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POSTAL  SAVINGS

deposited;  and  it  varies  with  the  actual  amount
of  deposits  obtainable—in  many  cases  the  accounts ­
  are  too  small  to  be  worth  the  trouble.
Many  banks  have  not  found  it  to  their  advantage
to  qualify  as  depositories,  while  others  have  realized ­
  good  profits  on  such  deposits, 28  and  in  many
communities  the  competition  for  them  is  keen.
The  advantage  of  advertising  oneself  as  a  depository ­
  of  United  States  postal  savings  funds  is
valued  highly  by  many  banks.
Postal  Savings  Bonds
A  discussion  of  the  postal  savings  system
would  be  incomplete  without  a  reference  to  the
postal  savings  2£  per  cent  bonds  authorized  by
the  act  of  1910. 29  The  primary  object  of  these
bonds,  which  are  issued  in  denominations  as  low
as  $20,  is  to  provide  a  safe  and  convenient  form

28  The  writer  has  on  his  desk  a  circular  issued  by  a  prominent ­
  bond  house,  in  which  are  computed  the  rates  of  interest
that  would  be  realizable  on  the  net  investment  in  the  case  of
$100,000  par  value  of  six  different  high  grade  bonds,  against
which  it  is  assumed  the  maximum  postal  savings  deposits
allowed  by  the  Department’s  regulations  would  be  received.
The  rates  per  annum  on  the  net  investments  vary  from  4.8
per  cent  to  19.36  per  cent.
Banks  often  complain  of  the  large  “amount  of  red  tape”
that  deposits  of  postal  savings  funds  entail.
20  The  bonds  are  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  United
States  after  one  year  from  date  of  issue,  and  are  payable
twenty  years  from  date  of  issue.