THE POSTAL SAVINGS BANK ACT 29 
withdrawals two somewhat controversial ques 
tions arose. The first was: should the adminis 
trative system be highly centralized, as in Eng 
land and in the Philippines, so that records could 
t^e kept at the central office, where deposits would 
be credited and to which application must be 
made through a postal savings bank for the with 
drawal of funds; or should the system be less 
centralized, the local postmaster keeping records 
°f individual accounts, crediting deposits and 
paying withdrawals directly? The first plan, 
which is carried most nearly to its logical conse 
quences in the Philippines, and which was em 
bodied in the bill introduced by Senator Carter, 
April 2, 1908 (S. 6484), was said to have the ad 
vantage of greater safety, because responsibility 
f°r large sums of money would not be placed 
upon postmasters in all parts of the country. 
1 he centralized plan would also render it possi 
ble for a depositor to make deposits to the credit 
°i his account at any postal savings bank in the 
country and to withdraw funds through any pos 
tal savings bank. The second plan, which was 
adopted, offers the advantages of much prompter 
service and probably of greater economy in ad 
ministration, because much of the work which 
Would otherwise require a large force of clerks at 
Washington can be done with little extra ex-