The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-19
CHINESE LOAN ASSOCIATIONS.
There Are Many of Them in New York
and All Are on One Model.
From the New Yorz snn-

From the New York Sun.
The financial methods of the Chinese in
this city are peculiar In the aggregate
they have money, and lots of it. and in
the handling oft they show a queer mix
ture of suspicion, faith and honesty.
There are Chinese merchants here who
carry stock OF SoOO or 81 GOO, aud at the
same time have omen book accounts Of
$4,000 absolutely unsecured and without
even scrap of paper to prove them in
law. The merchant princes of the Chi
nese colony-those who pay customs du-
ties at this port of from Sl0O. 600 To 5000 -
600 year-more nearly approximate to
American ideas of business.
Their loan associations are a feature of
their financial system There is no wav
OF estimating the number of such associa-
tons in this city They spring up by the
score and die natural death at the end
of two or three years, unless the treas
urer has wrecked the association before
that time. They all have the same arUi-
Gle of association, brought with them
years ago from China, and retained with
all the fervor of oriental conservatism.
The fact that one Cinnamon is accused of
having made himself treasurer of about
twenty associations, or collecting $500 or
800 from each in a certain month. and of
blACA HULK nlllbClA anu all MS wealth
from the saddened eyes of his country
men, has not served to destroy their con-
tidence in the integrity Of their financial
system. A feature of the associations is
that the treasurer is made personally liza
BILE for all delinquences of members.
Mutual benefit is the dominant idea of
these associations, and they are organ
lied and conducted on this plan: A
Chinaman who needs little money gets
har tut attV- of L.
ances, forms them into an association.
and has himself elected treasurer Each
member contributes $50, and the entire
sum is turned over to the treasurer for
his own use. Every fourth Sunday after
that the association meets in an upstairs
room, usually in Pell, Doyers, or Mott
street, and that months dues are put up
at auction. At the second meeting the
successful bid is, say s.. That means
that every member, except the successful
bidder and the treasurer, shall contribute
S24, the amount of the bid being sub
tracted from the regular dues of $50 for
each member who has not had the use Of
money collected at any one meeting.
1t will be seen from this that the treas
urer has the use of "a times $50, or S72O.
which he repays at the rate of $50 a
month during the life of the association.
The successful bidder at the second meet
ing will have the use of % times "a, or
S552, plus $50 from the treasurer, making
a total of 1852. Thereafter his dues will
be $50 at every meeting, and at the end of
the twenty-five meetings which consul
tute the associations life, he will have
repaid $720. In other words, he will have
paid yearly interest of nearly Is per cent.
on the money he received.
At the thirteenth meeting, for instance.
putting the successful bid again at So,
there will be collected $50 from each of
twelve members, or $50, and $24 from
twelve members, or $2SS, a total of $648.
Thenceforth the bidder must himself con-
tribute $50 at every meeting, and when
the time for balancing up comes he will
find that he has paid into the association
altogether about the same sum that he
drew out. For the member who waits
until the last meeting of the association.
the prize remains. He will have contri-
buted about 1852 TO relieve the needs of
his associates, and they, in turn, will
hand over to him $3.50, for by that time
every member will be on the $50 list.
All is well for the treasurer If the mem
bers are faithful to their obligations.
But should any prove delinquent, the
treasurer must, by the articles of associa-
tion, advance the necessary funds him
self, and take such steps as he can to COL
lect them on his own account from the
delinquent members. Such case came
before Civil Justice Moore in the Third
district court few weeks ago, and the
justice gave a decision in favor of the
treasurer for the full amount of his claim.
This is the way the articles of associa-
ton begin
"The origin of the beneficial association
is traced to Duke Pang, the object being
to give aid to those who are in financial
straits, and to enable others to put their
money at interest. Now we are indebted
to the kindness of our friends for the or
ganization of this association with the
view of putting this principle into prac-
tice
1T is Of the utmost Importance to man
age the affairs Of this association care
fully from beginning to end, so that not
only one person, but all members will
derive benefits therefrom; for the kind
ness of all who come to one another's aid
ought not to be forgotten"