THE  POSTAL  SAVINGS  BANK  ACT

31

istration  and  less  open  to  mistakes  and  to  fraud. 13
After  considerable  discussion  of  the  comparative
merits  of  these  plans,  Congress  decided  to  leave
the  decision  of  this  question  to  the  Board  of
Trustees. 14

Rate  of  Interest
The  question  of  the  rate  of  interest  to  be  allowed ­
  to  depositors  resolved  itself  into  two  questions ­
  :  How  should  the  rate  of  interest  be  determined ­
  and  what  rate  should  be  adopted?
Taking  up  these  questions  in  their  order,  it
may  be  noted  that,  while  in  most  countries  the
rate  is  fixed  by  law,  in  some,  as  for  example  in
Italy,  in  Tasmania  and  in  the  Orange  River
Colony,  the  rate  is  fixed  by  administrative  authority ­
  and  varies  from  time  to  time  according  to  the
earnings  realized  on  the  postal  savings  banks’  investments. ­
  Hamilton, 15  commenting  upon  the
Italian  method,  says:  “In  fixing  the  rate  of  interest ­
  to  be  paid  to  depositors,  the  Italian  Government ­
  has  followed  the  true  principle  of  savings ­
  bank  management,  that  is,  the  rate  is  not
13  It  was  also  advocated  on  the  ground  that  certificates
ttdght  serve  as  a  medium  of  exchange  in  times  of  panic  and
give  greater  elasticity  to  our  currency.  Cf.  Albany  Law
Journal,  LXX,  pp.  346,  349.
14  Postal  Savings  Bank  act,  sec.  5.
Savings  and  Savings  Institutions,  p.  370.