Evening star., 1923-12-16
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

One Of the most fascinating Of buried
treasure stories has again been brought
to the public attention by the decision
Of the United States Supreme Court in
a case involving abandoned bank ac-
counts. Periodically. interest be-
comes aroused in those sums of money
which lie unclaimed in the banks of
the country and people begin to turn
over in their minds the names of
dead or missing relatives who might
possibly have accumulated bank funds
and died without specifically be-
queathing them to anybody.
In a country as large and populous
as the United States II Is not surpris-
ing that there are millions Of dollars
in these unclaimed bank accounts.
There are many persons with no fami-
lies and no close relatives. and a few,
even, who are practically without
friends. Some such persons make
Wills bequeathing their money to pub
lie institutions or charities. Many
others make no specific provision.
are ended whatever sums they have
in the bank go Unclaimed.
Some persons make mistakes in
calculating their bank balances. They
are under the impression that they
have drawn all their money from
certain bank, but they have made an
error ranging from a few dollars to
several hundreds. There are others
so wealthy and so careless about
their money affairs that they actually
forget In what banks they have put
| OF haan
a rich automobile manufacturer not
long ago discovered that he had a
deposit of 100000 in Canadian
bank. He had completely forgotten
was brought to his attention only by
chance.
Perhaps the most fruitful source OF
abandoned deposits Is accounts of
men who die suddenly. A mans fam
lily or business connections may have
no knowledge of some new account
which has been opened by him. He
may be killed in a railroad or auto
mobile accident or die suddenly from
heart failure or some such natural
cause. No one connected with him
personally has any knowledge OF his
newly opened account.
Secret Personal Accounts.
Still another source is secret, per-
sonal accounts. Many men maintain
what they call their play accounts.
In one account they keep the money
for their necessary expenses. In an
other they will deposit surplus earn
ings which they regard as over and
above their personal budget calcula-
tions. Such sums they may feel
free to spend in favorite sports. In
gifts, charities, or gambling. The
man who keeps this sort of an ac-
count will be secretive about It In all
probability. He will not want his
business associates or, perhaps. even
members of his family to know that
he has this extra money to finance his
playful moods. Consequently no rec
ord exists, and when he dies no one
comes forward to claim the funds.
It is a weakness, or perhaps q
strength, Of the human mind that a
man seldom expects death. The older
a man grows the more inclined he is
to feel that he Is good for a few
years more. He therefore seldom
takes precautions to arrange for the
disposition of such funds.
All these may seem strange causes
for the accumulation Of large sums
of money, but they have resulted In
the building up OF sums aggregating
millions In the banks Of the coun-
try. No one ever has calculated the
precise amount and probably no one