OCR Text |
Show Just History. By Albert F. Philips . Twelve year ago today tha flrat poatal aavlnge bang waa opened la Naw Tork. It waa two yaara bafora that congreae. In Juno, paaaad an act establishing a, aystem of poatal aavlnga banks, to ba managed man-aged by tha poetofflca department, tha purpose being to provide an absolutely ab-solutely aafa depository for tha ear-Inge ear-Inge of thrifty paopla. Tha banks wara to ba managed by a board of truateea, consisting ot lha postmaster postmas-ter general, tha secretary of tha traaaury and tha attorney general, with power to dealgnata aucn poet-offices poet-offices na they might elect to ba da-poailorlea. da-poailorlea. Under the provisions of the act tha trustees wara to dealgnata dealg-nata ona poatoffloa In each aiace for tha receipt of depoalta on January Jan-uary a, 1111. Tha poatal aavlnga bank system had been flrat aaiabllabed In England En-gland In Hal and nearly avary clv-lllaed clv-lllaed country, beginning with western west-ern Australia in Mel. haa followed tha example. New Zealand organised organ-ised tha ayetera in ls(T; than came the other countrlea of tba world In tha following order: Canada, lies; Belgium, lata; New aVouta Wales, l7l; Japan. J7e; Italy. 1I7; Netherlands, 1111: France, , lM; Auetrla, MM; Sweden 1M4; Tape of Oood Hope, MM; Bahama. Mat; if..r,r ! Finland 1117: Uold Coast, llll; Rueela, 1. Trana-vaal, Trana-vaal, 11: 81era Leono. 1; Bulgaria, Bul-garia, 1; Oranaa River colony, 187; Dutch ast India, 1; Kgypt, ItOI; Federated Malay Htatea. 10I; ' Dutch Guinea, 104; Curacao, 10S, and tne United Btatea cornea In at lha laatJA 11. The flrat poatal aavlnga Dank la Utah waa opened In Bingham, W. K. Block, present aeelataat postmaster of Salt Lake, waa ona of tha auboommltlee that figured 'out tha preeent eyatem for ' tha truateea of tha poatofUoa department. depart-ment. When the department opened tba flrat forty-elgrt offlcea they were offlcea of tha aacond class. Tha flrat drpeeltor In the poatal aavlnga bank In tha Salt Lake poatoffloa poat-offloa waa lwla T. Bhlpley, then superintendent of con at ruction of tha addition that waa being built to tha praaant federal building, lha aavlnga bank being opened on August II. Ill I. Hla depoeit ia aUll held by tha poatoffloa. Tha peak of depoeltora livtha Salt Lake poatal aavlnga bank waa reached In February, 11, whea the number of depoeltora or open ao-oounta ao-oounta aggregated and tha amount on depoalt waa tell, 112; than tha depoalta began ta ba with, drawn, a large number of allena drawing out their eavlnse and returning re-turning to their old country aa aooo aa transportation waa available. The number of depoeltora or open accounts In tha Salt Lka poatal aavinga bank on June 10, 11X3, the Imat available atatletlce. waa lt. and the amount oa depoalt I1SM44, tha emalleet amount alnca January 1. i:a. The total number of depoeltora In foetal or government aavlnga banka In foreign countrlea on January 1 laat, waa 120.OS.4ia. and tha total Oepoaita was 10. H7.1I1: In the I'nited Btatea poelal savings depositors de-positors on June tit. l2Z, waa 4.-loi, 4.-loi, and the amount to their credit wae IMlttoa Thrift In tha Philippines ia shown by tha 110. 174 depositors In postal aavlnga banlLa aad la amount l,U02,li-t. |