TO HELP THE PUBLIC

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3187, 11 September 1917, Page 7

TO HELP THE PUBLIC

SAFE DEPOSIT SCHEME TO BE CONTROLLED BY THE G.P.O; Arising out -if (ho necessity of having to take up the custody of War Loan I Certificates purchased from the Treasury per medium of the General Post Office, tho officers of "hat Department, I who arc ever keen to sense a public need, havo devised a safe deposit under--taking that is in the not far distant future destined, to play an important part in the business life of the community. Tho G:P.O. does not intend to compete at all with the Public Trust Office (which has had a safe deposit, system in operation for years past), inasmuch as thero will not bo- separate receptacles provided for each depositor. That is the accepted idea in America, where the safe deposit business is an institution of some-magnitude, .but in this case the G.P.O. will not accept plate, or jewellery, or money, but they will accept War Loan Certificates, War Bonds, Treasury Bonds, wills, titles to property, and mortgage deeds, which.are to be placed in envelopes to bo sealed by the. owner and kept in special safes of a standard 6lKO,'which in turn will be- kept in the strong room or. the nearest approach to it that : the office can provide. The peculiar virtue of the safe, a number of which have been ordered from England; is the inclusion in its make up of a chemical, the heating of which liberates a gas which precludes the entrance of either fiamo or smoke into tho safe, even if a tiny breach wero to be mado "in its .armour.

' So far . authorisation has been given for forty centres lo bo entrusted vith the work, but nothing will be done until the 6afes-arrive, as for the safo custody of such valuable- documents absolutp protection mus: be guaranteed. The Department hopes to make tho schemo pay. To do this depositors are to .be charged ss„ 10s., or £1 a' year, according to the bnilk of the package, for the privilege of leaving their valuable papers.> in the ohargo of the P.O. For that charge it is proposed <hat the depositor shall be granted tho lvrivil-'go. of handling his package four times a vear free of charge. Over and- above that he will be askod to pay sixpence a visit. This is a provision which has been carefully thought out. It may be- considered by some to be a hardship . for a person not io be able to get at'liis valuable documents at any time for nothing. On consideration the conclusion was come to that tile ordlnarv man .would not wish to inspect his titles, will or mortgage deeds more than four times a yea.r. and inter-; est on War Bonds was only payable twice a year, so that four free visits was considered n fair proposal. It is recognised that there aro peculiarly-con-stituted people who may like to handle their documents every week, not perhaps to make an addition or subtraction, but merelv for the sake of knowing that they aro safe and sound. That may sound absurd, but there are instances nn record in the Post Office Savines Bank, where people have withdrawn the whole of their money from the bank, counted it there and then in, the office, and then \ re-deposited it—jost to satisfy themselves Shai the money they deposited was still there. Even that person will be allowed to satisfy,his curiosity, but. over and above the four free visits allowed by regulation, ho or she will have to pay 6d. a visit, as each'visit the nftenuiince of a highly-responsible officer. Outside the chief post offices it will prbbablv mean that the postmaster himself will have to attend to the work.

In the cities this form of safe deposit is almost bound to develop into a big business, as probably those who have never had many ' valuable documents have now either War Bonds oriCertifii cates, which they may be at a loss to know precisely what to. do with.' At present the Post Office will accept the custody of "WaT Loan Certificates, but 'once they are withdrawn they cannot be re-deposited. War Bondß will not be accepted until the now .safe deposit scheme is in working order, for the simple rea-son-that it would take up the time of a responsible officer tq stand by when the depositors called to get their interest, coupons. Under the new G.P.O. safe deposit ' system they will be able to do so without trenching on anyone's time in particular; The new system will probably do away to a great extent with the family cash-box, and the old desk in the corner will be relieved of its responsiI bility. Some interested people may see no virtues in the new scheme, but that need not necessarily worry the G.P.O. officials, who are only anxious to assist the public in a direction they believe the public needs ,assrstanc6.