THE  POSTAL  SAVINGS  BANK  ACT  29

withdrawals  two  somewhat  controversial  questions ­
  arose.  The  first  was:  should  the  administrative ­
  system  be  highly  centralized,  as  in  England ­
  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  withdrawal ­
  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  consequences ­
  in  the  Philippines,  and  which  was  embodied ­
  in  the  bill  introduced  by  Senator  Carter,
April  2,  1908  (S.  6484),  was  said  to  have  the  advantage ­
  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  possible ­
  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  postal ­
  savings  bank.  The  second  plan,  which  was
adopted,  offers  the  advantages  of  much  prompter
service  and  probably  of  greater  economy  in  administration, ­
  because  much  of  the  work  which
Would  otherwise  require  a  large  force  of  clerks  at
Washington  can  be  done  with  little  extra  ex-