The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-08
THE POOR MANS BANK.
The Rev. DR.. D. H. Greer Explains a
New Kind Of BeleVOlenCe.
Usury Gets a Black Eye-How st.
Bartholomew Congregation Ad-
vanced Large Sum of Money to
Be Loaned to the Deserving.

vanced a Large Sum of Money &C
Be Loaned to the Deserving.
Copyright 1919
New York, April by this time
nearly everybody has heard something
about the St. Bartholomew's Loar
Bureau, which was recently opened by
the distinguished rector of St. Bartholo
news Protestant Episcopal church, Rev
DR.. David H. Greer, in East Forty
street. Next to Old Trinity St. Bar
tholomew's is the wealthiest parish
in New York, and among the
congregation are many Of the
richest and most prominent people in the
city. Some of these are, Chauncey NJ
Depew, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Austin
Corbin, Henry Lewis Morris, George w
williams, Benjamin Brewster, Charles
r.. Henderson. j. H. Hamersley, w. Tod
Helmuth, G. G. Haven, William r. COch-
ran, Beverly Robinson, Robert E. Bonner,
Charles r. Henderson, Henry T. Sloane,
and hundreds of others who are promi-
nent in the social and financial world.
DIR. Greer is one Of the most progress
sive and enterprising members Of the
Christian ministry in the metropolis,
and is thinking constantly Of new work
that can be done 10 help and benefit hui
manity. In opening his loan once he fol-
lowed a principle which characterized
his many other helpful enterprises, and
persons are helped without regard TO the
sect, nationality or class to which they
belong To raise the money for starting
the loan Office DR. Greer called on his con-
gregation to advance the sum required
and they did so generously and promptly
Or. Greer was asked for an account OF the
enterprise and furnished the following,
By request, over his signature:
The idea of starting bureau in New
York to lend money to wage-earners on
terms like those which the banks offer to
business men, has been favorite one
with myself and a few others for two or
three years past, but the difficulty has
been to put the idea into effect. The av-
erage business man and people of fortune
who have recognized security such as
stocks, bonds, mortgages and the like,
can always borrow mOneyat the banks a
low rate of interest, and for periods TO
suit their convenience; but the wage
Garner, .who is dependent entirely upon
what he can earn by the day week or
month enjoys no such advantage, because
although he may own property that is of
value, in the way Of household effects, he
cannot at moment of necessity realize
on any of these things except at cruel
sacrifice.
The question arose whether It would be
possible to lend money TO the wage-earn-
ing classes at the legal rate Of interest,
taking such security as they have 10
offer, lending them a fair amount for a
reasonable time to be paid back in monthly
instalments. / believed that the plan
was a feasible one, and received the
hearty support of the congregation of St.
Bartholomew church But there were
no presidents for such an undertaking.
and very little we could use as a guide in
starting the experiment. The nearest
approach to what we wished to do was
already being done by the Workingmen's
Loan Association of Boston, which
charges IL per cent. per annum interest,
whereas our purpose was TO charge only
per cent.
We opened the bureau for business on
Feb. II, and in the week succeeding that
day, nearly 1000 applications for loans
were placed on file. 1t was thus clearly
demonstrated that there was a field for
our undertaking and it remained only for
us to occupy the field and TO conduct the
enterprise in such way as to make it a
business success. 1t was clear from the
outside that many difficulties would be
encountered. 1t was set on foot at time
OF unprecedented business stagnation a
time when more wage earners were out
of employment and had been for so many
months, than at any time in the history
of the metropolis. 1t would be necessary.
therefore to proceed carefully and feel
our way. Written applications from the
towns of Connecticut, New Jersey, Long
Island, and from the outlying counties in
this state, great many from Brooklyn,
and we were obliged at once to confne the
operations of the bureau TO New York
county on account of the difficulties of
filing papers and searching records in
widely separated localities.
We fixed the maximum amount of loan
at $50, with the double purpose of max
ing all loans as safe as possible, and of
giving the relief sought, TO as many ap-
plicants as our resources would permit
1t was not expected that one bureau of
that kind would be able to meet the de-
mands that would be made upon it. but
we believed that its successful operation
would lead to the opening of similar
offices in other districts of the CITY and
also in other parts of the country. The
actual success of this experiment
can only be demonstrated by the re-
payment Of the loans that are made
The money goes out freely enough
and our resources enable US to make
thus far only about one loan where there
are ten applications. The bureau is kept
open from 10 TO 8 O'Clock each day, sun
days and holidays excepted, and applica-
tions are received and recorded in an in
dexed register. Applicants are told that
the bureau is only lending about $500
week at present, and that it may be some
time before their names are reached: but
this does not seem to disconcert them and
large majority of those who have ap-
piled for loans thus far are peo-
pie of sterling character who are
temporarily embarrassed and who have
very natural objections, even in the worst
extremity against subjecting themselves
to the extortionS of the regular money
brokers and pawnshops. The rates of
usury inflicted upon the poor as shown by
letters that have come to the bureau are
almost beyond belief, amounting in MANY
cases to almost 200 per cent. 1t does not
surprise us, therefore, that all classes of
people apply for loans to escape these
sharks, in their hour of need We do not
pretend, however, to do banking bust
ness primarily, and when a gentleman
applied for a loan of $50 on the ground
shat he preferred to get it from Us and
q per cent. interest rather than draw his
deposits from the bank, he was promptly
refused.
Our method of procedure is as fol-
lows:
The applications are attended to as
nearly as possible, other things being
equal in the order of their reception but
preference is given to wage-earners with
families of small children, and in many