res mature in about sixteen
years. This means in most cases that a prudent tenant can become the
owner of a house in sixteen years while paying no more than the rent
would be. As the active investor he becomes his own rent collector
and uses the house with less need of repairs, thus dispensing with
services and costs which are included in contractual rents.[13]

These associations are properly made subject to supervision and
examination by state officials, in the manner of that exercised over
banks. They have been favored by exempting the shares of members and
the mortgages held by the associations from all state and municipal
taxation. As the houses built or paid for are taxed, this is of course
but just, but it is an exception to the rule of the illogical general
property tax.[14]

Sec. 14. #Possible developments of savings institutions.# The social
importance of increasing and improving the agencies of savings for the
masses is being more fully recognized, but much more might be done in
these directions. Some possible changes have been suggested above, and
a few words more may be added.

Probably the greatest developments in the near future will be through
the savings departments of commercial banks (favored by the reserve
rules of the Federal Reserve Act) rather than by the increase in the
number of special banks for savings. The initial expense and risk of
starting a savings bank is considerable, and outside of cities of some
size this is prohibitive. Whereas a savings department, with its
funds and reserves separated, can be easily and cheaply operated in
connection with a general bank. It is much to be desired, however,
that a larger measure of popular cooeperation might be made possible to
the depositors, both for its educational value and to reduce the real
evil of the autocratic or the plutocratic centralization of the money
power in the small communities.

Savings banks usually limit the amount of an account to $3000. It
is desirable that depositors should be able easily to convert their
savings-bank deposits over certain amounts into good bonds, bearing
a higher rate of interest (after the method of the issue of postal
savings bonds). There is need of a central market in each community
where such bonds can be bought and sold at any time; and the savings
banks might easily serve to buy and sell for their customers in this
way in the larger bond market. This would be of benefit also to the
states and mu