1905-1906.

Statistics of Savings Banks.

NUMBER OF DEPOSITORS, AMOUNT OF DEPOSITS, AND AVERAGE TO EACH DEPOSITOR,

STATES

AND

TERRITORIES.

Maine....

N. Hampshire...

Vermont

Massachusetts

Rhode Island....

Depositor. TERRITORIES.

$81,130,812 $367.77 West Virginia...

Average to Each Depositor.

$1,031,516 $206.30

STATES

AND

5,000

435. 28 North Carolina.

*26,598

5,111,651 192.18

Connecticut..

493,883

232,848,307

471, 46 Ohio

Indiana

343.22

Minnesota.

* 335,527

1,087,746

$385,503,865 $354.41

Delaware

30,119

8,325,800

276.43

$1,656,905,727) $465.06]

*Partially estimated. Whole number of banks, 1,319,

No returns for 1904-1905 from the following States and returns for previous years are given: Alabama, 1893-94, depositors, 2,500; amount of deposits, $102,347. New Mexico, 1894-95, depositors, 217; amount of deposits, $37,951. Washington, 1894-95, depositors, 5,512; amount of deposits, $1,148, 104. Oregon, 1895-96, depositors, 1,631; amount of deposits, $972,298. Georgia, 1896-97, depositors, 5,384; amount of deposits, $288,010. South Carolina, 1900-01, depositors, 23,164; amount of deposits. $5, 785, 792. Florida, 1899-1900, depositors, 877; amount of deposits, $225, 395. Louisiana, 1899-1900, depositors, 10, 518; amount of deposits, $3,284,892. Texas, 1899-1900, depositors, 2, 986; amount, $584, 424. Tennessee, 1900-1901, depositors, 19, 823; amount, $3,519,333. SAVINGS BANKS, DEPOSITORS, AND DEPOSITS IN THE UNITED STATES EVERY TEN YEARS FROM 1830 TO 1890 AND ANNUALLY SINCE 1895.

The above and following tables were compiled from the report of the Comptroller of the Currency. NUMBER OF DEPOSITORS AND AMOUNT OF DEPOSITS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. (Latest reports received by the Comptroller of the Currency.)

1,319

8,027, 192

The Bankruptcy Law.

EXTRACTS FROM THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY ACT OF JULY 1, 1898.

SEC. 4. WHO MAY BECOME BANKRUPTS.-(a) Any person who owes debts, except a corporation, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act as a voluntary bankrupt.

(b) Any natural person (except a wage-earner or a person engaged chiefly in farming or the tillage of the soil), any unincorporated company, and any corporation engaged principally in manufacturing, trading, printing, publishing, or mercantile pursuits, owing debts to the amount of one thousand dollars or over, may be adjudged an involuntary bankrupt upon default or an impartial trial, and shall be subject to the provisions and entitled to the benefits of this act. Private bankers, but not national banks or banks incorporated under State or Territorial laws, may be adjudged involuntary bankrupts. SEC. 7. DUTIES OF BANKRUPTS. —(a) The bankrupt shall (1) attend the first meeting of his creditors, if directed by the court or a judge thereof to do so, and the hearing upon his application for a discharge, if filed; (2) comply with all lawful orders of the court; (3) examine the correctness of all proofs of claims filed against his estate; (4) execute and deliver such papers as shall be ordered by the court; (5) execute to his trustee transfers of all his property in foreign countries; (6) immediately inform his trustee of any attempt, by his creditors or other persons, to evade the provisions of this act, coming to his knowledge; (7) in case of any person having to his knowledge proved a false claim against his estate, disclose that fact immediately to his trustee; (8) prepare, make oath to, and file in court within ten days, unless further time is granted, after the adjudication if an involuntary bankrupt, and with the petition if a voluntary bankrupt, a schedule of his property, showing the amount and kind of property, the location thereof, its money value in detail, and a list of his creditors, showing their residences, if known (if unknown that fact to be stated), the amount due each of them, the consideration thereof, the security held by them, if any, and a claim for such exemptions as he may be entitled to. all in triplicate, one copy of each for the clerk, one for the referee, and one for the trustee; and (9) when present at the first meeting of his creditors, and at such other times as the court shall order, submit to an examination concerning the conducting of his business, the cause of his bankruptcy, his dealings with his creditors and other persons, the amount, kind, and whereabouts of his property, and, in addition, all matters which may affect the administration and settlement of his estate; but no testimony given by him shall be offered in evidence against him in any criminal proceedings.

Provided, however, that he shall not be required to attend a meeting of his creditors, or at or for an examination at a place more than one hundred and fifty miles distant from his home or principal place of business, or to examine claims except when presented to him, unless ordered by the court, or a judge thereof, for cause shown, and the bankrupt shall be paid his actual expenses from the estate when examined or required to attend at any place other than the city, town, or village of his residence. FAILURES IN THE UNITED STATES.

* Nine months to September 30. Other years calendar years. These statistics were prepared for THE WORLD ALMANAC by R. G. Dun & Co.

Comparative Cost of Living in the United States.

DUN'S INDEX NUMBER OF COMMODITY PRICES PROPORTIONED TO CONSUMPTION. IN the following table Dun's Index Number is given for July 1 each year, beginning with 1860. Figures are separated into the seven principal classes for convenience of comparison. Many hundred commodities are embraced in the table, which covers practically all the necessaries of life. In explanation of the Index Number it should be stated that quantities of each commodity are taken in accordance with the annual per capita consumption, so that no article receives more or less than its relative position of importance. As the same quantities are taken of the same articles at each date, the record gives a faithful representation of the course of prices. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining accurate retail prices, wholesale quotations are taken. Consequently, to obtain the actual cost of living per capita, it is necessary to add a certain percentage of profit to the retailer. Otherwise the Index Number shows the actual wholesale cost of a year's supplies of all the necessaries of life for a single individual at each date. There is no question of percentages, the exact figures being given. Thus, products costing $115, 19 and one-tenth of a cent on July 1, 1860, rose to $278.98 in 1864, declined to $72. 45 in 1897, and were $105.21 at the latest date.

NOTE.-Breadstuffs include many quotations of wheat, corn, oats, rye, and barley, besides beans, and peas; meats include live hogs, beef, sheep, and many provisions, lard, tallow, etc.; dairy and garden products include eggs, vegetables, and fruits; other foods include fish, liquors, condiments, sugar, rice, tobacco, etc.; clothing includes the raw material of each industry, and many quotations of woollen, cotton, and other textile goods, as well as hides, leather, boots, and shoes; metals include various quotations of pig iron, and partially manufactured and finished products, as well as minor metals, coal, and petroleum. The miscellaneous class embraces many grades of hard and soft lumber, lath, brick, lime, glass, turpentine, hemp, linseed oil, paints, fertilizers, and drugs.

Nutritiveness of Foods.

AVERAGE quantity of nutritive matter in 1,000 parts of varieties of animal and vegetable food.

United States Executive Civil Service.

(Revised for this issue of THE WORLD ALMANAC by the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission.) THE purpose of the Civil Service act, as declared in its title, is "to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United States." It provides for the appointment of three Commissioners, a chief Examiner, a Secretary, and other employés, and makes it the duty of the Commissioners to aid the President as he may request in preparing suitable rules for carrying the act into effect; to make regulations to govern allexaminations held under the provisions of the act, and to make investigations and report upon all matters touching the enforcement and effect of the rules and regulations. The address of the Commission is Washington, D. C.

PROVISIONS OF THE RULES.

The act requires the rules to provide, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will warrant, for open competitive practical examinations for testing the fitness of applicants for the classifid service; for the filling of all vacancies by selections from among those graded highest; for the apportionment of appointments at Washington among the States upon the basis of population; for a period of probation before absolute appointment; that no person in the public service shall be obliged to contribute service or money for political purposes; and that no person in said service has any right to use his official authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person or body.

EXTENT OF THE SERVICE.

There are about 327,000 positions in the Executive Civil Service, over half of which, or 184,178, are subject to competitive examination. The expenditure for salaries in the Executive Civil Service is over $200,000,000 a year. The Civil Service act does not require the classification of persons appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate or of persons employed merely as laborers or workmen. Many positions are excepted in part from the provisions of the rules for various reasons, the largest single class being those of fourth-class postmasters, of which there were 60, 592 on January 1, 1906.

APPLICATIONS.

Persons seeking to be examined must file an application blank. The blank for the Departmental Service at Washington, Railway Mail Service, the Indian School Service, and the Government Printing Service should be requested directly of the Civil Service Commission at Washington. The blank for the Customs, Postal, or Internal Revenue Service should be requested of the Civil Service Board of Examiners at the office where service is sought.

Applicants for examination must be citizens of the United States, and of the proper age. No person using intoxicating liquors to excess may be appointed. No discrimination is made on account of sex, color, or political or religious opinions. The limitations of age vary with the different services, but do not apply to any person honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the United States by reason of disability resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty.

EXAMINATIONS.

The examinations are open to all persons qualified in respect to age, citizenship, legal residence, character, and health. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1906, 96,619 persons were examined, 70,910 passed, and 28,555 were appointed. Of those appointed, 9,150 were rural letter-carriers. In addition to these, mechanics and workmen at navy yards are appointed on registration tests of fitness given by a board of labor employment at each yard. During the year, 20 658 applications were made; 20,435 were registered, and 10,495 were appointed. Nearly seven hundred different kinds of examinations were held, each one of which involved different tests. Two hundred and forty-eight of these examinations contained educational tests, the others being for mechanical trades or skilled occupations and consisting of certificates of employers or fellow-workmen. Examinations are held twice a year in each State and Territory, the places and dates being publicly announced.

APPOINTMENTS.

In case of a vacancy not filled by promotion, reduction, transfer, or reinstatement, the highest three of the sex called for on the appropriate register are certified for appointment, the apportionment being considered in appointments at Washington. In the absence of eligibles, or when the work is of short duration, temporary appointments, without examination, are permitted. The number of women applying for ordinary clerical places is greatly in excess of the calls of appointing officers. The chances of appointment are good for teachers, matrons, seamstresses, and physicians in the Indian Service, for male stenographers and typewriters, draughtsmen, patent examiners, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers, and for technical and scientific experts.

PREFERENCE CLAIMANTS.

Persons who served in the military or naval service of the United States, and were discharged by reason of disabilities resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty, are, under the Civil Service rules, given certain preferences. They are released from all maximum age limitations, are eligible for appointment at a grade of 65, while all others are obliged to obtain a grade of 70, and are certified to appointing officers before all others. Subject to the other conditions of the rules, a veteran of the rebellion or of the war with Spain, or the widow of any such person, or any army nurse of either war, may be reinstated without regard to the length of time he or she has been separated from the service.

INSULAR POSSESSIONS.

Examinations are also held for positions in the Philippines, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, and also for the Isthmian Canal service. THE UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE.

Under an executive order unclassified laborers are appointed after open, competitive examination upon their physical condition. This action is outside the Oivil Service act.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

Among the publications of the Commission for free distribution are the following:

Manual of Examinations, giving places and dates of examinations, rules by which papers are rated, descriptions of examinations, specimen questions, and general information.

The Civil Service Act and Rules.

The Annual Reports of the Commission, showing its work. These annual reports, of which twentytwo have been issued, may be consulted at public libraries.

Civil Service Rules in the City of New York.

SYNOPSIS of regulations governing the admission of persons into the civil service of the City of New York. Information may also be had by applying to the Secretary of the Municipal Civil Service Commission, 299 Broad way, New York City.

Under the White Civil Service law, Chapter 370, Laws of 1899, April 19, the rules apply to all positions in the service of the City of New York except officers elected by the people, all legislative officers and employés, heads of any department, or superintendents, principals, or teachers in a public school, academy, or college. This requires examinations, wherever practicable, to ascertain the fitness of applicants for appointment to the civil service of said city." The Constitution requires that these examinations shall be competitive, so far as practicable.''

APPLICATIONS.

Applications of competitors for positions must be addressed to the "Secretary of the Municipal Civil Service Commission, New York City," and must set forth:

Applications are only received when an examination is ordered for a position.

First-The affidavit of the applicant showing his age, whether a citizen of the United States, giving his place of residence, with the street and number thereof, if any; the place, nature, and extent of his education, and of his business training and experience, and stating whether he has ever been in the civil service of the City of New York, or in the military or naval service of the United States, and if so, when and where.

Second-A statement whether such application is limited to any particular office in the service. Third-The certificate of four reputable persons of the City of New York, that they have been personally acquainted with the applicant for at least one year, and believe him to be of good moral character, of temperate and industrious habits, and in all respects fit for the service he wishes to enter, and that each of them is willing that such certificate should be published for public information, and will upon request give such further information concerning the applicant as he may possess.

Applicants for the following positions must, before being admitted to examination, present satisfactory evidence as to the following facts:

First-If the position to be filled be that of physician, surgeon, medical officer, inspector of vaccination, or sanitary inspector, that the applicant is duly authorized by the laws of the State of New York to practise medicine and surgery. Second-If the position to be filled be that of chemist or analyzer, that the applicant has received the degree of Bachelor of Sciences, or its equivalent, from some institution duly authorized by law to confer such degree.

In positions where the duties are professional, technical, or expert, the candidates will be required toshow what preliminary training or technical education they have undergone to qualify them for such situations before they can be admitted to examination.

In all examinations for professional positions, or positions requiring technical knowledge, no person shall be placed on the eligible list who obtains a rating in technical knowledge of less than 75.

CONDUCT OF EXAMINATIONS.

Applicants shall be admitted to examination upon the production of the official notification to appear for that purpose. Each applicant shall receive a number,which shall be indorsed upon his notification when produced, and the notifications so indorsed shall be sealed in an envelope. Each applicant shall sign his examination papers with his number, omitting his name, and the envelope shall not be opened until all the examination papers have been received and the markings and gradings made. All paper upon which examinations are to be written shall be furnished to the applicants by the examining board and shall bear some suitable official indorsement, stamp, or mark, for the purpose of identifying the same.

All examinations shall be in writing, except such as refer to expertness or physical qualities, and except as herein otherwise provided.

The sheets of questions shall be numbered and shall be given out in the order of their numbers, each, after the first, being given only when the competitor has returned to the examiners the last sheet given to him. In general, no examination shall extend beyond five hours without intermission; and no questions given out at any session, to any candidate, shall be allowed to be answered at another session.

Each examiner shall exercise all due diligence to secure fairness and prevent all collusion and fraud in the examinations.

The time allowed for completing the examination shall be announced before the first paper is given out. The following municipal departments and offices come under jurisdiction of Civil Service rules:

The inspectors of elections and poll clerks are exempt from examination. Special patrolmen, appointed pursuant to section 269 of the New York City Consolidation act, are also exempt.