Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-07-10
FIGURE IT
OUT YOURSELF
What Do the Bankers Mean,
Eighteen Billion Dollars in
the Savings Bank?
BY JOHN oAkwooD

The bankers keep telling us that the
savings accounts Of the American peo-
pie total eighteen billion dollars.
asked dozen people what that meant
to them. Most of them seemed to see
visions of endless stacks of coins and
bales of currency slowed away in the
vaults of fine looking granite bank
buildings
Now, as matter of fact, there is
less than nine billion dollars worth
of money in the country all told. in
GLIDING gold, silver, nickel and paper
money of all kinds. That is less than
half the eighteen billion. Therefore
there must be something wrong with
the vision of eighteen billion dollars
in stacks and bales in the bank vaults.
More than that, there probably is not
more than one dollar for every twenty
Of that eighteen billion actually in
the savings bank
=
But the eighteen billion in savings
bank is no myth just the same. Sup
pose all the savings depositors could
demand all their money all at once.
and that they insisted on immediate
settlement one way or another when
they found they could not get it all
in cash. What would happen would
be that they would come into posses
sion chiefly of bonds Government,
state and municipal bonds and the
best railroad, equipment, public util-
ity and other corporation bonds. The
savings depositors are really the own
ers of all this vast real wealth.
What the bankers really mean,
therefore, is that the savings deposit
ors, so far as money is concerned,
have deposited eighteen billion dol
lars more than they have drawn out
and therefore have credit for that
much ia their savings accounts. The
dollars, themselves, that they handed
il, have flowed right on through the
banks-haye been sent out to buy the
bonds That is, the money deposits
have been used in behalf of the
depositors to buy the safest forms OF
investments When a man buys
bond, he really rents his money out
puts it to work to earn him more
money. The savings banks have done
this for their depositors.
So the picture of idle piles of money
is all wrong. Even picture OF piles
Of bonds is wrong if it stops at that.
The bonds represent two things.
First, since they are readily saleables
for cash, they mean that any individ-
ual can get his savings out again IN
the form of money within a reasonable
time. Secondly, and more important,
behind those bonds loom UP the. rail-
roads, factories, businesses and public
works that the money invested in
them set going for the benefit of
everyone, including the depos! tors
themselves. Saving, therefore, is not
merely accommodating money-it is ac-
cumulating real wealth. The money
flows on like water to turn other
wheels-the real wealth and savings
Of the country are the accumulated
factories and other enterprises evil
denced by the bonds.
Therefore the true picture OF what
the bankers mean when they say the
savings accounts of the American peo-
pie total eighteen billion dollars, in
stead of piles of money in vaults,
would be factories. railroads and pub
lie works in action.
There can be no great smoke arise
but there must be some fire. -Lyly.