ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  SYSTEM  11

Comparison  of  Bank  Facilities  for  Savings  Deposits  and  of

standpoint  of  area  or  that  of  population,  was  the
Southern  States.
The  case  in  favor  of  the  post  offices  was  in  reality ­
  much  stronger  than  the  table  shows.  In  the
first  place,  the  banks  receiving  savings  are  largely
massed  in  the  cities,  each  city  of  importance  having ­
  a  number  of  such  institutions,  while  the  post
offices  are  widely  scattered,  no  city  having  more
than  one  independent  post  office.  In  the  second
place  postal  savings  banks  would  presumably  be
opened  at  numerous  sub-stations,  not  included  in
the  above  figures,  while  mail  carriers  on  rural
free  delivery  routes  would  probably  be  authorized ­
  to  receive  deposits  for  the  postal  savings
banks,  as  in  Holland,  Belgium  and  France.
19  Exclusive  of  island  possessions.

Table  1

Post  Office  Facilities  in  1909

Geographic
Section

Square  miles  to  each  Population  to  each

Bank  Post  office  p,*

Population

Bank  Post  office

Southern  States
Middle  Western  Stat’s
Western  States  .  .
Pacific  States  .  .  .

New  England  States
Eastern  States  .  .  .

95  19  10,100  2,040  4.9
67  14  10,700  2,560  4.2
418  35  13,600  1,120  12.1
113  85  6,500  2,040  8.2
504  111  4,390  967  4.5
883  146  6,470  1,070  6.0
270  50  8,370  1,642  6.4

United  States 19  .  .  .