LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION,

Washington, August 31, 1914.

SIR: Education for life must include much more than the conning and reciting of lessons in textbooks and the working out of assigned tasks in the laboratory. Among other things in a country and a civilization like ours, it must include some instruction in the simple principles of economics and some training in the use of money and in habits of thrift. The increasing use of the school savings bank indicates one simple, easy, and practical method of making this a part of the education of the schools. The general adoption of the school savings banks by the schools of the country would, I believe, result in much good. To give information about the origin and growth of the school savings banks and the methods of conducting them, I recommend that the accompanying manuscript, prepared by Mrs. Sara Louise Oberholtzer in cooperation with this bureau, be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of Education.

Respectfully submitted.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

P. P. CLAXTON,

Commissioner.

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SCHOOL SAVINGS BANKS.

I. INTRODUCTION-THE VALUE OF SCHOOL SAVINGS BANKS.

The value of school savings banks is widely recognized. School saving develops the child's individuality and self-responsibility, causing him to consider the earning value of money, and to understand it as a comfort factor and a power for good. If the proper idea is imparted in the teaching, the saving of pennies becomes an incentive to industry, honesty, and generosity; the child learns that only by owning will he have the power to expend and distribute.

Realization of the accumulative force and interest-bearing ability of small sums of money becomes an incentive to save from waste. As a nation we need to develop the sense of economy and thrift. In general, Americans know better how to earn than how to save. We need to be constantly reminded that it is not so much the lack of ability to acquire money as lack of judgment in expending it wisely that occasions penury.

A large amount of practical education-moral, industrial, and economic would undoubtedly lessen the proportion of crime and pauperism. The nonproducing classes, when educated and trained, become producers, thereby improving the community at large. If the paupers and criminals, who are a drain on society and a menace to civilization, had been given instruction in moral and practical economy when young, few, if any, of them would have become what they are.

It is very difficult to teach thrift to men and women who have grown up ignorant of its first essentials. In children, however, we have unwrought material to work with, and we can as readily impress them with the habit of economy as we can teach them arithmetic and geography. Frugality is one of the most important factors of citizenship. When every boy and girl in the country has a bank account of from $100 to $400 at the time of graduation from the elementary school course an achievement possible in any community where school savings banks are in operation-the future will be far more secure. An accumulated fund of this sort makes it possible for the boy or girl to engage in a small business, go on with higher study, or do whatever most appeals to him or her.

It is of great economic value to a nation to have a frugal, understanding people, and if for no other reason than that of national well-being,

practical thrift should be taught in the schools. Recently many prominent schoolmen have come to realize the fundamental importance of thrift-teaching. Thus Dr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, superintendent of public instruction for Pennsylvania, writes:

It affords me pleasure to bear testimony to the value of thrift-teaching in connection with school savings banks as they have been introduced into some schools in Pennsylvania. Careful management of these savings and the teaching of thrift by this means will prepare the pupils for their future duties as citizens and the makers of homes. I wish school savings banks abundant success.

Mr. Charles D. Hine, secretary of the State Board of Education of Connecticut, is active in his advocacy of school savings banks. He has mailed pamphlets on school savings to his superintendents, and says, "I think practical thrift should be taught in all public schools." State Supt. Hyatt, of California, writes: "I should be glad to see school savings banks in all the schools of California. They are worthy of high commendation."

Superintendent of Schools W. J. McKone, of Albion, Mich., where school savings have been collected since 1901, says: "Our experience with the school savings bank has been exceedingly satisfactory. I become more and more convinced of its educational value to our young people;" and the secretary of the board of education in the same city adds: "As a department of our public schools for the teaching of economy, thrift, and business habits, I consider the school savings bank of great value; any system of education is incomplete without it."

The report of the public schools of Augusta, Me., where the school savings system was taken up in 1900 and has been actively popular ever since, declares:

It is an institution to be heartily encouraged. While the deposits of the pupils frequently reach surprisingly high figures, and have been known to make possible college education, the chief value of this banking lies in its power as a developer of character. The value of the deposit is not at all commensurate with the worth of the habit encouraged thereby-power of self-denial, prudence, thrift, and economy. Gum and candy are sacrificed, while pennies, teeth, and health are saved.

Supt. Marshall, of Augusta, adds his personal word:

The thrift-teaching is invaluable here. The habits of self-denial, industry, thoughtfulness, and frugality encouraged and acquired by the children in the school savings work are beyond compute. Augusta gives it unqualified approval.

Mr. Addison L. Jones, superintendent of the West Chester (Pa.) public schools, where the school savings banks system was adopted in 1890 and has been in continuous successful use, said recently:

It has almost weeded the cigarette habit out of our school. It is the making of our boys. One of our pupils saved $750, and is putting himself through college. Another boy used his school savings to start a little business, and he is now partner in a good grocery store here. I believe that the thrift habit is of more practical value than anything we teach.