Rensselaer Republican, Volume 24, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1891 — A TEMPLE TO THE UNKNOWN. [ARTICLE]

A TEMPLE TO THE UNKNOWN.

The Temple la a Big Saving* Bank and the Unknown Are Depositors. New York Special to Indianapolis Journal. A mystery is dispelled. During the past year a very beautful structure in marble has been slowly and lazily developing its proportions at the corner of Sixth avenue and Sixteenth street, which is in the very heart of New York’s busiest retail shopping district. Adjoining the site in the cross street stands the imposingchurch and college of St. Xavier, and the architecture of the hew structure,is so church-Hke that most people believed it was an extension of the St. Xavier establishment. Still it was marveled that so costly a corner, with a goodly frontage bn- the avenue, should” be devoted to relmious purposes. Owners and occupants of neighboring premises could not learn the purpose of The new buildintf,“audit" was a matter of womier why. if it destined for a house of worship, that there should be any secret about it. Real estate men ascertained that the ground had been conveyed to a capitalist and that the contracts for the work were made with him, but he declined to explain. It did not seem possible that he was going to estabchurch without a congregation on a business corner and at so great arccrst,r-yet that was one of the strrmises. A placard now solves the riddle. It says: ‘ ; This building will be occupied by the Greenwich Savings Bank.” It is a temple to the unknown, for it is being built with the accumulation of unclaimed deposits in one of our oldest savings banks. The Greenwich is an ancient and solid institution, founded when the village of Greenwich was a suburb of New York city. The present banking house is ten blocks farther down Sixth avenue, in a situation lying just between two differently populated quarters—one filled with highly respectable people of moderate means, or just such as are always the chief supporters of savings banks and the other inhabited, until very “ffltelyj7by STtorße of vicidus folks. These latter were also depositors in the Greenwich, and it is they who have most heavily provided the money for this temple to the unknown. The law of this State makes no provision as to the disposal of unelaimed deposits further than to stipulate that they shall cease to draw interest after remaining twenty years undisturbed. The directors of the Greenwich found, two years ago, that a careful examination of their books showed an aggregate of more than a hundred thousand dollars that had remained unchanged by either additions, subtractions Or other indication that the depositor was alive. The sums separately were very small? not one being above a hundred dob lars, and the greater number under five, not counting accrued interest. The question what to do with this money was discussed. It was desirable to move the bank a little further up town; so it was finally determined to buy the site already described and build thereon the finest savings bank in town. The material is stone and iron, with a heavy ornate exterior, and perfectly fire proof, and contains nothing else than quarters for the bank’s business. Thus it will be unproductive from any sub-let portions, and thus undisfigured. by anything to make it look other thap like some luxurious temple.