The Red Cloud chief., 1881-04-07
eer..a C.-sp,raure Cred. u.I....

German Cooperative Credit UsIs.s.
Schulae- Delitssch. In es.sA;;.h;s~ -
unions which bear his name. proceeded
from the standpoint ths, the greatest
service those whose position In life has
given them the advantage Of greater in
t~eilec,uai de~yelopns<nt can render 10
the laboring classesis TO teach then TO
grasp the means Of self-heip which Die
within their reach, and TO arenythen
thet: trust In their power. Thsae
unions find their strength in the power
of organization. The motto adoptes. Is
the French one; Ia rosr tozs. .oss
pour ma. Zone Cor all. AL for one.) In
other words they are founded on the
principle Of full liability Of each and
every member for al debts of the asso-
citation The security offered isa DIFF
fercni n Tor that recognized usually
in business circles; IL is in considerable
degree personaL. Que hborer alone,
have he \ project never > sure % sue
cess, and be he never so ssillful himself
Is not able 10 borrow money from capi-
talists. least Of all from banks. unless
he can pledge property. easily realixa-
bic. To more than the full amount; II he
does not do IL. some friend Il Obliged 10
DO IL for him. or he must De deprived
Of the use of credit IL several
each having need Of credit, bind
themselves together in such q way as 10
be unitedly responsible for the debt OF
all. n capitalist a well afford TO lend
them money. lie can calculate upon
the theory Of probabilities, n the life
insurance companies do. IL they are
ordinarily clever men-and provision IL
made for that in the credi,-unions, rs
We shall see hereaftcr-a certain per
cent. are bound 10 succeed well enough
to pay any reasonable loan made to all.
Some might be inclined To smile at such
an investment rs dangerous. but the
plan has worked brilliantly in Germany.
Ii is doubtful IL, in America. any one
Kind Of business can show so small q
proportionate number of failures rs the
cooperative German unions. Yet these
unions have provided the poor and
propertyless with credit. Their good
name has grown and more money has
often been offered them at low rates of
Interestingly pay on an average about
four and a half per cent. per annum-
than they could use. In places where
they have been established the unions
have made all those worthy Of credit
able TO obtain il. Instead Of charging
interest varying from fifty TO ven
hundred per cent. they have lent
money To tho =" little" man at rates
varying from six TO ten per cent
for example in rare cases, TO defrsy
the expense Of starting a new bank, the
has been eleven per cent. One
chief element in the organization Of
credit unions is. therefore, the full liza
bility of all members. The second is q
and formation Of capital by the
members. They must become share
No one can become a member
OF a credit-union without purchasing
in the business. A majority OF
those, however, for whom the associa-
are designed are unable 10 pur.
chase their shares at once; accordingly,
they are sold on part payments, each Of
is so small that the ordinary
can spare the sum. Thus in a
few years il happens that a large part
Of the stock of the banks belongs to the
members. The calculation is that each
member shall buy shares to the amount
Of fifty TO n hundred thalers. As Ger
many is a poor country and wages low,
The corresponding minimum for the
United States ought to be, at least. one
hundred dollars. This may be consid-
cred insignificant, but it is not TO be
forgotten that n main point to encOur-
lge in saving is to create a taste for i.
A large part of those who Join the
Inions never before had so much capital
n their possession; in fact, neYer be-
ore had any capital which was yielding
revenue and accommodating.
In cultivating a habit of providing for
he future the Importance of the first
tep cannot be Overestimated. The
elf-respect and Importance of the Ia
'orers are raised as soon rs they become,
ven in a small way, capitalists. The
that they are members of a Z
argc and powerful institution has been !
ound to help wonderfully. This may s
called sentiment, but as it is, like
many other sentiments, q reality and O
for good, that is no objection.
cry many a be led TO save only by I
UGH powerful motives as the associa-
ions offer, inasmuch as the shares are ]
lade a source Of gain and credit can ]
e obtained by the most only by becom- s
lg members. 1t is touching to read Of !
he race in saving which sometimes d
place between the members of b
he credit unions after they have be- r
ONE fairly started. particularly after o
ne first dividends have been declared. S
he poor strive to keep up with those a
etter circumstanced by the most rigOr- a
US economy. by cutting Off every un- q
ecessary expense. The unions thus {
ecome savings-banks and render the
avn shops unnecessary for its men,
ers.-1tiGntic Monthly.