Martinsburg statesman. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1869-1906, 1906-01-05
NEW YORK 5 FAKE BANKS
These Short-Lived Concerns
Dupe Immigrants
SPRING UP EVERYWHERE
Hungarians and Italians are Fleeced
Out of Large Sums Yeariy--un-
serupulous Operators Nearly Al
ways Escapc--itaiian Govern
ment's Efforts TO Protect its Own.

York's great East Side Il is no un-
common thing to see crowd of ex-
cited men and women huddled In
front of building clamoring In
jargon of harsh dialects for their
money, says the St Louis Republic.
Women are wringing their hands.
! men, with distorted faces and hys-
/ terieal gesture, are pressing against
/ the closed door and impotently shak-
/ Ing their fists at the window. where a
/ sign In foreign language proclaims
/ the place to be bank.
One could scarcely call 1t a run on
the bank, for bank and banker are
gone. Considered as an affair OF
modern banking business. It is of no
| consequence. Possibly not more
than $4,000 is involved altogether,
and It has no significance In the great
| game of high finance. It is simply
one of the petty crimes of low An
ance repeated frequently In every city
of the United States. where there is
large foreign population.
In New York city these petty
crimes of finance have been going on
| and increasing steadily ever since the
! great steamship companies began to
land multitudes of Hungarians and
Italians at Ellis Island. These crimes
concern only the simple immigrants
who have been duped and plundered
by their own countrymen. and evil
dence necessary for conviction is so
difficult to obtain that investigation
usually goes no further than a mere
record of the fact on the police blot
ter In the precinct where the crime
occurs
Yet so persistently Is the work of
band of eonspirators carried on here
that the immigrants of the East Side
are swindled out of more than ST.
000,000 every year. There are, all
told, between 700 and 500 banking
places In New York conducted in the
foreign language and patronized
largely by the immigrant class.
They spring up everywhere In the
Italian and Hungarian quarters, and
ordinarily are short lived. They are
found chiefly in saloons and grocery
stores. and not infreauently shrewd
bootblack opens banking business
In connection with his business of
shining shoes.
In number of the Hungarian or
Italian newspapers published on the
East Side you will find from fifty to
100 advertisements of these so-called
banks. A recent issue OF Hungar-
ian paper printed in the Middle West
contained glowing advertisements OF
sixty-seven banks for Hungarians in
Cleveland alone. In New York the
number is proportionately larger
These advertisements are the best
source of revenue to the publisher.
and each one tells In eloquent words
calculated to appeal to the simple
peasant mind that this Is the only
Hungarian bank In America author
lied to send your hard-earned dollars
and cents to your kindred across the
ocean"
The ward politician becomes use
ful when confiding depositor learns
to his dismay that his money, in
some mysterious way, has passed be-
yond his reach, He begins to make
inquiries that are likely to lead to
disastrous disclosures. and imme-
diately he Is visited by one of the
eountrymen who has become active
politically In the district and is told
that his only safety Is In keeping
his lips closed. He is told that II is
a crime in America either to hoard
money or to send 1t to the old coun-
try, and that II President Roosevelt
or Captain" Jerome were to and
that he had turned over money to a
banker to be sent out of the country
he would be at once deported and
maybe hanged; therefore the only
thing for him in the circumstances IL
to say nothing. 1t may be difficult for
the average American to appreciate
how such condition of affairs can
exist. but to those who understand
the degree of flliteracy and the child
like simplicity of the Hungarian and
Italian peasants who swarm on the
East Side 1t is quite easy to under
stand
Less than year ago one of these
bankers and steamship agents closed
his place In Avenue B, departing
with ABOUT sZ0,0O0 belonging to poor
Immigrants Fortunately he was
caught when about to leave the coun-
try.
To the credit of the Italian gov
eminent II should be said that great
effort Is being made for the protec-
ton OF Its immigrants in New York
against their dishonest countrymen.
The Italian Consul is doing all in his
power - expose the fake banks to
the emigrants and to encourage the
Italian banks in the city which are
doing a legitimate business.
Records show that since 1895 the
Italian banks Of the city have han
died upward of $45O,000,000 and
that large part OF this money has
been sent back to Italy.