Nearly $2,000,000,000 is deposited in the savings banks of the United
States. This large sum represents the savings of about 5,000,000
people. The primary idea of a savings bank and of the post-office and
other forms of saving institutions in foreign countries is to
encourage thrift among the masses of the people.
The older savings banks, especially those in the eastern States, have
no capital stock. That is to say, they are mutual in their form of
organisation. Their capital is the accumulated deposits of a large
number of people. The depositors are the owners. When taxes and other
expenses are paid and a proper reserve set aside, the remaining
profits go in the form of interest to the depositors. Many of the
savings banks in the western States are capitalised as are other
financial institutions, and on the Pacific coast they have capital
stock or its equivalent in the form of a reserve fund in which the
majority of the depositors are not interested otherwise than so far as
it affords security for their deposits.
As these banks are the custodians of the surplus savings of large
numbers of people the laws of the several States have hedged them
about with many safeguards, not only for the protection of the
depositors but of the institutions themselves. It is eminently right
and proper that the State, through its bank commissioners or
otherwise, should so far supervise the operations of savings banks as
to see that they perform their part of their contract with depositors.
Safety, at best, is relative only; there is no absolute safety
for the twenty-dollar piece a man has in his pocket, whether he
is on the street, at his office, or by his own fireside. We are
reminded that 'riches take to themselves wings' and that
'thieves break through and steal.' No savings bank can keep
money on hand or deposit it or loan it with absolute safety. All
is comparative. It is a peculiarity of money that each dollar
requires watching; general supervision is insufficient; hence it
is that the safety of moneyed institutions depends upon the
capacity and honesty of those in control, and not upon adherence
to arbitrary rules. No set of rules can be adopted that will
bind dishonest men nor that will compensate for want of
experience and ability of honest ones.
There is really no conflict between commercial and savings banks. In
fact, a large number of the commercial banks of a country allow
interest upon average balances and standing deposits in the same
manner as savings banks. Primarily the savings bank creates wealth,
while the commercial bank handles it; the savings banks are creative,
while the commercial banks are administrative. The aim of the savings
bank is to gather money and invest it safely and thus bring profit to
the depositor; the aim of the commercial bank is to lend money at
fixed charges and thus bring profit to the institution. The former
opens its doors to savers, the latter to borrowers. One serves by
receiving and keeping and the other by lending. The savings bank aims
at making men savers as well as producers. It offers the aid of the
strong, who can manage well, to the weak and inexperienced. If the
5,000,000 depositors of savings in the United States were to hide
away their own savings nearly $2,000,000,000 would be withdrawn from
circulation. The savings bank invests its money. Its managers are as a
rule intelligent men, competent to make safe investments in solid
securities. The best savings banks are conservative and do not
encourage speculation.
The rules and regulations of savings banks differ largely. In some
institutions deposits of a dime at a time are accepted; in others a
dollar is the limit. Deposits usually begin to draw interest on the
first day of each quarter, but they are entitled to it only if they
remain until the end of the half-year. Thus money deposited on the 1st
of January is entitled to six months' interest on the 1st of July,
though it is not entitled to any interest if withdrawn in June. Some
few banks allow interest to begin on the 1st of each month. Most
savings banks do not permit money to be withdrawn short of thirty
days' notice. Students of this course who are interested in securing
definite information upon this subject regarding any particular bank
should apply to that bank for a set of its rules and regulations for
the information of depositors.