DEPOSITORS  AND  DEPOSITS

77

tern  has  been  to  any  appreciable  extent  a  competitor ­
  of  the  banks.  On  the  contrary  it  has
been  a  feeder  for  the  banks,  and  has  been  a  positive ­
  influence  for  the  encouragement  of  thrift,  in
the  interest  of  which  the  American  Bankers  Association ­
  has  for  some  time  been  conducting  a
vigorous  and  well  organized  campaign.  This
fact  has  of  late  been  generally  admitted  by  the
very  bankers  who  formerly  opposed  the  establishment ­
  of  the  postal  savings  system.  For
example,  Mr.  Edward  L.  Robinson,  vice-president ­
  of  the  Eutaw  Savings  Bank  of  Baltimore,
and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Postal  Savings ­
  Bank  Legislation  of  the  Savings  Bank  Section ­
  of  the  American  Bankers  Association,  in  a
recent  address  before  the  Savings  Bank  Section
of  the  American  Bankers  Association,  after  referring ­
  to  the  “almost  unbroken  front  of  opposition ­
  from  the  banking  interests”  to  postal  savings ­
  legislation  prior  to  1910,  said:  “[After  the
system  had  gone  into  operation]  it  was  at  once
evident  that  the  system  was  not  invading  the  territory ­
  occupied  by  other  banks,  but  was  actually
drawing  money  out  of  hiding  places  and  was
making  a  strong  and  successful  appeal,  as  was
predicted,  to  the  distrustful  foreign  element.” 18

18  Com.  &  Fin.  Chron.,  A.  B.  A.

Conv.  Suppl.,  Oct.

14,