“I consider the Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company to be greatly needed by the colored people and have welcomed it as an auxiliary to the Freedmen’s Bureau.”—Major-General O. O. Howard.
To the negro this was sufficient recommendation. There was also printed on the cover a very attractive table, showing how much a man might save by laying aside ten cents a day and placing it in the bank at 6 per cent interest. The first year the man would save, in this way, $36.99, the tenth year would find $489.31 to his credit. And all this by saving ten cents a day—something easily done when labor was in such demand. This unique bank-book had on the back cover some verses for the education of the freedmen. The author of these verses is not known, but the negroes thought that General Howard wrote them.
“’Tis little by little the bee fills her cell;
And little by little a man sinks a well;
’Tis little by little a bird builds her nest;
By littles a forest in verdure is drest;
’Tis little by little great volumes are made;
By littles a mountain or levels are made;
’Tis little by little an ocean is filled;
And little by little a city we build;
’Tis little by little an ant gets her store;
Every little we add to a little makes more;
Step by step we walk miles, and we sew stitch by stitch;
Word by word we read books, cent by cent we grow rich.”
The verses were popular, the whole book was educative, and it was not above the comprehension of the negro. If all the teaching of the negro had been as sensible as this little book, much trouble would have been avoided. It was a proud negro who owned one of these wonderful bank-books, and he had a right to be proud. Many at once began to make use of the savings-banks, and small sums poured in. Only the negroes in and near the three cities—Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile—where the banks were located seem to have made deposits, for those of the other towns and of the country knew little of the institution. During the month of January, 1866, deposits to the amount of $4809 were made in the Mobile branch. This was all in small sums and was deposited at a time of the year when money was scarcest among laborers.[1222] In 1868 the interest paid on long-time deposits to depositors at Huntsville was $38.02; at Mobile, $1349.40. On May 1, 1869, the deposits at Huntsville amounted to $17,603.29; at Mobile, $50,511.66.
The following statements of the two principal banks will show how the scheme worked among the negroes:—
| Huntsville Branch | Mobile Branch | |
| Total deposits to March 31, 1870 | $89,445.10 | $539,534.33 |
| Total number of depositors | 500 | 3,260 |
| Average amount deposited by each | $17.89 | $165.60 |
| Drawn out to March 31, 1870 | 70,586.60 | 474,583.60 |
| Balance to March 31, 1870 | 18,858.50 | 64,750.83 |
| Average balance due to each depositor | 47.114 | 39.82 |
| Spent for land (known) | 1,900.00 | 50,000.00 |
| Dwelling houses | 800.00 | —— |
| Seeds, teams, agricultural implements | 5,000.00 | 15,000.00 |
| Education, books, etc. | 1,200.00 | —— |
Statement of the Business done during August, 1872
| Huntsville | Mobile | Montgomery | ||
| Deposits for the month | $7,343.50 | $11,136.05 | $8,522.90 | |
| Drafts for the month | 10,127.61 | 18,645.62 | 8,679.60 | |
| Total deposits | 416,617.72 | 1,039,097.05 | 238,106.08 | |
| Total drafts | 364,382.51 | 933,424.30 | 213,861.71 | |
| Total due depositors | 52,235.21 | 105,672.75 | 24,244.37 | [1223] |
These branch banks exercised a good influence over the negro population, even over those who did not become depositors. The negroes became more economical, spent less for whiskey, gewgaws, and finery, and when wages were good and work was plentiful, they saved money to carry them through the winter and other periods of lesser prosperity. Some of those who had no bank accounts would save in order to have one, or, at least, save enough money to help them through hard times. Much of the money drawn from the banks was invested in property of some kind. Excessive interest in politics prevented a proper increase in the number of depositors and in the amount of deposits.
In 1874, after the bank failed through dishonest and inefficient management, the liabilities to southern negro depositors amounted to $3,299,201.[1224] A total business of $55,000,000 had been done. The following table, compiled by Hoffman, will show the total business of the bank, 1866 to 1874.[1225]