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tors the intricacies of the routine that enables private banks to obtain the very funds that their owners would not intrust to them directly. OME strange and intensely human facts hide behind S the prosaic operation of the system. Many are so odd that I am sure few persons realize just what Uncle Sam, Banker, has found out in his new role. On last January 1 there were about 375,000 depositors, against 12,000 at the end of the first six months. On the latter date the total of deposits was slightly less than $700,000; today it exceeds $40,000,000. One-sixth of the total amount on deposit is held in three offices,-New York, Chicago, and Brooklyn,-the other five-sixths being distributed in 13,000 other depositories. The big cities lead in number of depositors as well as in amounts on deposit; yet towns almost unknown to students of geography show the highest average of individual deposits. New York City, first in rank, showed at the end of the last fiscal year average deposits of only $88; while the highest were shown by Roslyn, Washington, forty-third in rank, with $271. The lowest average was credited to Providence, Rhode Island, with $65; while Philadelphia and Newark were the next lowest, each with $68. Brooklyn also was near the bottom of the list, with $71. The mining districts have medium averages; Goldfield, Nevada, showing $175, and Anaconda, Montana, $177. The same may be said of agricultural centers. The fact that cities show more depositors and higher total deposits than smaller towns proves conclusively that the money intrusted to the government is money that did not appear, unless in negligible quantity, in bank balances prior to 1911. By States, New York is in the lead; and, although Chicago is the second ranking city, Illinois yields second place to Ohio, whose ranking city is Cincinnati, eighth in the list. ECULIAR is the attitude of many depositors with P regard to bank failures. The laboring man's lack of familiarity with banks naturally causes him to distrust them: but in some cases a similar feeling has been discovered where the banks cater only to an intelligent class of clients, most of them professional men and government clerks, thereby showing that the impulse to "trust the government" is not always explainable on the plea of ignorance. This was learned during a run on a Washington bank, in the shadow of the Postoffice Department, last November. The situation did not warrant any apprehension on the part of depositors, many of whom were conversant with the exact state of affairs; yet 147 postal deposit accounts were opened in five days, $15,000 being received, while $24,000 had to be rejected because of the restrictions-whose existence, by the way, was unknown to government employees earning salaries of between $1,000 and $1,800. After the First National Bank of Pittsburgh was closed last year many depositors wanted to leave large sums with the postmaster of that city. These sums ranged from $1,000 to $9,000. While no record was kept of the amount offered and refused, the aggregate was in excess of $100,000. Despite the limitations, the deposits in Pittsburgh increased more than $250,000 in the four months following the failure, and the postmaster stated in his report that but for the limit his office would have taken in $2,000,000 in six months, as against the total then on record of $400,000. Ironwood, Michigan, with about 12,000 population, was made a savings depository in May, 1911. A bank failure occurred there a year afterward. The postal savings at Ironwood now aggregate about $150,000, more than many cities of ten times the population accumulate. One poor fellow discovered the disadvantage of limited protection only a few weeks ago. He brought $300 to deposit with the Washington postmaster. He deposited the $100 receivable under the present regulations and carried the other $200 on his person. A short time latter he was robbed of the latter sum. Another
