The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-07

town authorities, and is on the basis of the business done by the association for the twenty-five years of it's existence. If the ups and downs of the business world are no more serious or revolutionizing between now and 1945 than they have been since 1882, the scheme will work out. Those institutions have made the thou sands of workingmens homes in Phil adelphia and Baltimore and other cities i a possibility, and have materially added to the financial solidity of those cities. In Ohio and Massachusetts the associations have banking features not known to the purely cooperative companies. How ever, taking all the associations of the kind into consideration, the cost of oper- ation for the entire United States is but l 2S per cent In Charlotte the operating expenses are less than I per cent. In Massachusetts the expenses are only .Si per cent. The Charlotte associations have loaned out over $15O0. 900, of which one tenth has been loaned to negroes. The Charlotte associations have never had loss. With but a few exceptions the foreclosures have ben the result of death,
 insanity or the separation of husband and wife. The city of Charlotte has about 5000 homes built or bought through the associations, and they have made $500 loans in all.
 The associations issue shares of s100 each in series, two series being issued each year. The shares are paid for at . the rate of 25 a week for each share. It requires 339 weeks for a share to ma ture. At the end of that time the share
 holder has paid in sSS. 25, and he has $l00
 in cash profit of s6.75. If he has bor-
 rowed money, he has been paying 6 per cent interest, while the money he has been paying has netted him practically GA per cent To the nom borrower the
 investment nets practically per cent.
 They make no loans outside the town
 ship.
 Talking to the shareholders, one finds that the chief feature of the association which makes 1t more popular here than l the savings banks is its coercion. If the
 weekly payment is not made, there is fine to be collected eat of what is already
 paid in There is nothing but will power to compel one to put money in the bank. The habit of making the weekly payment becomes so much part of the ordinary routine of life that few persons who
 have matured the shares in one series fall to go in again. Thus it Is that men who
 work for small wages not oily have home of their own but also own another cottage. under mortgage to the associa- tion. of course, but which pays almost enough rent to meet the dues. One young man built nice house here through the i association. The monthly payments and interest was S0. He rented t house for $32 month. so that his tenants paid l for his property and gave him little 1 on the side with which to make repairs
 The first building and loan association 1 was formed in Birmingham England in 1 11S1, when number of mechanics formed 1 a society to aid each other to build 1 homes. The association came to the l United States in 1881. Frankfort then 8
 suburb of Philadelphia, was the industrial
 center of the country. English morlxing-
 men were brought over to its shops. and
 with them came the building and loan as-
 sociation. Thus 1t was first planted in l Philadelphia, where It's benefits have been l greatest
 Charlotte affords a fine example of the 1 good effects of the institution. On Satur-
 day afternoon when the big crowd comes l to the up town streets 1t Is not sign of
 weekend dissipation. They are not going ! to the barroom, for there are none to go
 to, nor are they intent upon "hot time
 In the old town" They are going to | the building and loan to pay In the week s
 savings. After that they may indulge in
 an lee cream soda or take in 5 cent
 moving picture show. But they spend | those nickles freely in the consciousness
 that something has been laid by for the
 rainy day. As for the negroes-they are
 right in the game from 12 years old | on up They have invented a name of
 their own for the associations, and when 1 a negro declines to enter a crap game | 1t is often on the plea that he must pay old Billy Malone" "Old Billy | Malone" has done more for Charlotte
 than any other citizen it boasts, though
 body and soul he has not.
 Tomorrow-"Gold Mining in the South. /"