals, mostly in small denominations averaged about $5,O00 day.
 Some of the money thus received by the hold CTS was invested in homes, but by far the larger part of it was converted to other purposes.
 The $18,OOO, ,OO0 in the Alabama banks is the equivalent of only about $7 for each man, woman