18 
POSTAL SAVINGS 
troller of the Currency 31 showed that during the 
eighteen years 1892-1909 inclusive there were in 
the United States 1523 bank failures (exclusive 
of national banks), with total assets of $457,- 
640,000, and total liabilities of $565,345,000. 
In these figures are included 153 failures of 
banks which were strictly savings banks, with as 
sets of $47,717,000 and liabilities of $51,786,000. 
Within the same period 344 national banks failed 
(exclusive of those restored to solvency and per 
mitted to resume business within a year of re 
port). In these national bank failures the net 
loss to depositors reported was $16,806,062. 32 
Doubtless a considerable percentage of this sum 
represented small accounts of a saving or “semi 
saving” character—how much is not known. 
After all, such figures give us no adequate 
measure for losses of this kind. “Among the ex 
periences of working people none is more de 
moralizing and few are more cruel than loss of 
savings through failure of banks or absconding 
of individuals intrusted with funds.” 33 To such 
people there is cold comfort in the assurance 
worthy data as to the extent of these losses year by year.” 
Charities, XXI, p. 718. 
31 Rep., 1909, p. 69. 
32 National Monetary Commission, Statistics for the 
United States, 1867-1909, pp. 40-41. 
33 Florence Kelly, Charities, XXI, p. 717.