1. Nationality Of Depositors

As already explained, the depositors belong chiefly to the working classes and, in the larger cities especially, many of them are foreigners. The number, too, in some of the older banks, is very large. Thus the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, which was organized in 1819, has over two hundred thousand depositors.1

2. Making Deposits

Many of them have a very imperfect idea of the mode of depositing and drawing out money. In general, it may be said that a savings bank requires a ticket or voucher for the money received, like a bank of discount and deposit. However small the amount, this invariably accompanies every deposit. The ticket in the ease of the larger banks is a little fuller than the ticket already described. It contains four things: the amount of the deposit, the name of the depositor, his address, and the date. In some banks these tickets are made out by the depositors themselves; in many cases the depositors are quite unable to do this, and the tickets are prepared by the receiving teller.

3. Registry

When a depositor appears for the first time, he is required, as in the case of an ordinary bank depositor, to enter his name in a book kept for that purpose. It lies on a revolving desk, which in a large bank is in constant use. In this the depositor writes his name, or, if unable to do this, it is written for him and he makes his mark. At the same time some additional information is extracted from the depositor relating to his residence, age, whether married or not, whether white or colored, his father's, mother's, wife's name, his occupation, and whence he came. The information thus gathered is in due time tabulated, and valuable conclusions are drawn therefrom.

1 The exact number on March 9, 1903, was 235,160 Of the 45,713 depositors who opened accounts in this bank. in 1902 were Americans,

4.863. Irish, .400 Russians, 3,904 germans, 1,904. Italian 1, 627 English, 1,425

Australians,319 Turks, and the remainder were from twenty other countries

4. Pass Book

The next step is to give him a pass book. This has a number outside and inside corresponding with one opposite the line on which his name is written in the signature book. This number is very important, for it is the key to all of his dealings with the bank. There may be a dozen similar names, but there are never two similar numbers. For this reason the number is written on every deposit ticket, it is written opposite the first entry in the book of the bank, it stands at the head of the ledger account. These numbers are printed wherever they can be to avoid mistakes; but, as depositors may forget the number of their book, it is necessary to find him somewhere by name. The signature clerk therefore enters his name on a card which is put in an alphabetical index of the names of all the depositors.

5. Pass Book Not Negotiable

A savings-bank book is not negotiable. Various attempts have been made to endow them with this quality. There is one conclusive reason at least why they never should be. As we have learned in a former chapter, one of the peculiarities of negotiable paper is, a third person to whom it is transferred in good faith for a proper consideration is completely shielded from all defenses that the maker might use against the original payee. The third person can take such paper without the slightest fear, unless he has actual knowledge of good defenses by the payee. If the depositor of a savings-bank book could transfer his book to another, like an ordinary negotiable note, the transferee might acquire rights or advantages not possessed by the depositor. Consequently it has been decided that a depositor should not be permitted by assigning his book to confer rights not belonging to himself; "that the nature and purpose of savings banks, and the relation of depositors to each other, as well as their mutual security, all require the application of the principle that no depositor can convey to another any greater right to the funds of the bank than he has himself, and that any defense on the part of the bank which is good against the original depositor is equally good against his assignee." 1