The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-31
FREE LOANS TO THE POOR.
FIVE YEARS, Work OF a HEBREw
BEAEV OLENr SOCIETY. q

--
The eeunsth CHASE ,ai- A.soeistie-'. sy--
ts. OF L-.sirr Mo.sv without Ist-r--s
$3.50 Per-o.- Aided with SAT .7D,-
Losses OF opiy $3.50 o, Five Years
To all those who have to 10 with WORK among
the poor the admirable manner in which the
Hebrew charities are conducted Is well known.
The work Of tho I nited Hebrew Charities Asso-
citation Is of the most systematic and complete
character. so much so that IL il seldom that
other charities are called upon to help indlgent
Hebrews. There Is another Hebrew charity
conducted on the east side OF shich practically
nothing Is known except to those who are active
ly Int rested In IL. and they, untt' the last year or
so. have been few In number. The name OF this
charity Is the Hebrew Gemiiath Chassodtm
AssociAtion. or Hebrew Free Loan Association.
and its object IL. as it's name implies, to advance
small gums OF money to the worthy poor, from
S. to SIS In each case. aad charge no Interest
for the loan and require no pledge except the
Endorsement of u responsible and rsputaS.e per-
son. Stsr,ing I've years ago with o few mem
bers and the sum ot So In its treasury. IL has
lent S2T.7oa to 1850 persons. and its capital
has grown from SOS to s5,365.
The Hebrew Free Loan Association antedatss
the Provident Loan Society by two years. The
idea upon which 1t was founded Is novel In this
country. bat there arc several societies OF the
same kind In Europe. after which this was
modelled. Starting In so small q way. and
having IS its incorporators men Of moderate
means men who live on the east side and know
personally OF the distress and poverty that exist
there, It's existence was Kept quiet until the
time came when. with . creditabls record be-
hind It. 1t could present itself to the public and
ask for support. That time has now arrived
and recently. in the Hebrew Institute at East
broadway and Jefferson street. the nrst public
annual meeting was held. The reports OF the
work Of Ave years were read aud an appeal was
made for aid. DR.. l.. Zlnsler. the President,
said In his report:
1t was In the month OF January nve years
ago that the idea was preached OF organizing
our free loan association With Ss5 In the treas
ury. for that was our capital at the time. We
applied for a charter. which was granted by the
Secretary OF State OF New York. We had
no great encouragement In the first three years.
The support Of our downtown brethren Was noe
OF much account: our uptown co-religion-
ista. fellow citizens. and philanthroplsts
were not aware OF our cause. OF our
existence. They were not aware OF the noble
Oar Board OF directors. worked silently. Bus
times have CHANGED. The society grew grad
public became larger. and the contributions
flowed more literally into the treasury. This
capital Of s95, ls now able to show one Of S.. sss.
The aim OF our society Is to loan u any re-
spectacle person when In need s%certain sum OF
money upon n note with an Endorsement Of .
responsible party. without charging any interest
or expense. ard the debtor can. pay Oh hts debt
In weekly payments. The object has been TO
give q helping hand to persons who are willing
to work and help themselves. but have 10 means
to start 1t Is the full determination OF the so
ciety TO elevate the moral character of the for
lorn, to enable them to earn n Il .elihood without
permit. me to quote the golden motto so
logically expressed In the thirteenth annual
1fsssssTTt. . p. saf oS are1, b By symp. tasrr snd
pity very often makes people lazy This lesson
contains, indeed. the most emphatic reeommen-
dalton for our society. for our aim IL really to
encourage the needy 20 become ind ustrious and
honest; The nye years work we have accom-
figures OF our books we can show that during
The ave years We have encouraged 3;2s9 peo-
thirds Of them became. IN fact. supporters Of
their families, most Of them are very re-
and energy. and we are convinced by their
paying Oft their debts that they are economical
and honest Il !, rsm.I is; 1a that our io.se:
than $3.50. and Of this $3.50 there Is about $3.50
failures na1Sn and siss through saU Il. Dishonesty Of Tie
applicants OF through their removal, and even
these lo,ss. We're folly covered BY the ho.. ine9m:
through our Efforts there are several hundred
OF the borrower. that are now in moderate cir
and contributors OF oar society.
The person that gives charity In the form Of
sl@:. i, i. undeulasle ,hs, distributing AIMS
among the needy Is considered q charitable act
II they are given to helpless people, such IS the
aged. the sick. or helpless widows ana orphans;
otherwise 'pauperism grows by sym pathy.' such
charity may lead 10 the Disadvantages Of both
donor and recIpient. more especially 10 the lat
ter. for he Is DEGRADED and finally becomes Q
beggar. lost to self-respect. dignity. and hope.
A loan. on the contrary, elev ates tho character
OF the person In his distress. gives him new hope.
new strength, and encourages him so that he
may become m indie pendent man"
The following are the statistics of i've years
work:
Nunber OF Amount
borrowers Lent.