The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1915. THRIFT AMONG THE NATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 255, 7 April 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1915. THRIFT AMONG THE NATIONS.

In this time of economic stress it is advisable to turn attention to the subject of national thrift as bearing on the qui.* tion of how the nations now engaged in war will be able to boar the strain and meet the inevitable aftermath. Uit differing forms which thrift takes among various nations and countries make it impossible to give a reliable comparison of the international relations. Thrift is that by which the individual or Oc people thrives, and, so regarded, not only may there be many forms of thrift, but there may be, there are, differences of opinion of what does produce a thriving condition. The thrift more particularly under consideration is that which refers to the working class, or the lower middle class, who can have but comparatively small means beyond their daily needs. It is, of course, impossible to unravel the economic and financial affairs of certain classes and place them apart from the general welfare, the inter: weaving of finance of all kinds being too intricate, but we can gain at least a reliable insight into the general questiui from such materials as are available. In Great Britain the complex character of thrift is particularly noticeable. In addition to the savings banks, so calico, there small investors in Government stock, building societies, industrial and jrovident societies, life insurance 'industrial), national insurance (both for health and unemployment), besides private methods of which, no account is taken. The Post Office Savings Rank returns for the United Kingdom show that in 1898 there were 7,G30,502 depositors with £123.144,090 to their credit; in 1912 the depositors were 12,780.8!)?, ■ and their deposits £182,104,5.04, the amount, per head in deposits having increased from £lO 2s 9d to £2O lis lOd. Fn the Trustee Savings Banks in the K'imc years the depositors increased from 1.503,947 to 1,870,510, and their deposits from £19.895,372 to £53,811,89!). TV Industrial mid Co-operative Rock-ties n,'-d increased their share capital and doposits from £27,000,000 to £57,000,000, and their sale of goods from £02,000,000 to £120,000,000. The assets of liuild>;?g societies had grown from fifty-siv: to sixty-five millions, wWIe the industrial societies had increased their assets from eighteen to sixty millions. In Russia, thrift largely takes the form of acquiring land by purchase, and the menus to <!•:> so is furnished by the Peasants' liank. The amount wlioili the Bank .had in circulation by way of loan in 1914 was .<.'137,527.'150, made up of 4, 4!, f> and 0 per cent, certificates, chiefly at ;!ie lower rates. It will doubtless be a surprise to the community of Xew Zealand that the Russian peasant usuaiiy

pots an advance of about ninety-tluve [icr cent, of the of the land. The forma of thrift in France are many, mid many of them, from a bankers joint of view, are primitive. The French are naturally timid in regard to the care of their savings, which is not be wondered at considering the risk;' character of a number of banks ni'/l building societies. The leading thrift insUtutipiis may be said to be the Cai.-jso d'Epnrgne, which are of two kinds, t'.c I'r'vee, and Nationale. , The Trivee returns show that in 1900 there, were 7,- ■ oiiß,ooo depositors who had to their en - .- dit 343.1 millions of francs, and in 1010 thf depositors had grown to 8,283,100. end the deposits to 31)33.4 millions ol frances. Tn the Nationale the depositors incioased from 4,795,000 to 5.791.000, ir.u! the deposits from 1335.7 millions of fn-.ncs to "1704.1 millions of francs. A very considerable quantity of the savings of the people is hoarded, and therefore is not accounted for, but their frugality is proverbial, so that it may l)e taken for granted that there u a very strong reserve of funds available for emergencies. In "Germany, the great sheet anchor of thrift is regarded as the system of State insurance on a contributory basis against illness, accident and old age. This insurance in 1909 cost the State 2483.8 thousands of marks, anil >fi]9]r> that 9im had grown to 2375.3 thousands. The public savings banks ;n 1911 had 20,039,094 accounts open ■with deposits amounting to 10,530,075,000 marks. The private savings banks in the same year had 1,710,470 accounts open, with deposits amounting to 1,285.009,000 marks. Both classes of banks show a decided increase for the iast few years. It is fairly evident that the <xe\eise of thrift has been steadily growing of late years, and it is well that this sl ould be so. It must be remembered (hat in none of the countries mentioned do the workers receive anything like tin, same rate of pay as in New .Zealand, so that it is all the more creditable to them to have done so well in making provision for a time of need. If the people of New Zealand were to save in a corresponding ratio, the wealth of the 1/ominion would soon bo very large'y increased, but to do that they woul.l have to largely curtail their present expenditure on luxuries and self-indul-gence.