New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-11-09
CNLlPER11IIE CREUIT

III
over the comments of the foreign press on the
rogucry and folly Of the Western infiationists
in proposing to buy and sell with rags based
Oh the credit and resources of the whole
country in general and no tangible product
of the country in particular, will read with
sort of grim amusement an account OF the
Cooperative Credit Bank which has just
prosecuted The London Times for calling it
disgrace TO the city. This remarkable institu-
ton has its headquarters in London,
and its branches in 10 fewer than
thirty towns of the United Kingdom. 1t
has a Manager, Mr.. Richard Banner Oakley,
+. r. G. S. 1t has a weekly newspaper, es-
tablislied to sound its praises. 1t has corps
of paid lecturers who expound the beauties OF
cooperative credit all over Great Britain. 1t
has no Board of Directors, for MIR. Oakley
breads discussions and divided counsels. 1t
publishes no list of stockholders, for that
would give information to Mr.. Oakley's " ri
"yals.r IL is furnished, however, with four
high-toned and ornamental Trustces-namcly,
a half-pay officer, a workhOuse chaplain, an
architects clerk, and Lancashire shopkeeper.
With this apparatus it does business on the
following original plan:
Mr. Oakley requests corporations TO hand
over to him, in quiet and strictly confiden-
tial manner, either their cash or their notes,
asking no questions, but remembering that
confidence is the key to business activity. He
inutes workingmcn especially to come in and
make their fortunes and he offers to take de-
posts as small as one sovereign. There may
be hundred of these small depOsitors in
single small town. They will never know each
other, and consequently cannot act together if
anything go wrong. But what of thatg The
essence of cooperative credit is to give i'm
plicit credit to Mr.. Oakley, who sits
behind his counter taking in money with
one hand and paying out interest
with the other at speed which
jugglers might envy. How be invests the CAPT
tai, turns it over, doubles it, quadruples it,
keeps it going and multiplying all the time, is
his little secret. There are books of course
from which he publishes periodical statements
of the gross receipts and Outgoes, and with
that the trusting cO0peratOr must remain salts
fed. Upon cash deposits the bank guarantees
an interest of eighteen per cent per annum. If
the cO0peratOr, however, prefer to subscribe
paper, he gives his acceptance at three months,
renewable for like periods till further
notice. In this case the interest is
only twelve per cent, which, considering
that no money whatever has passed,
or is expected to pass, will perhaps not seem
unreasonably little. And what is the capital
of this extraordinary concem2 Well, the cap
ital is going to be 100000, but at the date
of the latest report only 1880 had been
raised Upon this sum, however, the profits
during three months had reached. according TO
Mr.. Oakley, the pretty figure of GS,7O7, being
at the rate of more than $50 per cent per
annum.
1t seems never to have occurred to the work
ingnen and others who co0perated in this scheme
that there was no means of their knowing
whether the accounts were correct, or
whether Mr. Oakley might not be paying
the interest out of the capital until such time
as the deposits got bic enough to be worth
running away with. We would not insinuate
that so ingenious linancier is not thoroughly
honest. and when he does our country the
honor to recommend to foreign capitalists so
powerful and prosperous a company IA the
Keolu; and Kansas City Railroad, the heart
of every good American goes out to him, so to
speak, with bound. But, rs Manchester
paper haively remarks, the system upon which
he does business is open to some objections,
though the man may be all right.