104

POSTAL  SAVINGS

year;  and  of  the  18  per  cent  that  still  remains,  48
per  cent  is  withdrawn  within  the  third  year,  leaving ­
  approximately  only  9  per  cent  of  the  deposits
in  the  custody  of  the  Government  at  the  end  of
the  third  year.” 50
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  interest  rate  paid  is  so
low  that  it  makes  a  very  weak  appeal  to  the  class
of  people  who  deposit  in  the  postal  savings  banks.
Their  motive  is  primarily  security.  The  Government ­
  is  now  realizing  large  profits  from  the  postal
savings  system 51 —for  1916  the  estimated  profit
was  $481,816 52 —and  this  profit  is  coming  from  a
class  of  people  in  the  community,  the  thrifty  poor,
from  whom  it  is  bad  social  policy  to  take  it.  Of
course  it  would  be  administratively  impracticable
to  pay  interest  to  depositors  on  average  daily
balances—no  savings  banks  do  that.  Would  it
be  expecting  too  much,  however,  to  ask  for  our
postal  savings  depositors  the  allowances  of  interest ­
  on  half  yearly  or  even  quarterly  balances?
Moreover,  is  it  unreasonable  to  ask  the  Board
of  Trustees,  in  view  of  the  nomadic  character  of
our  foreign  born  population  which  patronizes
60  U.  S.  Post.  Savs.  Sys.,  1916,  p.  5.
61  The  first  two  years  the  system  was  run  at  an  estimated ­
  loss  of  $1,000,000.  Since  that  time  every  year  has
witnessed  a  substantial  net  profit  to  the  Government.
52  Board  of  Trustees,  Ann.  Rep.  Post.  Savs.  Sys.,  1916,
(House  Doc.  No.  1433,  64  Cong.,  2  Sess.),  p.  61.